The Last Bookshop In London by Madeline Martin

The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin

Published by Hanover Square Press ISBN 9781335284808

Trade paperback, $16.99, 251 pages

While there seems to be so many novels set in WWII, Madeleine Martin's The Last Bookshop in London feels like a fresh take on the genre.

Grace and her best friend Viv have left behind their lives in the country for what they hope will be the excitement of living in the big city of London. They move into the home of Grace's late mother's friend, Mrs. Weatherford, and her kindhearted son Colin.

Viv is able to get a job at Harrod's glamorous department store, but the only job Grace can get is at Primrose Hill, a local bookstore. Grace is not a reader, and she is taken aback at the disarray and disorganization of the store.

Mr. Evans, the owner of the bookshop, reluctantly takes Grace on as an employee on a temporary basis as a favor to Mrs. Weatherford. Grace gets to work cleaning and organizing the shop, and when handsome George comes in and suggests she read The Count of Monte Crisco to begin her education, Grace is smitten.

When England declares war on Germany after the invasion of Poland, things in London change. Colin and George are off to war, Viv leaves to join the war effort, but Grace stays behind with Mrs. Weatherford. Grace becomes a warden at night, walking the neighborhood to ensure that everyone follows the blackout envelop you as you read.

Soon the Germans begin nightly bombing runs over England, known as the Blitz. Each night the residents  of London would take cover in the underground subway tunnels while German planes bombed civilian targets in the city, destroying it piece by piece. Martin immerses the reader in this terrorizing nightly ritual alongside the London residents.

One night, Grace begins to read aloud to her neighbors in the Underground, which becomes a balm to them. She takes to afternoon readings in the bookshop, and people pack the store to hear her.

As someone who works at a bookstore, I truly enjoyed Grace's evolution of the shop. She creates marketing ideas, including participating in the National Book Token system. People were encouraged to buy book tokens that people could take into bookstores to exchange for books, like a gift cards. I had not heard of this, and I loved it.

Madeline Martin does such a brilliant job putting the reader into this neighborhood in London, which was a character in the book, as was the bookshop. We understand the importance of the bookshop as a refuge from war to the community, and how the community comes together when the bookshop needs them. 

I highly recommend The Last Bookshop in London for anyone who loves bookstores and a good WWII story told from a fresh perspective. 

Thanks to Harlequin Books for putting me on Madeline Martin's tour.

Find Me in Havana by Serena Burdick

Find Me In Havana by Serena Burdick

Publsihed by Park Row Books ISBN 9780778389361

Trade paperback, $17, 352 pages

I'm a big fan of novels that feature real people, and Serena Burdick's novel Find Me In Havana tells the story of Estelita Rodriguez, a Cuban actress from the 1950s with whom I was unfamiliar.

Young Estelita came to the United States when she was fifteen years old with her mother. She began as a singer, but her mother Maria encouraged her to become an actress, so they moved to Hollywood where Estelita worked primarily in movie Westerns.

Find Me In Havana tells a fictionalized account of Estelita's life in letters between Estelita and her young daughter Nina. While Estelita spends her time working and socializing with John Wayne and Angie Dickinson, Nina spends her time alone with her grandmother or at her Catholic boarding school near her home.

Nina wants her mother's attention, but Estelita's work consumes her.  Nina's father, popular Mexican singer Chu Chu Martinez who hasn't seen Nina in years, shows up at her school and takes Nina to Mexico, telling her that Estelita no longer wants her. Estelita is distraught, and plots a way to rescue her daughter.

The story moves back to Cuba, where Estelita's father has been taken by the revolutionary forces of Fidel Castro. Estelita, Maria, and Nina go to Cuba, where they find Estelita's sisters and their young children living together in the family home. The men who have not been taken by the revolutionaries have fled to Miami, leaving the women alone.

Soldiers have invaded the home, including Che Guevara. With no men to protect them, the women and children are at the mercy of the soldiers. They have been told not to harm Estelita, as she is their ticket to getting the United States on their side.

The section of the book set in Cuba is the most captivating. Nina enjoys spending time with cousins she has never met, and Estelita revels in being back home with her sisters. The soldiers, however, soon become less amenable, and they become hostile and violent to the women.

One of the themes of this novel is that women, particularly of this time, were at the mercy of men. Nina watched as her four-times-married mother "appeased the good men, hoping they'd stay with you; placated the bad ones hoping they wouldn't hurt you." In the end, it didn't serve Estelita.

I found Estelita's story fascinating, and even more so when I realized that the author exclusively interviewed her daughter Nina. It adds such authenticity to this novel. If you enjoy novels based on real people as I do, Find Me In Havana is one to put on your to-be-read list. I will be looking for more information on the life of Estelita Rodriguez.

Thanks to Harlequin Books for putting me on their Historical Fiction Winter Blog Tour.