Prepare to fall under the spell of “this sometimes whimsical, often insightful, always absorbing story” (Shelf Awareness) following two fiercely independent women and their truly magical friendship in a sleepy Southern town, from New York Times bestselling author of Karen Hawkins. Sarah Dove is no ordinary bookworm. To her, books live, breathe, and sometimes even speak. As the librarian in her … sometimes even speak. As the librarian in her quaint Southern town of Dove Pond, her gift helps place every book in the hands of the perfect reader. Recently, however, the books have been whispering about something out of the ordinary: the arrival of a displaced city girl named Grace Wheeler.
If the books are right, Grace could be the savior Dove Pond desperately needs. The problem is, Grace wants little to do with the town or its quirky residents–Sarah chief among them. But with a bit of urging, and the help of an especially wise book, will Grace ultimately embrace the challenge to rescue her charmed new community?
“A mesmerizing fusion of the mystical and the everyday” (Susan Andersen, New York Times bestselling author), The Book Charmer is a heartwarming story about the magic of books that feels more than a little magical itself.
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Oh my word, this book was so good. It was everything a good book is. Funny, sad, endearing, moving, lovable characters. I rushed through it, as I could not put it down and did not want it to end. I hope we get more stories about this lovely town and it’s residents.
The Book Charmer must be embraced with light-heartedness and a suspension of reality. The story weaves its magic through the pages of everyday life in Dove Pond, N.C. Sarah Dove, the town librarian, has a gift for hearing books when they talk to her. While many of us feel like our books talk to us through themes and messages, Sarah’s books talk to her.
When Grace Wheeler rolls into town with her niece, Daisy, and her beloved Mama G, Sarah feels certain life is about to change for the entire town. Grace, a strong but emotionally wounded young woman, takes on the task of raising her grieving niece and caring for her much-loved foster mother who is fading away with the onset of Alzheimer’s. As if Grace doesn’t have enough on her plate, Travis Parker, a wild looking, motorcycle riding veteran lives right next door and unsettles her life in a multitude of other ways and Sarah gives her books that she doesn’t really want.
As Sarah and Grace navigate the path to friendship, they each learn some valuable lessons. Grace learns that being independent and successful deals with much more than careers and finances. She learns the true value of family, friends, and community in this heartwarming tale. The quirky secondary characters in the book further enrich the novel making it a fun and enticing read for the summer.
I thoroughly enjoyed this delightful story. Readers of Sarah Allen Addison will absolutely love this book! I personally can’t wait for book two of the series to be published.
This ARC copy was received from Gallery Books and Netgalley.com. The above thoughts and opinions are wholly my own.
The Book Charmer is my first Karen Hawkins novel, and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I requested this book on NetGalley. When I first came across this book, it sounded right up my alley. I’m a book lover (I know, shocking), and I love reading books that feature a book lover. I generally can relate to the characters more, and I LOVE when I can relate to a character.
The characters in The Book Charmer were so much fun. I enjoyed getting to know their nuances and quirks, and I felt like Dove Pond was remarkably similar to another favorite town that I grew up with, Stars Hollow. The town itself had a beautiful feel to it, and the townspeople just enhanced the story. Each character brought a fun aspect to the novel, and I loved seeing all of the interactions. I especially loved the romance aspect of this book. I will admit, the magic realism of the book at times felt a little off. It was almost repetitive at times, and that became a bit dull for me.
Even though the magic realism was a bit too repetitive, I found that I loved how realistic Karen Hawkins was able to write real-world issues. This book dealt with some serious and hard issues such as PTSD & Alzheimers. I do feel that Karen Hawkins did an excellent job of showing the problems that PTSD & Alzheimers can bring up. Along with that, I liked seeing the characters dealing with those occurrences as well.
The one big problem I had with this book was how slow it felt. There were only a few instances where I was on the edge of my seat. The Book Charmer seemed to mosy around a bit. I found myself bored at some instances, but by the 50% mark, the pace quickened. I would have loved to feel more drawn in.
All in all, the characters make this book. I would recommend this book to anyone who loved Gilmore Girls and Matilda. I definitely will look into the next book in the series.
A sweet and easy to read. Something I needed right now.
From the title I really thought this story would focus more on Sarah and her story but it’s definitely misleading in that aspect. Although we see a lot of her the main focus is Grace and her trying to navigate her new life as a mom to her niece, caregiver to her foster mom and the new town clerk to a town on the brink of financial destruction.
All the characters in this book help drive the story and this is something I really enjoyed. The residents of Dove Pond are charming and I think I could see myself reading many more stories from this town.
Grace drove me a bit crazy at times with her anger and aloofness toward her new town but I also understood it so it didn’t really take away from the story. By the end of the story we saw a different person and that’s what women’s fiction is all about. The small amount of romance was a perfect touch.
This arc did have quite a few typos, wrong words, etc that at times were distracting but all in all it was a solid story and I can see myself watching out for the next book.
