Book Review :The Last Bookshop in London

Let me begin this book review by saying I know my last book review was last April of the year. But from those months apart, I can say this book I am about to share is beyond worthy for everyone to read. From beginning to end, the novel is pure escapism. No matter what age you are in life or where you are in the world ;each time the book was opened , the world around would disappeared and I was in London during World War Two hearing that world come alive.

I never read any book by Madeline Martin before I am glad I picked up The Last Bookshop in London to start with. Her way of writing historical fiction is nothing I have read before or have anything to compare it to . Her creative way of writing this novel feels as if you are physically in the shoes of the world between the pages. From the moment Grace Bennet and her best friend Viv made it to Farringdon station the novel took off. I wish Viv was my best friend, her vibe seemed just fun to be around.

She saved Mr. Evans when he didn't want her help in the slightest. She saved her mother's bestfriend, Mrs.Weatherford. Grace fell in love with George Anderson the moment he turned her a book lover with The Count of Monte Cristo. And during the darkest days and the distance between them making a relationship work despite the world. And all I am going to say there should be more George Andersons in the world, that's all you are getting romantics. Also we can't forget Colin Mrs.Weatherford son, he was that type of character that has the gentle soul with animals and would bring them home. We can all admit we all had that friend that did that or have done that to. I have know to that and my defense the animals tend to find me not the other way around.

Each time I sat down with the novel, in any chair ,couch or bed I was transported to the world before Grace Bennet. The time of prosperity at her fingertips change as quickly as the Second World War brewing to begin. The beauty of Grace bennet changed ,saved so many lives by just being herself through think and thin. Losing certainly of the world, losing people, experience love another level in her life. Lifting up a city by hearing her own words and protecting what she could of other lives from air raids in the morning or dragging on through the night the next day.

I loved reading how Grace was falling in love the with books she read along the way like Jane Eyre. I can appreciate how she fell in love with each story. And going from not reading a single book in her life to read every book in a bookshop. She built a community of people without setting out to make one happen. Naturally making one in a tube station or from the footsteps of Primrose Hill. I do also think Grace was meant to be a ARP warden, it was perfect for not only her character to do but the Title suited her because she is helpful person. And it only made her stronger inside and out and taught her many lessons for life beyond the war.

I have a few favorite moments from the novel but each one I want to pick gives away to much information about the story. I can say that Mr. Evans carried more Grace then he ever thought and he thought he couldn't be saved by anyone or anything until Grace. And same for Grace Mr. Evans, Primrose Hill was more important to Grace then any recommendation she needed in the first place. Once you get into the novel you will understand Mr. Evans has a tough exterior but inside he is a teddy bear with excellent taste in novels. And the caretaker of the most important novels in world when they were taken by Germans to be destroyed.

Okay I can't help it one of my favorite moments is when people gathered in the Tube station listening to the novel being read to comfort them. Its one of the most beautiful parts of the novel through all the darkness. And to think before television and the radios they did have at the time Books and newspapers were the talk of the town, worldwide. Books were and are fundamental of life at least in my opinion. To add my favorite chapter of the whole novel was twenty-one of the most powerful chapter and I love every word of it.

I didn't want to read this book to fast , it deserved to be a slow burned read. Not actually burning it to clarity. That would be against rule of law in my book. This Book deserves to read many times over, it feels just timeless. Every character in the novel that was either in there briefly or stayed till the end is relatable to the time of 1939 to 2021 and further beyond that timeframe. Once you have a copy in your hands you will understand why it feels timeless and relatable in any age.

I do hope you all have great day and enjoy the fall season fast approaching upon us. I do have a new monthly post coming up after this one goes up in a few days. I do hope you buy this book in a physical copy or in digital format. I secretly hope you buy the physical copy, I can't help it I love books and I never full love books digitally; never felt right.

Anyway.

Best regards ,

Misread

The link for the book is down below:

August Huh How 2021?

