The Little Venice Bookshop by Rebecca Raisin: Book Review

The Little Venice Bookshop is the story of a woman who journeys to Venice to discover the secrets of her late mother. I enjoyed reading this book.

Acknowledgments:

Thank you to HQ Stories and Netgalley for the ARC of this book. The thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own.

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From The Publisher:

When Luna loses her beloved mother, she’s bereft: her mother was her only family, and without her Luna feels rootless. Then the chance discovery of a collection of letters in her mother’s belongings sends her on an unexpected journey.

Following a clue in the letters, Luna packs her bags and heads to Venice, to a gorgeous but faded bookshop overlooking the canals, hoping to uncover the truth about her mother’s mysterious past.

Will Luna find the answers she’s looking for – and finally find the place she belongs?

My Thoughts:

Luna is a nomad having travelled the world most of her life. As an only child, Luna and her mother would travel the world and live in female-based communes. When her mother passes away, Luna knows this long before the call she receives to alert her of this tragedy.

After returning to her mother’s latest home and community, Luna discovers a collection of letters written to a man in Venice full of mystery. When wanderlust strikes again, Luna is off to Venice with her best friend Gigi to try and solve the mystery behind the letters and perhaps find the father she has never known.

Her quest finds her at a Venice bookshop where she meets Giancarlo, the man named in the letters and the one who could be her father. She wants to establish a relationship with this man before asking the question. She is hired along with Oscar, an aspiring writer, to take care of the winter clean-up, and organize the bookstore.

Without giving anything away, the story is one of loss, friendship and family. While I was hoping for more of an immersed Venice setting, the story is moving and one that I enjoyed. I loved the quirky characters and the bookstore’s multiple resident cats (complete with literary names).

I recommend this book to those readers looking for a light women’s fiction or romance read.

What I Liked:

• The quirky, likeable characters
• The Venice bookstore setting
• The mystery behind the letters