“A wonderful exploration of the past and the future and, most importantly, of what it means to be present in the here and now. Full of the love of words, the love of family, and the love of falling in love, The Lost and Found Bookshop is a big-hearted gem of a novel that will satisfy and entertain readers from all walks of life. Lovely!”—Garth Stein, New York Times bestselling author of The Art … Times bestselling author of The Art of Racing In The Rain
In this thought-provoking, wise and emotionally rich novel, New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs explores the meaning of happiness, trust, and faith in oneself as she asks the question, “If you had to start over, what would you do and who would you be?”
There is a book for everything . . .
Somewhere in the vast Library of the Universe, as Natalie thought of it, there was a book that embodied exactly the things she was worrying about.
In the wake of a shocking tragedy, Natalie Harper inherits her mother’s charming but financially strapped bookshop in San Francisco. She also becomes caretaker for her ailing grandfather Andrew, her only living relative—not counting her scoundrel father.
But the gruff, deeply kind Andrew has begun displaying signs of decline. Natalie thinks it’s best to move him to an assisted living facility to ensure the care he needs. To pay for it, she plans to close the bookstore and sell the derelict but valuable building on historic Perdita Street, which is in need of constant fixing. There’s only one problem–Grandpa Andrew owns the building and refuses to sell. Natalie adores her grandfather; she’ll do whatever it takes to make his final years happy. Besides, she loves the store and its books provide welcome solace for her overwhelming grief.
After she moves into the small studio apartment above the shop, Natalie carries out her grandfather’s request and hires contractor Peach Gallagher to do the necessary and ongoing repairs. His young daughter, Dorothy, also becomes a regular at the store, and she and Natalie begin reading together while Peach works.
To Natalie’s surprise, her sorrow begins to dissipate as her life becomes an unexpected journey of new connections, discoveries and revelations, from unearthing artifacts hidden in the bookshop’s walls, to discovering the truth about her family, her future, and her own heart.
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A’ lovely story about a woman who leaves her corporate job to try to save her late mother’s San Francisco bookshop and care for her grandfather. Starting over is one of my favorite themes in a book…reinvention, going after something new, taking chances. I loved it, as I love all Susan Wiggs’ books.
This is a beautifully written book with wonderful characters you’ll really care about. Susan Wiggs has delivered a gem. No wonder it climbed up the bestseller lists so quickly!
The Lost and Found Bookshop by Susan Wiggs takes readers to San Francisco, California where the Harper family has the Lost and Found Bookshop in a historic building called the Sunrose Building. Natalie Harper is stunned when she learns that her mother and boyfriend died in a plane crash. She is now responsible for her mother’s beloved bookshop and her aging grandfather. I thought contained good writing and vivid descriptions. I enjoyed the word imagery of the bookshop, he beautiful historic building, and San Francisco. Bookshops are a magical place. I thought the characters were developed with my favorites being Grandy, Natalie’s grandfather, and Dorothy Gallagher, Peach’s adorable little girl. I enjoyed the relationship Natalie had with Grandy. He has the beginnings of dementia where he confuses Natalie with his deceased daughter, Blythe. Grandy’s memories are slipping away which bothers him. He wants to finish out his days in the building where he has lived his whole life. I liked Grandy’s compassion and wisdom. There are some great book references throughout the story. Love, devotion, letting go, and living life to the fullest are themes in the book. We get to see Grandy and Natalie move forward slowly after the death of Blythe. As we got to know Blythe from Grandy and Natalie’s reminisces, she seemed a woman who was full of life. Blythe was a happy person who thoroughly enjoyed the bookshop. I was not a fan of the foul language in the book and repetition (I got it the first time). I did feel that the ending felt rushed and I did not like that they had two of the characters smoking weed (it came out of nowhere). My favorite phrase from The Lost and Found Bookshop was “You’re never alone when you’re reading a book.” It was fascinating the items found within the walls of the shop and how the Harpers dealt with the objects. Grandy was a good man with strong convictions and values. I appreciated the epilogue which nicely wrapped up the book. The Lost and Found Bookshop is an easy-going story that is just the right type of book to read during the summer months. The Lost and Found Bookshop is a charming story with financial misfortunes, uncovered objects, a hurt heart, a grieving grandfather, dementia dilemma, and beloved books.
