With Love from London
Fiction
Ballantine Books
February 8, 2022
Paperback
375
Purchased
When librarian Valentina Baker was a teenager, her mother, Eloise, unexpectedly fled to her native London, leaving Val and her father on their own. Now in her thirties and fresh out of a failed marriage, Val feels a nagging disenchantment with her life--and knows she is still heartbroken over her mother's abandonment.
In a bittersweet twist of fate, Val receives word that Eloise has passed away, leaving Val her Primrose Hill apartment and the deed to a bookshop Val never knew she'd owned. Though the news is devastating, Val finds herself more determined than ever to discover who her mother truly was. She jets across the Atlantic, departing Seattle for a new life in charming London.
Slowly but surely, Val begins to piece together Eloise's life in the UK, falling in love with her pastel-colored flat, cozy neighborhood, and tucked-away storefront. But when she discovers that The Book Garden is in danger of going under, Val must work with its eccentric staff to get it in working order. In the process, she learns more about Eloise than she ever thought possible. And as Val races to save the shop, Eloise's own story unfolds, leading both mother and daughter to unearth revelatory truths.
My review:
Sometimes when a story is told in dual timelines and perspectives, I tend to gravitate to one or the other. Not the case with this one. I really loved both characters. Eloise is the mother whose timeline begins in 1968 London, and moves forward chronologically until 2013. Valentina is her daughter, and we pick up her story in 2013 when she goes to London to try and find answers as to why her recently diseased mother abandoned her when she was eleven years old. Through the dual narration we learn more about Eloise pre and post leaving her daughter, and we slowly learn the why as well. From Valentina we experience her anger and hurt about being left by her mother, and also her present time in London as she explores the life her mother was leading prior to her death. Hint.....there is a quaint and lovely bookstore with an elderly shopkeeper and a fabulous tenant rounding out the great characters. This was well written, with not a paragraph of dull filler, and an absolutely beautiful ending that may have brought a tear to my eye. There is a bit of a romance in this one (we all know how I feel about the obligatory romance), but one was lovely and swoon worthy, and the other was tolerable and not at the forefront of the story.
This was a really enjoyable read focusing on love and forgiveness, loss and discovery, that will leave you with a full heart and wistful smile. And don't forget there is a bookstore 🙂