We are in that phase where we try to figure out how are we are already in august ? At least I am wondering how in the world that happened but at the same time I am happy about the fall season around the corner. If you are thinking the same thing in your mind as me then you are thinking one of the two things I am .One there is so much I want or need to get done before Christmas. And two, I can wear all those fall things in my closet very soon... Candle season! One is a making me feel a little stressed and the other makes me excited , guess which one I prefer the most. Happy birthday to all you Leo's and Virgos out there! P.s I am in my kitchen smells like fall already , I made brownie's , they may or may not be all for me. OKAY, I will be honest they were eighty percent for me. I did share the other twenty percent, in my defense.

Enough of those yummy brownie's that kept me distracted, like I said before fall is around the corner and I know summer would be coming into a close soon. Each year I used to think summer seasons seem to way to short. But this year I couldn't be happier that summer is coming to a close soon then again we have one more month to go for summer to end. And all this heat would cool down a bit at the same time I could work on finishing completing my uneven summer tan then fry like bacon on a beach towel. Speaking of the beach , my last trip out by the sea wasn't the best of best driving wise with the convertible but the weather was on point. I got to dive into a new book on the sandy shores, called The last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin. Which before I say anything else , this book is just pure escapism ! And yes, this book will be my next book review! Keep an lookout for that!

Back to the beach trip ate amazing food while I was there. Sacks on the Beach is one my favorite places to grab a bite from and go watch the waves. I personally love Breakfast on a bagel, it's yummy , warm to the touch and even comes with a cup of fresh fruit. Another favorite place of mine which was new to me called Rocks & Brews. I highly recommend getting the street nachos to start with. It would be worth every single bite you take, trust me on that. Even thinking about those nachos alone , I wish I could get them delivered to me right now... I can taste the lime and the corn chips..

Okay ,I am back from my slight daydream about those nachos. One of my favorite parts of the trip to what I would call my childhood ; getting dressed early one morning with a coffee in hand, walking to an empty pier. Only seeing maintenance workers and little truck deliveries, listening to an old school album, smelling the fresh sea air in the wind. Finding my favorite bench on the pier to be empty and watching the tide roll back forth, that I removed the music playing in my ears. And just got lost in the time I was in, counted my blessings and the memories I had by the sea. I concluded the rest of that morning laying on the sand and watching the waves get bigger with a book in hand. Funny note I might of made myself a fool while taking off my flat shoes in front of the lifeguard station but there isn't any real photographic evidence of this said act mentioned but lets say we were both laughing and one shoe was found across the other side of the sidewalk. ( I blame the coffee didn't take full effect yet )

And the rest of the trip went unexpected chain events and lots of driving to other beaches, eating hummus , prosciutto roll in the car. Like I mention before car navigation can not be trusted when they say , "Rerouting to faster destination route". When there hasn't been cell service for two hours and windy winey roads that have cliffs every couple of miles, turn around. Which we didn't but we made back in one piece and didn't run out of gas. The best way I can describe it as, the worst roller-coaster ride on the ground and none of us never knew where it was taking us through exactly. Yes, I have a video of part of the journey because no one would ever believe us about the drive. It was indeed shorter drive back to town but very sketchy. And when a big fake monkey is hanging from a tree with nothing in sight ,it's sketchy.

That was one Beach trip that I won't be forgetting anytime soon. Back to being in August, how are we here but I am glad we are. I know the next few months we are in the unknown phase looking ahead and what's currently still happening in the world. Questioning are we ever going back to normal ? And back to school season just started a few days ago to add. Like I said I honestly don't know how it's August, I am mentally still February of this year. We might repeat everything last year again but I hope not. But I can't predict the future, I haven't mastered that one yet.

What I can say is at least the fall season would slow us down a bit than rushing too fast to have normal can be good thing. Enjoyable weather, cozy weather to be together to look forward to. Staring a new season, starting something new can be good for all of us. And if there is that something we want to complete by the year's end is still achievable even right now. Enjoy time we have right now the transition even if it's your hardest season at the moment. We can't get time back , no matter how much we want to, we don't have the power but we can flow with time to where we don't feel like we are fighting with it . We have so much to look forward to , the future is bright and towards Christmas I think we all will be spending the holidays with everyone we couldn't last year. Yes, we are in August but the next few months would be our most precious ones in our lives.