Book one of the Dove Pond series by Karen Hawkins was an enjoyable read for people who believe in the magic of books.
Sara Dove is a librarian that has a gift of knowing and between her and her books she helps those that need it.
this first book is about Grace who the books have chosen to rescue the town. But between her own life problems she has to find her way through and help those around her. A heartwarming book that pulls on you’re emotions you will find yourself cheering the characters on and crying along with them. Looking forward to more of this series.
The Book Charmer by Karen Hawkins is that book that reminds every childhood reader of the magic of books. Summers spent with imaginary friends. I remember books talking to me; okay they still do, but not the way they talk to Sarah Dove. From the first sigh of remembrance in the first chapter I was hooked. Hawkins leaves some decidedly loose ends, so I hope that we get to return to Dove Pond soon. This was the perfect summer read, lazy and heart-warming.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this novel.
This was a special, unique book to me. I usually do not read books with fantasy in them. While I expected this story to include some, I still was drawn to it from the title. As a lover of books, I think they are meant to be read by certain people. I am attracted to a book, and then I find that there was a purpose for me to read it, so I was able to go along with the plot of this book and not have any issues with the “magical” part of the plot. I actually found it refreshing and needed for this story.
Grace grew up in the foster care system and after several terrible attempts at finding a foster family for her and her sister; they came upon Mama G who changed Grace’s life.
Sarah grew up with the blessing (and burden) of being a member of the Dove family. Her family was known for having special skills and Sarah being the seventh daughter was meant for the greatest thing she could imagine, to save her town when she grew up. As she grew, the overwhelming responsibility and her lack of finding a way was disappointing to her, but overall she had a very outgoing, loving, sweet personality and almost nothing could get her down. She knew her time would come.
In the plot of the story, these two characters meet and from then on, hold on. Things might seem to be moving slow, but background actions, that no one can explain is taking place and taking the story to its conclusion.
While the book is somewhat light and carefree, it is also has themes dealing with underlying serious issues: a small town dying, a loved one in the early stages of Alzheimer’s, PTSD, a family dealing with the death of a loved one. Every sub-plot is dealt with love from the small community of Dove Pond and as you read the story, you will fall in love with this town.
I enjoyed my visit to Dove Pond and truly loved this story. I encourage everyone to read it, especially if it is out of your comfort zone. It might be meant for you!
4.5 stars
I really loved this book. I loved the idea of a book charmer and books speaking to say who needs to read them. Also the idea of a family all having mystical skills. That is a fun premise. But this book isn’t just about the book charmer. It is about her friends and her town. The book is told from multiple points of view so the readers knows what is going on with Sarah as well as Trav and Grace. I loved all three of them though Grace and Trav are both harder to like at first. And I loved Mama G. I could relate to the difficulties that Grace experienced due to Mama G’s dementia. My mother lived with Alzheimer’s for at least 14 years before passing. I saw the decline, the fear, the anger, the confusion that Mama G experiences and the frustration of trying to care for her and keep her safe. Sundowners is especially difficult and I would have loved a tea that would have that calming effect for my mother. The moment where Grace sees Mama G’s knitting and realizes that part of her is gone, swallowed up by this disease is heartbreaking. For my father that moment came with the realization that my mother no longer knew how to cook macaroni salad. All the things that Mama G goes through with this disease were realistic. I can give an equivalent to each moment from my family’s experiences.
The book is partly a romance but has a lot more elements than just that. I think that most of the book had to do with love but not the romantic kind. And the ending leaves you with the idea of what will come next but it doesn’t truly tie up every thing in a neat little bow. I felt like they would continue to have trials in life but that they would be there for each other to help them through.
I think that my only real dislike in the book was some of the language. There were a few moments that I felt were a little crude and could have done without. Luckily they passed by quickly and weren’t frequent.
Sex: no but a few crude statements
Language: yes, including Deity
Violence: no
I didn’t know that this was a book 1 when I received it, so I’m happy that there are going to be more Dove Pond books in the future because I grew to love the residents of Dove Pond.
Sarah loves books, they speak to her, literally. They’re either telling her what to do or they’re telling her whom she needs to give them to. So growing up to become the town librarian seems the likely future for her, and she loves her job. She’s always had high hopes for Dove Pond and her role to play in its future.
Grace doesn’t want to be in Dove Pond. She’s left a good paying job to come here for her foster mother, whose dementia is getting worse. She’s also raising her niece after the death of her sister. It’s not easy but she will be in and out of town in a year, that’s the plan at least.
The talking books and color changing flowers made this a whimsical read. The characters were excellent in their personalities. Grace was really unlikable because of her attitude because she was judgemental, but she played that role well. Travis, star quarterback and Valedictorian turned mechanic had PTSD and I really appreciate that the author included this in her book. Sarah was a bit pushy in trying to friend Grace, but she had her reasons, and Grace needed her as much as the town needed Grace. A heartwarming and amusing read.