A wonderful exploration of the past and the future and, most importantly, of what it means to be present in the here and now. Full of the love of words, the love of family, and the love of falling in love, The Lost and Found Bookshop is a big-hearted gem of a novel that will satisfy and entertain readers from all walks of life. Lovely!
Sometimes one needs to be careful about what one wishes for. Natalie Harper’s wishes get granted in a way she never imagined. Along with a new job and a different life, Natalie struggles to find a new attitude to life as well. She inherits the job of running the Lost and Found Bookshop from her mother, Blythe, a carefree spirit that adored her job along with the task of looking after her aging grandfather suffering from cognitive issues.
The Lost and Found Bookstore, a quaint, independent family-owned bookstore, resides in the heart of San Francisco’s historic district. Distinctive details of family and building history trickle through the novel enriching the story further. The secondary characters; the beleaguered playwright, the struggling actor, and the song writing handyman, are engaging and unique, presenting a flip side to Natalie, who is a rather stalwart and serious individual.
Using every tool in her chest, Natalie works to try and save the failing bookstore. Struggling with her grief, her Grandy’s failing health, and what she feels are her own personal shortcomings, Natalie eventually comes to the conclusion that indeed “there was a book for everything.” Finding just the right book is the key.
Filled with family, courage, books, and love, this story is an amazing read. This book is one of my very favorite reads of 2020. Great for readers of contemporary women’s fiction!
This ARC copy was received from William Morrow and Netgalley.com. The above thoughts and opinions are wholly my own.
#TheLostAndFoundBookshop #NetGalley
I won this ARC copy in a Goodreads Giveaway. This is my honest review after reading it. Susan Wiggs has been an author in my TBR list for some time, but I had never gotten around to reading any of her books on my shelf until now. This was a wonderful story filled with interesting characters, family ties, and the love that binds them all together through some difficult times. Being an avid reader, I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the Lost and Found Bookshop, the Sunrose building and the history of the Harper family. I found myself rooting for Natalie on her unexpected and sometimes sad journey of dealing with her mother’s untimely death, inheriting a bookshop in financial straits, watching over her aging grandfather and finding her true self. I think you’ll enjoy immersing yourself in Natalie’s world too. I know I’m looking forward to reading those other books of Susan’s in my TBR pile now.
This is a warm and exiting story about making changes in your life and making the best of a bad situation.
Natalie lives in Napa and has a high level job for a wine company. When she finds out that her mother and her fiancé died in a plane crash, she goes back to her home in San Francisco to close up and sell her mother’s bookshop and take care of all the loose ends that her mother left in her life – Not just the bookstore and the financial situation but most importantly the care of her grandfather who is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. There is one major stumbling block to her plans – her grandfather still owns the bookshop and will not allow it to be sold so she decides to work to make the bookstore successful again and to get out from under the huge financial burden of the store.
Natalie grew up in an apartment above the bookstore and had always loved the store and books. She really wants to save the bookstore but there are lots of problems – minimal money, repairs that need to be done to the store, her grandfather’s diminishing mental state as well as her deep grief at the loss of her mother who was her best friend for her whole life. So Natalie decides to have her grandfather stay in his apartment in the bookstore and she moves into her mother’s apartment in the upstairs and with the help of the two bookstore employees, she starts looking for ways to make the bookstore more profitable.
This great book has all you need for a light summer read – a little mystery, a little romance, friendship and family and most of all BOOKS!
Wiggs hits you right in the heart and then helps you figure out how to deal with it. This is the perfect read for those looking for an escape and those looking for deep emotions.
