Book Review: The Vintage Bookshop of Memories

The Vintage Bookshop of Memories is a novel by Elizabeth Holland, who you may know from her blog Anxiety & Liz.

The main character is 24-year-old Prue Clemonte. The book opens at her grandmother’s funeral. With her death, Prue becomes Lady of the Manor and owner of the village. Class tensions between Prue and the villagers play an important role in the book.

She also inherits her mother’s bookshop, which lends its name to the title of the book. In the bookshop, she finds her mother’s diary, which becomes involved in her quest to find the father she never knew.

Fashion is very present in the book. Prue has 1940s-era taste, and there are great outfit descriptions throughout the book. Throughout the book in general, the visual descriptions are very effective.

Although it’s set in the present day, the novel had a historical feel to it. In part that’s because of the class system, but also because it feels like a simpler time where the internet wasn’t the be-all and end-all. There are elements of romance and mystery. I liked Prue; she a capable woman who knows how to make things happen.

I enjoyed this book. It made for a pleasant escape from the world.

The Vintage Bookshop of Memories is available on Amazon (affiliate link).

You can find my other book reviews here, including Liz’s novella The Balance Between Life and Death.