First and foremost, this is love song to books and those who love reading them. Miranda Brooks, a Philadelphia history teacher, inherits a bookstore in L.A. from her beloved uncle who became estranged due to unexplained rift with her mother. Besides the bookshop, he's left her a series of literary clues in search her search for answers. Along the way, you will meet indelible characters remember why you love reading.

First and foremost, this is love song to books and those who love reading them. Miranda Brooks, a Philadelphia history teacher, inherits a bookstore in L.A. from her beloved uncle, Billy, who disappeared from her life after a mysterious rift with her mother. Besides the bookshop, he's left her a series of literary clues in aid of her search for answers. Along the way, you will meet indelible characters and remember just why you love reading. Charming and poignant coming-of-age story.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really ended up enjoying this read. The riddle/"mystery" part I figured out almost immediately but I was swept up by the portrayal of the relationships in this book. It was all so human and so raw. Really sheds light on the importance of communication and the importance of knowing when to look outside one's own experience and remind ourselves everyone else is also living out the pains and pleasures of existence. A good reminder to be compassionate, both with yourself and others.

If there are two things that will practically guarantee that I'll like a book, they are bookshops and family secrets. Well, this book has them both!

Miranda grew up in her eccentric uncle's bookstore. Then, following her 12th birthday, after a falling out with Miranda's mother, he disappears and is never heard from again. Years later, Miranda receives word that her uncle has died and left her his bookshop. From there, Miranda embarks on a sort of scavenger hunt that will ultimately uncover the family secrets that have been kept from her.

This was such a great read. The literary references throughout were so well researched. I think a lot of you will enjoy it.

Despite the fact I figured out the plot twist early on, I loved watching Miranda figure out the puzzle Billy laid out for her. This book moved at a wonderful pace and was hard to part with!

Miranda’s character was easy to like and dislike at the same time. She loved her Uncle Billy greatly, and the way she needed to feel connected to family was what made me like her as a character. However, Miranda goes through a series of events where she discovers what is true. Although, her responses were out of hurt and sadness. Her responses also made me dislike her as a character because she often forgets how many others are grieving just like her. I found joy in reading a book about Bookstore where the protagonist has to piece together clues about her beloved Uncle through a variety of literary classics.

I give it 4 because I guessed the big secret pretty early on. Also, Jay is a total frat boy and she never should have been with him so points are deducted because he was a waste of space and time.

MPSRC - Book about books/libraries (I took a little artistic license here. I'm not sure it was about books, but they played such a large role in the story that I felt it made the mark.)

1 3/4 stars I had a terrible time deciding how to rate this book. Ultimately, it has become my first (and hopefully only) book with an X 3/4-star rating. But that's squarely where it falls, b/c for me it was not quite OK. I loved the premise. The writing was good enough. To me it failed in characters and execution.

As many readers have noted, most - if not all - of the characters were unlikable. For the minor characters this didn't matter so much, because they weren't fleshed out enough for it to make a difference. But Miranda...I've said before that I don't necessarily need to like characters to like a story, but here Miranda was supposed to be sympathetic. It's her story, her history, her hurts that are supposed to resonate. But she treats everyone around her so poorly that I just couldn't get there. She made it overly obvious that she cared about, felt for no one but herself. This could have been a lovely story where a bunch of broken characters muddled through together. Instead, there were so many times that the people around her attempted to reach out, to help (or to ask for help), but she just couldn't see beyond herself to the fact that others were hurting too. For the most part the other characters let her do it. The only one who called her on it was Malcom. At one point he told her flat out "this isn't all about you", or something similar. I thought that moment might lead to some self-realization and growth, but no. It just faded into the background.

The other problem I had was with the mystery, the game. Don't get me wrong, I loved the literary references strewn throughout the story. My problem with the mystery was the the "clues" were too convoluted and disconnected. Too tangential. There was no way for the reader to follow them until Miranda explained them, and that took all the fun out of the game. It also made the story drag, b/c most of the time Miranda was off bemoaning the ways that someone in her life hadn't lived up to her expectations. I figured out the mystery pretty quickly, without the aid of the clues. Still the game dragged on, and in the end I grew weary well before it ended.

The nugget - A well-ish written story with lots of fun literary references that should have been fun, but instead got bogged down by an unlikable protagonist. Not sorry I read it, but if I had it to do over again, I'd pass.