Who wouldn’t want to own a bookshop? That is a dream job.
Natalie, Blythe’s mother, did follow her dream, but at times her dream was at the expense of her daughter.
A tragedy left Natalie with her mother gone, her beloved grandfather to care for, and a bookshop that her mother left deep in debt.
Since Natalie grew up with books, she wanted to try something else in her life instead of her successful, tedious job and took over the bookshop that had been in the family for three generations.
Natalie knew the ancient bookshop is where she should be, and she found more than books in this bookshop.
THE LOST AND FOUND BOOKSHOP has the reader following Natalie with her decisions about the bookshop and her life.
You’ll fall in love with the bookshop and all the characters.
Who doesn’t love a book that has a bookshop in it?
THE LOST AND FOUND BOOKSHOP is a sweet read focusing on family, life choices, and choosing what makes you happy.
If you need a feel good read, be sure to add this book to your must-read list for the summer.
THE LOST AND FOUND BOOKSHOP has it all: love, books, and anything sweet and heartwarming that you can think of.
ENJOY when you read it. 5/5
This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Susan Wiggs has been a favorite author of mine for over 20 years so when I first saw the beautiful cover for THE LOST AND FOUND BOOKSHOP, I knew I was going to love it! I mean, what could be better than a book set in a bookshop! And was I ever right…even beyond my wildest imagination! THE LOST AND FOUND BOOKSHOP is a heartwarming story about the Harper family (Andrew, his daughter Blythe and her daughter Natalie), the history of the Sunrose Building where they live and work and how the events of past generations that lived and worked in the building come to be so very important in the present.
The charming cast of characters grabbed me from the beginning and that includes the city of San Francisco! I’m partial to Grandy (Andrew) and his sweet relationship with his granddaughter Natalie who is the main character. Cleo, Bertie, Peach and his daughter Dorothy, among others, help to pull this story together in a special way as Natalie tries to find the right thing to do. I highly recommend this love story dedicated to independent booksellers to everyone who loves to read!
Thank you to The Book Club Girls, NetGalley and Susan Wiggs for the advanced copy.
We begin with Natalie Harper working a job she despises but views as a personal sign of success and security. A boyfriend she likes but does not love, a mother who is her polar opposite and a sense of frustration with her life in general.
In one fell swoop she loses her mom and boyfriend in a horrible accident. Natalie must return to the roots she left behind and figure out how to help her grandfather and save a failing business.
THE LOST AND FOUND BOOKSHOP is a magical place that brings back memories from Natalie’s childhood. And how her mother Blythe always knew the right book to recommend for each customer, and for her as well. But Natalie also learns how badly her mother handled the business end of things. Overdue bills, the building in serious disrepair and her granddad Andrew in a far more advanced state of dementia than she realized.
Natalie struggles to run the bookshop, repair the building and cope with Andrew’s failing health. With the help of handyman Peach, repairs are being made.
She loves running the shop and realizes she shares her mother’s passion for books and the knack of knowing who needed what book.
Each chapter uncovers a new adventure. And we learn more about her mom and grandfather, the history of the building and San Francisco.
Susan Wiggs is a wonderful storyteller. She makes even the minor characters come to life. With each page, the reader becomes more invested in the lives of Natalie, Andrew and Peach.
This is a beautifully written tale of love, loss and rediscovery. I will be reading Ms. Wiggs previous books based on THE LOST AND FOUND BOOKSHOP.
Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for the advanced copy.
I’ve never met a Susan Wiggs book that I didn’t love, but this book completely swept me away. I knew very little about the history of San Francisco, especially the time periods referenced in the story, but I now feel like I am intimately acquainted with Perdita Street, the whimsical Lost and Found Bookshop, and the enchanting cast of characters. By and large, I feel that this was more than a simple love story. It tells the beautiful love that grows between Natalie and Peach, but it also chronicles the love between a mother and daughter, a grandfather and his granddaughter, and a woman who learns to move past her grief and love herself. I cannot recommend it enough. I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and was under no obligation to write a review.
