The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods

 

"Lost is not a hopeless place to be. It is a place of patience, of waiting. Lost does not mean gone forever. Lost is a bridge between worlds, where the pain of our past can be transformed into power. You have always held the key to this special place, but now you are ready to unlock the door.             -from the novel

The title of this book seemed to call my name. 

Its dual timeline runs between 1921 and the 1940's with settings of London and Dublin. Opaline Carlisle (later Gray) at age 21 is trying to escape her brother who wants to force her into marriage when she finds work as an assistant in a bookshop. At the later time period Martha Winter is running away from an abusive marriage when she meets Henry Field, a scholar/researcher specializing in antiquarian books. These three strangers are connected over a mysterious vanishing bookshop.

Mentions of a lost manuscript of Emily Bronte made me curious as I'm not sure I've ever read any of her work.

I am not a fan of magical realism but in this novel, I found it intriguing along with various hints of family secrets waiting to be discovered. I liked The Lost Bookshop but didn't love it---a 3 rating.