While Finishing up this monthly post , I am listening to Billy Corrington's brand new album which is amazing. Give it a listen, it's a calming vibe like a love story album. My point to wrapping up this post ; is that I think in the next few posts, new pieces will be the best one yet. I might have a few ideas for pieces alone from this album and share a few stories that I never finished with anyone. I am ready to this next chapter and next season.

Always,

Misread

May it be Summer ( July Edition)

Hi everyone, hope you are all doing well , where ever you are in this beautiful world.

I have been absent from my work and the world for a bit , if you noticed again. And there is plenty of reasons for that; meaning when life happens , nothing else matters. At the beginning of last month , I was writing up last month's blog post and mother's day tribute and no matter what I did, where I sat down ,what cup of coffee in hand; I couldn't bring myself to finish it ,share it. Because it occurred to me in the mist of writing that May of last year was the last time I got to physically touched my Nene and that was on mother's day as well, so I was full of emotions from that point on. And last month I was not feeling my best self most days I was the couch watching movies all day and Mr. Maverick hurt himself has well. And some other things happened as well, when life hurts sometimes it ripples to other things but family pulls together in the end.

By saying all of that, it's a brand new month and many things are bound to happen in the between of the long summer days. And it might be summer that we all need to happen , laying by the lakes or by the seas around the world with a something cold in hand enjoying the rays. Have those long summer nights by the campfires with stories being shared over warm marshmallows melting in between graham crackers and chocolate. Let's be honest we have been all dreaming of this summer , right ? Or is it just me ? That's okay more smores for me.

I hope you all enjoyed your July fourth weekend, ate all the yummy summer foods and at the end of the day enjoyed the firework displays underneath the night sky. I enjoyed my favorite blueberry strawberry pancakes at the beginning of the holiday weekend, a few hot dogs in-between and of course the traditional funnel cake. I am curious what are your favorite summer meals? And of course you could find me at six am before anyone is up at the baseball field with the hot air balloonists getting ready for the morning. It's literally one of my favorite summer thing to do, I may be twenty- seven .. But every time I am out there I feel like a kid in a candy store with a camera in my hand ready. Then I went to two mini festivals and of course went through the car show , they had some beautiful ones on display. That was a snippet of my July Fourth weekend, all traditional and it was the closest to normal event in a long time , last year it didn't feel like the normal Independence holiday. Thank goodness this one did and I did run into a few beautiful friends in person.

I would say this Summer is the Hottest summer I have ever witness to date. There has been lots of doggy pools moments outside with the pups . Is it just me or does anyone feel like when they step outside , that they are physically cooking ? Let me know, I hope I am not the only one. And yes, there has been something iced on stand by either that be an iced Matcha or a yummy smoothie. I have been experimenting with my barista skills to make the perfect Dirty Matcha , so far I am not successful but I do make a great White Chocolate Lavender Mocha. And if you have never tried a White chocolate Lavender Mocha you definitely need to , trust me it's worth every slip. I am not going to lie to you at the moment in current moment, I have one iced on my desk. Side note use three TBSP of Ghirardelli chocolate sweet ground white chocolate powder, one to two pumps of lavender and of course use your favorite coffee.

I can't believe it we are officially have half way through the year ! I am in the state of , "WHAT" and "How". I feel like I am still back in time specifically mentally I am still in January of this year. All I got to say is time fly's more than I can blink. Or is that my old age showing at age twenty- seven? Or would you agree that year and the last six months is the same blur? I am curious to know your little answer and how are the last six months, last seven months now; have been for you compared to last year around the same time.

You will be reading this at the end of July because someone meaning me both got busy and I forgot to finish this mini post. July has been a wild month of schedules changes and unexpected beach trip and I all I have to say about that trip is that one was one interesting story to share. And the two of us that know what happened on that trip, trusting car navigation can be very sketchy when there is zero phone signal for two hours.

To be Continued..... New August Post will be up within days, New Book review will be coming as well...

Love, Misread