On Goodreads there are always people who will talk about the books they DNF (did not finish). I have had a few that I have wanted to stop reading, but never have. Some of them I finish and think, “Well, that was crap!” Most of the time I stick with it, a book will end up ok. The book I feature today is one that I almost stopped because I’ve never really believed in some of the stuff mentioned.

The book is The Little Venice Bookshop by Rebecca Raisin.

Before I go on, let’s look at the brief Goodreads Synopsis:

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?

The story starts with a flashback of Luna and her mother. Her mom is a hippy wanderer. She travels the world going from place to place. Luna has that same free spirit, so naturally, she is also a wanderer. While on a trip with her best friend, her aunt calls with news that her mother has passed away and she needs to come home.

I’ve never been one who would put faith into tarot cards telling the future. I don’t believe in that kind of thing. I’m not going to make decisions by using a magic 8 ball. Luna’s character does. She speaks of that stuff, feeling the earth move, hearing a voice, etc… It’s very prominent in the beginning of the story. It was almost too much for me, and I almost topped reading the book because of it.

However, I stuck with it, and found the story to be very good. It read like a movie. It may have been made into a movie, I don’t know. I won’t go as far as saying it is like a Hallmark movie, because there is a bit more than that. It has a little romance (It’s Venice, of course it does), and mystery and a few surprises. It also is a story that answers the biggest question at the very end.

The author paints some really amazing pictures of Venice. It talks about the book shop being on a canal where a gondola drops you off at the door. I did a search and found that there is a bookshop like this in Venice and by the looks of it, it may be the inspiration for the shop in the story.

I’m glad that I stuck with it.

3.5 out of 5 stars