I am a huge fan of books about bookshops. So this book really appealed to me. There are so many emotions threaded through the pages … loss, love, insecurity, doubt, family. The characters are well developed and you find yourself drawn into their lives. Natalie and her grandfather, Andrew, will touch you deeply as you walk through their pain and loss and strong sense of family. And how can you not fall in love with Dorothy! While there is romance involved, it’s not over the top syrupy sweet. It was simply a plus to a story that will draw you in and have you crying, laughing, and cheering.
Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
What’s not to like in a book where a character sheds a drudge job, a beloved bookstore survives, treasures are found in walls, and really nice people fall in love with one another? The book, however, does not begin happily. Natalie Harper is in a job she hates but sticks with because it’s a reliable career and she is not a risk taker. But on the day of a huge promotion and announcement of a huge wine contract, Natalie’s mother (Blythe) and boyfriend (Rick) don’t show up. Turns out they were killed in a plane crash on their way to surprise Natalie at the Sonoma winery. So Natalie inherits a historic bookshop that’s deeply in debt, in arrears on its taxes, and falling apart from lack of maintenance. And this book promises a happily ever after ending. The Lost and Found Bookshop is an amazing book. Read it today!
This is an entertaining, well-written, women’s fiction novel. It has likable, engaging characters, the sadness of the death of a mother, the heartbreak of dementia, a mystery, family history, the love of books, a heart-warming romance, and a happily ever after ending. I listened to the audio version of this novel, and the narrator, Ms. Emily Rankin, has a lovely voice and does a wonderful job depicting the voices of the characters and their personalities.
The characters in this book are well drawn and true to life. The struggles that they endure throughout the book have the reader rooting for a happy ending, especially for Andrew. I loved all of the historical details about the building and the family and how Natalie came to see her life differently and realized what she truly wanted to be happy. The book is well written and once you start you won’t want to put it down.
I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Very good I will follow this author.
I’ve been reading Susan Wiggs’ books for a number of years. I don’t know that I’ve read any of her historical romances but I’ve read her contemporary romances and several of her stand-alone novels. I can’t decide if The Lost and Found Bookshop is my favorite but then I rarely can with any of the authors whose next book I eagerly await. Quite simply, I love a good story.
The Lost and Found Bookshop is almost a lot of things but not just any of those things. It’s almost a family drama, almost a tragedy, almost a romance, almost a best-friend story. To a degree, it’s all of those things but it’s more. There’s sadness and laughter and tension and introspection. The story is character-rich and the characters are real which is probably what I loved the most and why I now, once again, will grab the next novel by this author.
I was offered the opportunity to listen to the audio version of The Lost and Found Bookshop by Susan Wiggs. I haven’t listened to an audio book since I retired and I have to say I truly enjoyed it. I was lost for hours in another world in my head. I forgot to plan for dinner and live my own life. Honestly, this was such a good story and the narrator was fabulous.
I immediately fell in love with Natalie and her grandfather Andrew who was suffering from dementia. He was such a sweet man. Then there was the good looking handy man and his cute little daughter. Oh! There was the bookstore that resided in a building owned by Andrew’s family that was actually a few other businesses through the years.
This was a lovely story filled with history of family and San Francisco. Natalie experienced a few romantic relationships on her way to finding true love and happiness. If you like romance and historical fiction, I think you will love this book as much as I did.
This was a great summertime read. The book starts with the loss of Natalie’s beloved mother. She is heartbroken and comes back to live at her mom’s bookshop and take care of her aging grand father. She finds that the bookshop is riddled in debt and and the building is in need of of many repairs. Enter Peach Gallagher, who her mother had hired before she died to do some repairs. There seems to be some chemistry but Natalie keeps people at arms length. He has an adorable daughter Dorothy. She is so sweet. I love her character. I won’t say more. I do recommend this book. Heartbreaking at times. But sweet too!