Stephanie Sullivan: Review - The Lonely Hearts Book Club

February 01, 2023

TITLE: The Lonely Hearts Book Club

RATING: ★★★★

RELEASE DATE: April 4th, 2023

Summary (from Goodreads): Sloane Parker lives a small, contained life as a librarian in her small, contained town. She never thinks of herself as lonely...but still she looks forward to that time every day when old curmudgeon Arthur McLachlan comes to browse the shelves and cheerfully insult her. Their sparring is such a highlight of Sloane's day that when Arthur doesn't show up one morning, she's instantly concerned. And then another day passes, and another.

Anxious, Sloane tracks the old man down only to discover him all but bedridden...and desperately struggling to hide how happy he is to see her. Wanting to bring more cheer into Arthur's gloomy life, Sloane creates an impromptu book club. Slowly, the lonely misfits of their sleepy town begin to find each other, and in their book club, find the joy of unlikely friendship. Because as it turns out, everyone has a special book in their heart—and a reason to get lost (and eventually found) within the pages.

REVIEW: This was my first time reading this author’s work, and I LOVED it. I’m a librarian, so I was instantly attracted to the plot, since Sloane is a librarian, and the many book references and book quotes throughout the story thrilled this old librarian’s soul. The book has five different viewpoints, and at first I thought this might be a little confusing, but it actually adds the perfect amount of depth to the story, and you get to know these five very different people on a more intimate level. All of these distinct personalities culminate into a thought-provoking, soul-stirring read that will grab your heart and not let go. (I was a sobbing mess by the time I finished the last few chapters). I would highly recommend this book to everyone, and I look forward to reading more of Lucy Gilmore’s work in the near future.

(DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this title from NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.)