I sometimes choose to read books for some really superficial reasons: I saw this at the library and liked the cover (although it annoys me that the author’s name is larger than the title…), and I wondered if Katie Fforde was related to Jasper Fforde. For those of you wondering, she is, although not directly.
Anyways, this book is about Laura. The bookshop she works in is closing, but just at the same time, she’s roped into helping to organize a literary festival in a small English town. Unfortunately there’s a small error in communication and all of the sudden she’s in charge of trying to get Dermot Flynn to be a part of the festival - a famous Irish author who is notorious for refusing to make public appearances. He’s been her favorite writer for years, but she decides to try to meet him and talk him into being a part of the lit fest. But he’s surly, uncooperative, and annoying attractive…
As you can probably tell, this is more in the chick-lit genre, which usually isn’t a favorite of mine. Good new though – I enjoyed this book. I love that it takes place in England and Ireland, and that it was so literary-themed. I love it when books are a major part of a storyline in a book. Seems silly, but it’s true. Laura was also a likable character – she was sweet and kind of funny. I definitely cheered for her, and envied her life surrounded by such book-lovers. I notice that in all the books I read that take place in Britain, reading is always of importance. Is reading just more highly valued in England? If so, I want to go there like yesterday.
The romance between Laura and Dermot was a bit lacking for me. The inital attraction is there and evident, but I felt like they were apart for so much of the book that a real relationship seemed unlikely and that it made their eventual pairing up seem rushed. Also, there’s a question during the book of what Dermot’s feelings really were, and it was frustrating me that Laura was too shy to really ask him what the deal was. I’m more of a straight-forward person, so that was irking me a bit.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. There were a lot of interesting and diverse secondary characters. I love the bookish-ness of the story, I loved the setting. I looked up the author on Amazon, and some of her other books have gotten higher ratings than this one. Next time I’m in the mood for something enjoyable and fluffy, I’m definitely going to look for another Katie Fforde book.
Sarah Says: 3 stars
