Stephanie Butland

The Lost for Words Bookshop by Stephanie Butland is a compelling, irresistible, and heart-rending novel, perfect for all book lovers. "In The Lost for Words Bookshop, Stephanie Butland has created a bibliophile's delight. Witty and irreverent, funny and sad, this is a charming tribute to stories on the page and in our lives--and the powers they can hold over us."—Matthew Sullivan author of Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore "Burns fiercely with love and hurt. A rare and beautiful novel."—Linda Green, bestselling author of While My Eyes Were Closed Loveday Cardew prefers books to people. If you look carefully, you might glimpse the first lines of the novels she loves most tattooed on her skin. But there are some things Loveday will never, ever show you. Into her hiding place - the bookstore where she works - come a poet, a lover, and three suspicious deliveries. Someone has found out about her mysterious past. Will Loveday survive her own heartbreaking secrets?

A Novel

The Lost for Words Bookshop

"The Lost for Words Bookshop is a compelling, irresistible, and heart-rending novel, perfect for fans of The Storied Life of AJ Fikry and The Little Paris Bookshop. "The Lost for Words Bookshop pushes all my bookish buttons."--Red (Books to Read) "Quirky, clever and unputdownable."--Katie Fforde "Burns fiercely with love and hurt. A rare and beautiful novel."--Linda Green, bestselling author of While My Eyes Were Closed Loveday Cardew prefers books to people. If you look carefully, you might glimpse the first lines of the novels she loves most tattooed on her skin. But there are some things Loveday will never, ever show you. Into her hiding place - the bookstore where she works - come a poet, a lover, and three suspicious deliveries. Someone has found out about her mysterious past. Will Loveday survive her own heartbreaking secrets?"--

Melissa Palmer

This was a good book, especially for book lovers. Loveday works in a book shop, the same shop she has worked in since she was a teenager. She had a traumatic childhood and keeps to herself, but that changes when she meets Nathan, a magician by day and a poet by night. The two connect. This sweet love story will engage readers and this is a quick read that readers will not want to put down. I read it in a day. I borrowed this book from the public library.

My heart has been splintered, broken open and been found new. A fresh start from a tragic childhood, a story of friends who become family, and building a life from the ashes. This book was the gentlest stab with a sharp knife - burrowing deep but from someone who loves you (in the best way possible)

Kate B-L

Utterly heartbreaking, brilliantly intricate, unflinchingly honest, and beautiful in every way. One of the best books I’ve ever read. 

Grace Elizabeth

Liz Carpenter

Amanda Wells

This was a random library pick up - I'd not heard of the book or the author, but the blurb sounded interesting, so ... 

Wow. At first I was here for the setting (who can resist a bookstore?), then I was here for the characters (Archie, Nathan, and dear Loveday), and the plot was intriguing but I thought I could see where it was going.

And I was right in a sense, but the way we got there was suprising and really well written. And then... and then I caught emotions - my face is still recovering.

Definitely one of the best books I've read recently. And it probably even makes it onto my (relatively short) re-read list. Part of its appeal may be simply due to me having few expectations for it, but I really think it was written for someone like me. A bibliophile, who struggles with emotional responses, who is a sucker for a good angsty back story, poetry, and believable conclusions.

Renee Delcourt

** spoiler alert **
           I wont lie. I went into this book kind of blind and except that the main character's name was Loveday and that she works at a bookshop and some kind of secret gets out. I picked it up hoping for a cute and fun contemporary to read after my last book which was long, dense, and so freaking sad.

What I got was not exactly what I was looking for, but so much more worth it. This book was chocked full of humor and love, as well as true familial drama and emotion. This book covers very serious topics like: abuse, foster care system, and mental health. 

The band of characters all stand out so lovely on their own and weave this very eclectic family that seems so heart warming and full of love even if Loveday seems to not fully understand what her tribe is. The story flips between three different points in Loveday's life. The different time lines are labeled brilliantly as Poetry, Crime, and History and they are all are so poignantly defined by a certain moment that has affected her life significantly.

This book hit home in such a way that I can not really explain and I think that they stance that Stephanie Butland took on a child witnessing an abusive relationship, but loving both parents so desperately is NOT a stance that most books show. I was blown away with the tact the author takes at showing two flawed people who love each other so much, but put them under stress and pressure, and that relationship can morph and change regardless of love.

This will be book I return to over and over again and hope to share with the people I love. I truly think it was a beautiful piece of writing.

Dakota Gigout

It was a best case scenario shit show.

That is how I sum up this brilliant, emotion evoking book. Loveday is a complex character who has dealt with lots of difficult circumstances that she feels are better dealt with..not at all. Over the course of these chapters, she, along with other complex characters and some thriller aspects, emotionally develops and heals from her past. Well…she’s at least willing to try. 

Somehow, a book about a child of domestic violence who escapes through books, doesn’t let anyone near her and is potentially being stalked, manages to be a cozy and endearing read. 

The romance is excellent. The father figure made me cry. Her internal dialogue was beautiful. And the author mixed in poetry for places that couldn’t accurately be described through prose?

This book is cathartic at worst and one I’ll always carry in my heart at worst. 

Oh! And it’s is the perfect book for those who find solace from reality in books.



TW: domestic violence

The Lost for Words Bookshop A Novel

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