- ISBN10 1489290338
- ISBN13 9781489290335
- Publish Date 1 October 2019
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country AU
- Imprint Harlequin
- Format eBook (EPUB)
- Pages 284
- Language English
Reviews
Terri M. LeBlanc
I received this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
layawaydragon
About The Library of Lost Things:
IMHO: The Library of Lost Things
The Library of Lost Things is lovely. I immediately fell in love with Darcy and her BFF Marisol. They're arty opposites that get each other and activate growth in each other, but don't try to change each other's fundamental nature. I appreciate the introvert staying the introvert & no one treating it as the end of the world.
Her Mr. Darcy romance is far more understandable and endearing, which won me over faster than any other Mr.Darcy before.
I'm not a Peter Pan fan, but I've never read the book either. Those quotes with the mystery squibbler were interesting and illustrated how whatever book you're reading affects your life at the time.
The Rundown:
- I love this take on Mr. Darcy’s unpleasantness
- The bookstore, its persnickety owner.
- The wig shop next door and its owner as well
- Tea time dress up breaks
- BFFs
- Marisol & her fam!
- Anxiety attacks
- Hoarding, but clean
- Accidental disability
- High school play - Much Ado About Nothing
- Chill parties at the beach and an airplane hanger
- Love how the break up & new relationship jump worked out
- Reading recommendations at the end!
- Great, complex and growing mother daughter relationships
- Didn't see the mystery scribbler reveal coming
- Did figure her moms was hiding something, but didn't affect my reading & enjoyment
Perfect for YA contemporary fans of all ages & kinds. Sweet and understanding romance that blooms with the introverted book nerd heroine.
Favorite Quotes from The Library of Lost Things:
The circle never broke. We lived in a home strung across tightropes.
“Darcy with a heartshaped face.” She tapped one finger on my chest. ”And a book-shaped heart.”
“But if you’re about to do something questionable and stupid and brilliant and cunning, you’re not doing it without me.”
Not after a night where I’d had to curl my toes around the edge of a towering sea cliff, an ocean of my secrets below.
Or was I just fooling myself--trying to craft a rightful heroine out of a sneaking thief?
“Sometimes you need to do more for yourself than just manage.”
“Darcy, I won’t tell you to break a leg. That’s not good enough. Break an entire body.” But hopefully, not my heart.
So many times, I’d read about hurt, but now it stood at my feet with a heartbeat.
Extraordinary. I’d heard that word before, from lips I trusted more.
About the Author:
Giveaway of The Library of Lost Things:
Prize: Win a copy of THE LIBRARY OF LOST THINGS by Laura Taylor Namey (INT)
Starts: 8th October 2019
Ends: 22nd October 2019
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Tour Schedule:
Don't forget to come back this Wednesday the 16th for my review + favorite quotes of Rin Chupeco's The Never Tilting World.This review was originally posted on The Layaway Dragon
whisperingchapters
Darcy lives for books. She's the definition of a booknerd. A quality that Darcy has is she memorizes stories from beginning to end--she can quote almost any book. To Darcy, her books are her comfort zone and the escape she needs from real life. Unfortunately, real life is becoming too real. Her living and financial situations are both threatened and she's basically the one that has to carry the heavy burden.
I felt so much for this beautiful character. Darcy is dealing with so much and she's still going forward, one step at a time. Thankfully, she has the support of her best friend, Marisol, and her bff's family. I have to point out that I felt like I was one of Marisol's family members because how the author described this family is exactly how Puerto Rican families are. We are loud, we are always eating, we are a whole bunch of people. But when you're introduced to the family, you're one of us for life. The author was able to portray this so well and so vividly. I give her all the kudos!
Then we have Asher, a beautifully broken guy who's trying to move forward from the accident that cost him his dream of becoming a pilot. When he came into Darcy's life, he was still dealing with the emotional pain, but he was still able to be there for Darcy, show her there's more to life, give her a different perspective from the angle she was looking at situations, teach her about the magic that is speed reading, and ultimately, give her all of his support through everything she was dealing with.
I totally enjoyed Asher and Darcy together. They were made for each other! And I just loved how sweet the slow-burn was, seeing them become friends and ever so slowly seeing them grow closer to one another until a romance starts blooming.
One of the aspects of the story that touched my heart was the mental illness Darcy's mother was dealing with. I have never read a book on hoarding before and never really understood much of it until now. I believe the author did a wonderful job in enlightening the reader on this particular Mental Health. It broke my heart to read about someone going through something like this, especially Darcy. She wasn't the one hoarding, but this still affected her life in so many ways. What broke my heart even more was when her mom confessed why she began hoarding in the first place. Ugh, my heart broke in pieces. I just wanted to hug both of them.
Overall, The Library of Lost Things is truly beautiful and insightful. I have nothing bad to say about it. The rating I'm giving the book is more a, "It's not you, it's me." I still very highly recommend this because I know it will resonate with so many readers!
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Sam@WLABB
How could I resist a book-loving character? I found it so easy to connect with Darcy as a book lover, and adored all the quotes and word games Namey incorporated into the story. I also found her really simple to empathize with, as she was a child being forced to assume the adult role in her home due to her mother’s struggle with mental illness. But, what I enjoyed most, was seeing Darcy slowly remove her protective barrier and begin to let more people into her life. She expanded her social circle, spread her wings via theatre, and even made an effort to make peace with her father’s absence. All of these were HUGE steps for this rather introverted bookworm, and I was so proud of her.
Luckily, Darcy had a fantastic group of supporting characters to help her with this process. Best friends, Marisol, and her family, seemed to be a steady source of comfort and encouragement for Darcy. They had been giving her love and support for many years, and simply just oozed love and acceptance. Her boss and his ex-wife were also very pro-Darcy, and I couldn’t imagine how much harder things would have been for her had they not been part of her life.
One of the biggest catalysts for her life changes was Asher. This lovely boy was trying to rebuilt his life after a car accident left him bodily broken with his future hanging in limbo. He was sort of lost and adrift, when he stumbled into Darcy’s life, but he was able to offer her friendship and a different perspective, as he gently encouraged and supported her throughout her latest setback.
I enjoyed all the personal development Darcy experienced over the course of this book, but I was here for the romance. I am happy to report, it did not disappoint. It was obvious from their first meeting, that Asher and Darcy were a fabulous pairing, but there were quite a few obstacle they had to overcome, before they could head off hand-in-hand to romance land. Because of that, it was a rather slow burn, but I enjoyed every delicious second of it.
I would be remiss, if I did not mention how well I thought Namey approached Darcy’s Mother’s illness. It’s not that I have not read other YA books featuring hoarding, but I think this was the first to not just describe the physical side of it, but also, talk a bit about the mental side of hoarding. I like that therapeutic approaches were discussed, as well as, the different types of hoarders that exist. The author also clearly depicted how the hoarder, as well as their loved ones, were affected by this disorder. My heart ached for Darcy as she battled with her love for her mother and her hatred of the hoarding. Needless to say, this was a rather complicated mother-daughter relationship, which I believe was done quite well.
Overall: This was a lovely and touching story, which incorporated romance, friendship, forgiveness, mental health, and books in a captivating way. A stellar debut, which has me looking forward to more from this author.
*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.
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