Published by Thomas Nelson on April 9, 2024
Genres: Fiction, Christian, Historical, Romance
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
Inspired by real accounts of the Forgotten Blitz bombings, The British Booksellers highlights the courage of those whose lives were forever changed by war—and the stories that bind us in the fight for what matters most.
A tenant farmer’s son had no business daring to dream of a future with an earl’s daughter, but that couldn’t keep Amos Darby from his secret friendship with Charlotte Terrington . . . until the reality of the Great War sobered youthful dreams. Now decades later, he bears the brutal scars of battles fought in the trenches and their futures that were stolen away. His return home doesn’t come with tender reunions, but with the hollow fulfillment of opening a bookshop on his own and retreating as a recluse within its walls.
When the future Earl of Harcourt chose Charlotte to be his wife, she knew she was destined for a loveless match. Though her heart had chosen another long ago, she pledges her future even as her husband goes to war. Twenty-five years later, Charlotte remains a war widow who divides her days between her late husband’s declining estate and operating a quaint Coventry bookshop—Eden Books, lovingly named after her grown daughter. And Amos is nothing more than the rival bookseller across the lane.
As war with Hitler looms, Eden is determined to preserve her father’s legacy. So when an American solicitor arrives threatening a lawsuit that could destroy everything they’ve worked so hard to preserve, mother and daughter prepare to fight back. But with devastation wrought by the Luftwaffe’s local blitz terrorizing the skies, battling bookshops—and lost loves, Amos and Charlotte—must put aside their differences and fight together to help Coventry survive.
From deep in the trenches of the Great War to the storied English countryside and the devastating Coventry Blitz of WWII, The British Booksellers explores the unbreakable bonds that unite us through love, loss, and the enduring solace that can be found between the pages of a book.
The one place I have always wanted to go is the National WWII Museum in New Orleans…and promptly spend a week inside its walls. My father instilled in me a love of history from a young age; I can’t count the number of museums we’ve visited. I have flown in a B-17 Flying Fortress and a PT-17 Stearman. A novel that combines WWI, WWII, and books?! I couldn’t read The British Booksellers by Kristy Cambron fast enough. Cambron is a talented writer who seamlessly crosses timelines. The characters in her newest work captured my heart from the first page.
The British Booksellers exemplifies the resilience of the British people during the Blitz. I read a book a few years ago called The Bomber Mafia by Malcolm Gladwell. In it, he talked about how the bombings became “just another day.” The British Booksellers demonstrates this, in a way, but also shows how people bonded together. Now older in age, Amos and Charlotte are rival booksellers rather than spouses; marriage had once been a youthful dream. When the bombs come down, they put aside their differences to help their community recover. Nightmares from the Great War still haunt Amos, enough that he always keeps a flask in his boot. As the book progresses, Cambron takes readers on a journey through Charlotte and Amos’s pasts, their presents, and their futures—and those of the people they hold dear.
This was my first Kristy Cambron book, and I will definitely read more. She paints beautiful pictures, creates heartfelt characters, and she provides a satisfying plot that leaves readers wanting more. The British Booksellers by Kristy Cambron is not thrilling. It isn’t a novel that will leave you on the edge of your seat, screaming “WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?!” like your life depends on it. For me, Cambron kept me engaged by her storytelling. I felt like I could’ve been listening to my grandmother, recalling the stories of her friends. The novel flows like a freshwater stream, drawing you in for its refreshing coolness on a hot day. The history, the romance, the characters—The British Booksellers is a beautiful novel.