The Lost and Found Bookshop, published in 2020, is what I would categorize as Women’s Fiction. Although there’s romance, the main storyline features the main character’s everyday challenges following a tragic event.
Natalie Harper doesn’t want to be like her mother, Blythe. While Blythe prefers to own her own struggling business, Natalie prefers the security of working for an established company. Then Blythe dies unexpectedly, and Natalie has to take over the running of Blythe’s bookstore in San Francisco. She also has to take over the care of her grandfather, who owns the building housing the bookstore and refuses to sell.
Natalie soon discovers that Blythe left a lot of debt and the building needs a lot of repairs. Peach Gallagher shows up one day, having already been hired by Blythe to do some of the repairs. Despite melting down in front of him, Natalie realizes she can’t turn him away because some of the repairs are urgent.
Coincidentally, Peach’s daughter Dorothy has been a frequent visitor to the bookstore for some time. Peach and Dorothy befriend Natalie and her Grandy, and Natalie begins to realize the structured life she thought she wanted doesn’t make her happy.
The history of the building and Natalie’s ancestors is beautifully woven throughout the story. And Peach’s repairs keep exposing hidden treasures. I’ve never run an independent bookstore, but the struggles and challenges of doing so as depicted in the book are believable. We see Natalie handle them, and we see her break down from the stress. The story is realistic but still exciting.
The only thing I didn’t like about the story occurred towards the end. I won’t specify what happened, but I don’t think it fit the tone of the story. It seemed out of character for the characters. It only gave me a moment’s pause, though, and I was able to get back into the regular flow of the story easily.
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