Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Review of The Lonely Hearts Book Club

The Lonely Hearts Book Club
VolunteerVal avatar reviewed on + 599 more book reviews


This is such a delightful novel! The title and cover convinced me to read The Lonely Hearts Book Club by Lucy Gilmore, and thank goodness they did. I'm adding this to my list of bookish novels that captured my heart

This story which begins with library employees and one of their patrons includes:

- a bookish curmudgeon
- intergenerational friendships
- found family
- quirky secondary characters
- complicated family relationships
- 'inside baseball' on library operations
- book club discussions

This novel kept surprising me in the best ways. I didn't realize the story would be told by several characters. I didn't expect teen parenting advice to be offered by an unlikely source. I didn't anticipate a subplot to remind me of Schitt's Creek. And I was definitely surprised by the depth and number of emotions this novel evoked.

I'm grateful to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for access to the audiobook narrated by Angie Kane. She brought each unique character to life and made it easy to follow the large cast.