The British Booksellers

Yesterday, Kristy Cambron released her latest historical novel, The British Booksellers. Inspired by the Forgotten Blitz bombings of WWII, this novel moves back and forth between the 1910s and 1940 as it depicts forbidden love and how war irrevocably impacted a young family in Coventry.

Special thanks to Kristy Cambron, Thomas Nelson, Austenprose PR, and NetGalley for the review copy of this book!

Summary

In the 1910s, Amos Darby and Charlotte Terrington were close friends and in love, but their different stations in life made a future together impossible. He was a farmer’s son, and she the daughter of an earl. In the end, Charlotte entered a loveless marriage with Will, the Earl of Harcourt, and together they had a daughter named Eden. But both Will and Amos soon went off to fight in WWI… and only Amos survived. Now it’s 1940, and another war looms over England. Charlotte and Amos are rival booksellers whose close relationship is trapped in the past. An American arrives in town, shaking things up with family secrets that go back decades. He may also be a love interest for Eden, now a young woman herself. But can she find love with him? Can Charlotte and Amos finally find love? Or will war once again tear them apart?

Review

I don’t often read books set during WWI or WWII, but some do still cut through and capture my interest. The British Booksellers is one such novel. Set in two timelines, 1914 and 1940, it depicts how an unlikely love was torn apart by war and how it would take another to potentially reunite them. It’s a long-overdue second chance at love, as well as an ode to appreciating literature and music.

Charlotte and Amos were never meant to be together back in the early 1910s. He was the son of a farmer, and she the daughter of an earl. She was meant to marry someone of her station, and Amos would never have been approved of by her family. Could they have made it work? They never got to find out then: Charlotte went on to marry an earl named Will, just as their families intended. But when Will and Amos went to the frontlines to fight in the Great War, only Amos would return home. And with Charlotte now a widow and mother, and with so much between them, she and Amos never rekindled what they once had.

Fast forward 25 years, and war is upon them again. Charlotte has raised her daughter Eden to be a strong young woman. They run their own bookshop, competing with the bookshop Amos runs. Indeed, he’s little more than a rival to them now, and Eden knows nothing of her mother’s background with him.

While Eden forms a tentative bond with an American solicitor who just arrived in town, Charlotte and Amos are thrown together for the first time in decades. There is so much to overcome, including secrets they’ve each kept about all that happened those many years ago.

One aspect I loved in The British Booksellers is the focus on literature. Both Amos and Charlotte are passionate readers with their own favorite authors and a desire to share books with those around them. I also enjoyed Charlotte’s love for music, specifically playing the cello. Her choice to play—or not play—is a significant theme in her relationships with both Will and Amos.

I also love how strong Charlotte and Eden are here. They are no shrinking wallflowers! They each speak their mind and make important decisions, often taking on leadership roles. The men here, conversely, get a bit more of their emotions on display. I especially appreciate how Amos’s PTSD, survivor’s guilt, and alcoholism are treated here.

Unlike in 1914, when the men made all the decisions and did all the fighting, in 1940, the women in England are shining for their vital contributions to the war effort. Charlotte and Eden do their part, and the men in their lives dutifully follow their lead and instructions. This flipped dynamic is part of how they overcome the regrets of their past.

Final Thoughts

The British Booksellers is a tender dual-timeline story with two romances, strong characters, and an emphasis on the real and forgotten parts of our recent history. If you want a book that offers a new perspective on the two World Wars, this is an excellent novel to pick up.

Get the Book

You can buy The British Booksellers here – it’s available as a paperback, ebook, and audiobook.

The British Booksellers by Kristy Cambron
Audience	Adult
Genre	Historical Fiction
Setting	England
Number of Pages	384
Format I Read	Ebook (NetGalley ARC)
Original Publication Date	April 9, 2024
Publisher	Thomas Nelson

Official Summary

Inspired by real accounts of the Forgotten Blitz bombings, The British Booksellers highlights the courage of those whose lives were forever changed by war—and the stories that bind us in the fight for what matters most.

A tenant farmer’s son had no business daring to dream of a future with an earl’s daughter, but that couldn’t keep Amos Darby from his secret friendship with Charlotte Terrington…until the reality of the Great War sobered youthful dreams. Now decades later, he bears the brutal scars of battles fought in the trenches and their futures that were stolen away. His return home doesn’t come with tender reunions, but with the hollow fulfillment of opening a bookshop on his own and retreating as a recluse within its walls.

When the future Earl of Harcourt chose Charlotte to be his wife, she knew she was destined for a loveless match. Though her heart had chosen another long ago, she pledges her future even as her husband goes to war. Twenty-five years later, Charlotte remains a war widow who divides her days between her late husband’s declining estate and operating a quaint Coventry bookshop—Eden Books, lovingly named after her grown daughter. And Amos is nothing more than the rival bookseller across the lane.

As war with Hitler looms, Eden is determined to preserve her father’s legacy. So when an American solicitor arrives threatening a lawsuit that could destroy everything they’ve worked so hard to preserve, mother and daughter prepare to fight back. But with devastation wrought by the Luftwaffe’s local blitz terrorizing the skies, battling bookshops—and lost loves, Amos and Charlotte—must put aside their differences and fight together to help Coventry survive.

From deep in the trenches of the Great War to the storied English countryside and the devastating Coventry Blitz of World War II, The British Booksellers explores the unbreakable bonds that unite us through love, loss, and the enduring solace that can be found between the pages of a book.