#BlogTour – #BookReview of #TheBooksellersSecret by Michelle Gable @MGableWriter @Harper360UK @RandomTTours #RandomThingsTours

I’m pleased to welcome you today to my stop on the blog tour for intriguing historical novel The Bookseller’s Secret by Michelle Gable. Thank you to Anne Cater and Harlequin for giving me the opportunity to read and review this wonderful book.

About the book:

From New York Times bestselling author Michelle Gable comes a dual-narrative set at the famed Heywood Hill Bookshop in London about a struggling American writer on the hunt for a rumored lost manuscript written by the iconic Nancy Mitford—bookseller, spy, author, and aristocrat—during World War II.

“Gable’s witty narrative effortlessly moves between two time periods and is enriched with cameos by historical figures and authentic, memorable characters. Historical fiction fans will be riveted from the first page.” —Publishers Weekly (STARRED REVIEW)

In 1942, London, Nancy Mitford is worried about more than air raids and German spies. Still recovering from a devastating loss, the once sparkling Bright Young Thing is estranged from her husband, her allowance has been cut, and she’s given up her writing career. On top of this, her five beautiful but infamous sisters continue making headlines with their controversial politics.

Eager for distraction and desperate for income, Nancy jumps at the chance to manage the Heywood Hill bookshop while the owner is away at war. Between the shop’s brisk business and the literary salons she hosts for her eccentric friends, Nancy’s life seems on the upswing. But when a mysterious French officer insists that she has a story to tell, Nancy must decide if picking up the pen again and revealing all is worth the price she might be forced to pay.

Eighty years later, Heywood Hill is abuzz with the hunt for a lost wartime manuscript written by Nancy Mitford. For one woman desperately in need of a change, the search will reveal not only a new side to Nancy, but an even more surprising link between the past and present…

About the author:

MICHELLE GABLE is the New York Times bestselling author of A Paris Apartment, I’ll See You in Paris, The Book of Summer, and The Summer I Met Jack. She attended The College of William & Mary, where she majored in accounting, and spent twenty years working in finance before becoming a full-time writer. She grew up in San Diego and lives in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California, with her husband and two daughters.

Find her at michellegable.com or on Instagram, Twitter, or Pinterest, @MGableWriter.

My Review:

The Bookseller’s Secret by Michelle Gable is a dual timeline historical novel that gives a fictionalised account of novelist Nancy Mitford’s life as a bookseller, spy, author and aristocrat during World War 2. Set at Heywood Hill Bookshop in London and split between struggling American writer Kate in the present day and the iconic Nancy Mitford in 1942, I have to admit that this book was a bit of a slow burner for me at first, but once it had me it didn’t let go until the final page had been turned.

I was drawn to The Bookseller’s Secret as soon as I saw the gorgeous cover and, with the description enticing me in even further, I knew I simply had to read it. Full of intrigue and suspense, this historical novel is beautifully descriptive and brings Nancy Mitford, the once sparkling Bright Young Thing, vividly to life. The story moves seamlessly between Nancy in 1942 and Kate in the present day as she searches for the rumoured missing wartime manuscript written by the renowned author.

I love a dual timeline novel and this one did not disappoint. I know very little about the real Nancy Mitford so this fictionalised account of her life was an eye opening experience for me. Michelle Gable has done a wonderful job of bringing Nancy to life and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know her within the pages of this book. The Bookseller’s Secret is a well written, intriguing and suspense filled historical novel that I would recommend.

The Bookseller’s Secret by Michelle Gable is available to purchase now:

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