Kristy Cambron: The British Booksellers

By Kelly Bridgewater

Inspired by real accounts of the Forgotten Blitz bombings, The British Booksellers highlights the courage of those whose lives were forever changed by war—and the stories that bind us in the fight for what matters most.

A tenant farmer’s son had no business daring to dream of a future with an earl’s daughter, but that couldn’t keep Amos Darby from his secret friendship with Charlotte Terrington . . . until the reality of the Great War sobered youthful dreams. Now decades later, he bears the brutal scars of battles fought in the trenches and their futures that were stolen away. His return home doesn’t come with tender reunions, but with the hollow fulfillment of opening a bookshop on his own and retreating as a recluse within its walls.

When the future Earl of Harcourt chose Charlotte to be his wife, she knew she was destined for a loveless match. Though her heart had chosen another long ago, she pledges her future even as her husband goes to war. Twenty-five years later, Charlotte remains a war widow who divides her days between her late husband’s declining estate and operating a quaint Coventry bookshop—Eden Books, lovingly named after her grown daughter. And Amos is nothing more than the rival bookseller across the lane.

As war with Hitler looms, Eden is determined to preserve her father’s legacy. So when an American solicitor arrives threatening a lawsuit that could destroy everything they’ve worked so hard to preserve, mother and daughter prepare to fight back. But with devastation wrought by the Luftwaffe’s local blitz terrorizing the skies, battling bookshops—and lost loves, Amos and Charlotte—must put aside their differences and fight together to help Coventry survive.

From deep in the trenches of the Great War to the storied English countryside and the devastating Coventry Blitz of WWII, The British Booksellers explores the unbreakable bonds that unite us through love, loss, and the enduring solace that can be found between the pages of a book.

 

 

My Thoughts:

The British Booksellers by Kristy Cambron is throughly researched and crafted with deeply wounded characters. From the first page, Cambron entices the readers with a friend to lover type story. I love these type of stories, so place the romance in a World War II setting with the London Blitz, and I couldn't wait to dive into the story. I enjoy how the story is a time slip novel from World War I to World War II. The similarities are there. Plus the hurt from both time periods play out before the readers. I have been fascinated with the London Blitz since I started personally researching World War II history. Cambron does a wonderful job at showcasing and highlighting the hurt and demise that the Germans had done on London. As for t0eh characters, she dives deep into who each character is and what they have overcome to the misunderstood happenings that occurred in the past. Overall, The British Booksellers by Kristy Cambron was a deeply engrossing tale that I enjoyed spending time with.

I received a complimentary copy of The British Booksellers by Kristy Cambron from Thomas Nelson Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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