March 15, 2015 / Leslie

Review & Giveaway: The Bookseller by Cynthia Swanson

The Bookseller
by Cynthia Swanson

Genre: Women’s Fiction
Publisher: Harper | March 2015
Format: Hardcover | 352 pages
Rating: 4½ of 5

From the Publisher:

A provocative and hauntingly powerful debut novel reminiscent of Sliding Doors, The Bookseller follows a woman in the 1960s who must reconcile her reality with the tantalizing alternate world of her dreams.

About the Story:

Kitty Miller co-owns a bookshop with her best friend, Frieda. This would be nothing out of the ordinary today, but the setting is Denver, 1962, and women were rarely in charge of running a business, much less being the owners. They defied conventional standards by being single women, having a career, and making their own decisions.

Kitty thought she was happy until she began having unusually vivid dreams of another life…

In the dreams it is 1963 and she is called Katharyn, not Kitty. She is married to a wonderful man, has a beautiful home, and lovely children. Her dreams are a pleasant diversion into a life she never imagined she would have. Before long she begins to wonder: which life is real and which one does she want to live.

Thoughts:

Chapters alternate between the two worlds, with Kitty discovering more and more about Katharyn’s life and comparing it to the differences in her own reality. The author sets up a few mysteries for Kitty to solve and at the same time hooks the reader (well, it hooked me anyway).

I enjoyed the story a lot, even though halfway through the book I could guess where it was heading. It was a little fluffy at times, but also compelling and entertaining in an un-put-down-able way. And while I suspected what was happening, I wanted to learn the details… and stayed up an hour too late to find out.

Win a copy of the book – US Only

Thanks to the publicist, I have one copy of The Bookseller to give away to a reader with a mailing address in the continental US. To enter, fill out the form below on or before March 25th. For an extra entry, tweet or blog the giveaway and include the link. I will draw a random winner who will be contacted by email and have 48 hours to respond.

[Giveaway has ended]

——————————–
Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
© 2015 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Advertisements appearing on this site are placed by WordPress and are not endorsed or approved by me.