"She’s ready to start a new chapter in her life…For Tess Lane, owning Lakeside Books is a dream come true, but it’s the weekly book club she hosts for the women in town that Tess enjoys the most. The gatherings have been her lifeline over the past three years since her husband’s mysterious death. Tess has tried to move on, but when River Harrison shows up on her doorstep, all her lingering questions come rushing back.…River, a former marine turned private investigator, was her husband’s best friend, and seeing him again is a reminder of everything Tess lost. At first, she tries to ignore him, but Tess comes to realize that this is her chance, once and for all, to find the answers that have troubled her for years. With the support of her friends, Tess joins River on a journey of discovery that leads them to the edges of Somerset Lake and on a road trip down the Carolina coast. Although their adventure isn’t always easy, Tess starts to find the joy in life again. But when secrets surrounding her husband’s death are finally revealed, can Tess find it in her heart to forgive the mistakes of the past … and maybe even open herself up to love again?" (Description of The True Love Bookshop by Annie Rains taken from Hachette Book Group’s website). The True Love Bookshop by Annie Rains is a smalltown “enemies to lovers” romance with a splash of mystery. Even though The True Love Bookshop is the third book in Annie Rains’ Somerset Lake series, it can be read as a standalone. In addition to fans of The Summer Cottage and The Christmas Village, I would recommend this book to fans of Robyn Carr, Debbie Macomber, Brenda Novak, Susan Mallory, and Hallmark romance movies. The True Love Bookshop deals with themes such as secrecy and lies, death, love and heartbreak, war, marriage and divorce, friendship, and cheating. The moral of this story is that it’s never too late for a second chance at true love.
Firstly, I liked how The True Love Bookshop was very bookish; the main character, Tess, owns Lakeside Books and runs a weekly book club. Being a fan of the Virgin River books and Netflix adaptation, I loved how Somerset Lake (the main setting of The True Love Bookshop) was reminiscent of the town of Virgin River; both are small towns near the water with tightknit communities and lots of local drama. I also enjoyed how some of the main characters from the first 2 books in Annie Rains’ Somerset Lake series made appearances in The True Love Bookshop. I enjoyed the addition of the mystery aspects in this book as I felt that Tess and River’s investigation into Tess’s husband’s death made the book more intriguing than The Summer Cottage. Lastly, I appreciated that The True Love Bookshop was a relatively quick and easy read with a guaranteed happily ever after. On the downside, even though I thought that The True Love Bookshop was better and more engaging than The Summer Cottage, I still felt like the plot wasn’t overly interesting. Furthermore, I think that this book is better suited for middle-aged readers as opposed to readers under 40 like myself. Overall, The True Love Bookshop was a romantic and mysterious read perfect for fans of Virgin River. If you enjoyed the first 2 books in Annie Rains’ Somerset Lake series, The Summer Cottage and The Christmas Village, then you should definitely pick-up a copy of The True Love Bookshop!
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February 2024
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