Book Review: The Toymakers by Robert Dinsdale

I am very pleased to bring you my review of The Toymakers by Robert Dinsdale.

Do you remember when you believed in magic?

An enchanting, magical novel set in a mysterious toyshop – perfect for fans of Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus and Stephanie Garber’s Caraval by way of Jessie Burton’s The Miniaturist

It is 1917, and while war wages across Europe, in the heart of London, there is a place of hope and enchantment.

The Emporium sells toys that capture the imagination of children and adults alike: patchwork dogs that seem alive, toy boxes that are bigger on the inside, soldiers that can fight battles of their own. Into this family business comes young Cathy Wray, running away from a shameful past. The Emporium takes her in, makes her one of its own.

But Cathy is about to discover that the Emporium has secrets of its own…

Well this is a novel like nothing else I have ever read!

Cathy Wray is a young woman with a secret. When she finds herself having to run away from her home and everything that she knows, she finds herself following an advert to a mysterious toy shop in London. It is here that she makes herself a new home, despite the shop only being open during the Christmas season. It is also here that she finds herself making a new family whilst discovering a multitude of secrets.

Papa Jack started The Emporium as a way to escape his past and protect his two sons. The magic he brings to his toys is truly unbelievable. And yet all you want to do is believe. But setting such a high standard can only bring a competitiveness between his sons that he would never have imagined.

What a magical novel! I was hooked from the beginning…stories of patchwork dogs that are so lifelike, and toy soldiers that can wage a war are fantastical, whilst also containing the human element. A real life war, a young women escaping a future that she has no control over – it contains a little something for everyone.

I really enjoyed this novel, and once I had finished it I could not quite understand why I had put off reading it for so long. It was whimsical whilst also being emotional. The magical elements force you to look back at your own childhood whilst wishing The Emporium had existed for us all.

I am more than happy to recommend this novel – there are dark elements to it, but you can’t help but be enchanted by The Emporium and its inhabitants.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this novel. All views and opinions are my own.

Book Review: Book Lovers by Emily Henry

I am so excited to bring you my review of this fabulous novel, Book Lovers by Emily Henry.

Nora is a cut-throat literary agent at the top of her game. Her whole life is books.

Charlie is an editor with a gift for creating bestsellers. And he’s Nora’s work nemesis.

Nora has been through enough break-ups to know she’s the one men date before finding their happy-ever-after. To prevent another dating dud, Nora’s sister has persuaded her to swap her city desk for a month’s holiday in Sunshine Falls.

It’s a small town straight out of a romance novel, but instead of meeting sexy lumberjacks, handsome doctors or cute bartenders, Nora keeps bumping into…Charlie.

She’s no heroine. He’s no hero. So can they take a page out of an entirely different book?

Brimming with witty banter, characters you can’t help but fall for and off-the-charts chemistry, BOOK LOVERS is Emily Henry’s best novel yet.

I feel like I barely need to talk about this book – it was the summer book of 2022 and quite rightly so! I am wildly late in providing you with my thoughts (because i’d like to think that you have already read it), but I’m here to give you my opinion nonetheless! If you’ve followed me for a while you will know that I read and loved Beach Read, so it was only natural that I would pick up Book Lovers. I am pleased to confirm that I was not disappointed!

Nora is a literary agent whose whole life revolves around books. Whilst being a literary agent may not have been her top choice of job, she is good at it. She has always needed stability in her life, and her job provides her with that. With her dating life being a bit of a bust, she has always found solace in her work.

Charlie is an editor who is renowned for the best sellers he creates. However following his first meeting with Nora it is clear that they would never get on, either personally or professionally!

When Nora and Charlie both find themselves unexpectedly in the small town of Sunshine Falls, they must find a way to get along because there is no way of avoiding each other in such a small town!

What a great book – Emily Henry has such a way with characters, as is evident in Book Lovers. Nora on first appearance may appear quite cold and calculating, but she is in fact a wonderful, well rounded character who loves her sister Libby fiercely. After a number of heartbreaks, she is clearly just trying to save herself from a broken heart by putting up walls to everyone but Libby. With Charlie, it is clear that you cannot judge a book by its cover. One bad day, one bad meeting, does not mean that you know him as a man. He attempts to hide his stresses and has the world upon his shoulders.

This is very much a character led novel, but the stereotypical small town setting works perfectly. I cannot recommend this novel enough – its an enemies to lovers novel that will be tough to beat!

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Purchase Links

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