Book Review: The Lost Bookshop by Evie Wood

Written by Henesis Veras, April 27th, 2025

Rating

I’m left with a bittersweet taste in my mouth after finishing this book. I picked up The Lost Bookshop from the library on a whim — and now I’m thinking I might need to own a copy. This standalone novel is about three people, in different time periods, whose lives are all touched by a magic bookshop.

Have you ever read a book where it feels like anything could happen at any time so you can only read a little bit at a time to sort of brace yourself for it? Until you reach a point where everything starts happening and then you can’t put it down. That was this book for me. I just wanted to give the three main characters a big hug throughout the story.

The first character we meet, Opaline, is a woman in the early 1900s trying to run away from a marriage her brother arranged. Who could blame her? (Honestly it was giving very Bridgerton vibes but her brother was the opposite of Anthony Bridgerton.) Opaline escapes to Paris, then to Dublin, where she finds this curious little bookshop. 

I was even more intrigued by the second and third characters: Martha and Henry. These two have a whole strangers to friends to lovers vibe that I was living for. When we first meet Martha she is running away from her abusive husband and escaping to Dublin where she meets Henry, who is something of a book collector and is looking for a lost bookshop—the very one owned by Opaline in the past.

While all the characters' stories were interesting—especially once you start seeing how the stories intertwine, I couldn't wait to get to Martha’s chapters. Mainly because of Madame Bowden. She wasn’t even a main character but there was this mysterious air about her that made her absolutely iconic. I kept picturing the rich old lady from Disney’s The Aristocats every time she appeared. She was literally the one pulling all the strings and her ending completely shocked me but looking back the signs were there. I love getting to a part of the book where all the dots start connecting and you can’t help but get excited. 

The book did mention that spirits haunted the bookshop but I was not expecting a spirit in the version of a classy grandma! I thought it was beautiful the way the author threaded all these stories together. You really felt every piece of character growth in the story. Opaline eventually did find her family even if it wasn’t the way she pictured it, Henry found his missing manuscript and so much more, and Martha was able to take so many steps to become the person she wanted to be. I get very attached to characters so being able to connect to these three was a big positive for me. 

The only small detail that threw me off was Martha’s mother randomly appearing to share the story of her mothers adoption. It felt very sudden for me. Although now that I think about it, maybe the author did it on purpose to keep up the theme of lost family history? All the characters, Opaline, Martha, and Henry were looking for information from the past. I think the whole point was to show how even a long forgotten history can impact someone in the present. 

I will admit: the book leaves you with a lot of questions. Not in a frustrating way, more like in a “some things were not meant to be explained” way. It was simply magic. The Lost Bookshop is a type of book that pulls you in slowly, but by the end of it you find yourself smiling every time you think about it. 

The only reason I would give it 4 stars instead of 5 is because I do not think I would reread it. Once you know what happens and all the little secrets, I think it takes something away from the book. It was still a wonderful read but that air of mystery is part of what made it such a good read for me.  

Recommendations: 

• If you liked this book, you might enjoy The Story Collector by Evie Woods — it’s definitely on my TBR!

• It also gave me major The Lost Apothecary vibes by Sarah Penner, so if you loved that one, definitely check this out too.

 Content Warnings:

• This book contains elements of child abuse, domestic abuse, child loss, and violence. It is not graphic but may still be triggering for some readers.