A Pleasant Story

Well narrated An overall pleasant listen not riveting or exciting in any sense but the characters where all pleasant and the story flowed uneventfully

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2 people found this helpful

the love of books

I was so sorry when it ended, even though I don't read books , I love listening to them, so this book to me was wonderful thank you , and so beautiful read .

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Fantastic!

This book is amazing. I loved it so much. The narration is really good too. Get it, you won’t regret it :-)

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2 people found this helpful

Evocative of WW2

I enjoyed this book and thought it captured the feeling of the Blitz. Narration was mostly good apart from some annoying mispronounciations which should have been picked up.

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A Lovely Heartwarming Story

This was such a lovely book to listen to, heartwarming but sometimes sad too in a time where the country was at war with Germany. It makes you think, even in times of war and what people endured, it still brought out the strength and the best in people. And how every person can always help someone else. The power of reading and how it transports you to another world of escapism, an imaginary world where you can experience something new. The part of the book where Grace had been reading books aloud to the people in the tube station as the air raids where taking place, brought tears to my eyes and how those people came to the book store to ask Grace to carry on reading to them, it brought comfort and togetherness in a time where people needed it. Saskia Maarleveld is a wonderful narrator, I just love her voice, I've previously listened to The Alice Network, excellent too! But I'm so glad Saskia's voice has brought me to a beautiful author Madeline Martin, who will now become one of my favourites, and I shall definitely be reading more from her soon. Highly recommend! Thank you so much to Madeline and Saskia! for a lovely few days immersed in a wonderful story!

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Rich with historic detail.

I adored this reading. Beautifully read, and rich with details. If you have an interest in WWII, London in The Blitz and a great cast of characters then just sit back and enjoy.

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Authentic to the core.

My parents fought in WW2, and I often recall listening to my Mother's tales of such an uncertain time. Madeline Martin has captured the essence of this age perfectly.
The story starts with Viv and Grace moving to London to follow their dreams of a more exciting life than the country one, they have lived in.
Unbeknownst to them, Hitler had other ideas.
This book is beautifully written from the heart. The author captures the sounds, smells, and feelings of how frightened people were as they lived through the Blitz.
Books are many people's sanctuary, but never more so in dark times. The bookshop and its owners soon become part of the community, aiding others to slip into different worlds.
As Grace falls in love with literature, she starts to read to calm down the scarred public in the underground stations as they wait out the bombs being dropped above them.
Add a little love story; this book makes for a treasured read.
I loved the fact that this is based on a true story.

5/5

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Too saccharin sweet for me.

It certainly depicted London in WWII, and the sweet tale was gentle and heartwarming. It had all the elements of a fairy tale but with realism on the side. The Americanisms did it no favours though e.g. Mail slot and faucet. The story’s set in England, for goodness’ sake! That said, everyone benefits from gentle tales at times and I made it to the end.

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Did not want this book to end!

This book touched me so deeply I will carry its story with me forever. I chose this book for our book club this month. It is something I wouldn't normally read, and in general I don't leave reviews either, but I had to just rave about it. Its magical, sad in places and joyfully in others. I don't want to give the story away. I fell in love with each character.
The audiobook was good, the only reason I gave it 4 stars was because I just wished the narrator would use a different voice for the different individual male characters. Thats just personal preference though.

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4 people found this helpful

A love story - with books, friends and life

An engrossing and poignant tale of Grace finding much to enrich her life in London during the Second World War, nothing more than her newly found love of books and reading 😁

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