I honestly am not quite sure what to make of this book. The Bookshop Below is by Georgia Summers and tells the story of Cassandra. She is a former thief who is currently in hiding and staying low as she was involved in something that went wrong a few months ago as well as having a violent disagreement with a current customer. Her life becomes even more complicated though when she receives a letter from Chiron, the man who raised her. He wishes for her to inherit his bookshop after he has passed, and he was just murdered. Not sure what to think, Cassandra travels to his bookshop only to realize that she is not the only one to receive such a letter. Lowell Sharpe, a fellow bookseller, also received a letter and is convinced that he would be the better option for the bookshop. Determined to prove herself, Cassandra accepts the bookshop and quickly discovers that all is not what it seems, both with the bookshop but also with the magic behind the bookshop. Now she has to figure out what is actually going on and how exactly Chiron was involved with all of it as well as finding a way to save the magic of the bookshop.
This book was almost exactly what the description led me to think it would be and yet it was also so much more than that in many ways. It was primarily a story about the magic of books and how that manifests in this particular world and yet nestled within that I saw so many other ones as well. There was Cassandra working on overcoming her horrific self-doubt as she was forced to accept something that she thought she would never have the opportunity for, namely owning Chiron’s bookshop, which also forced her to face her own past in the process. I don’t want to give too many spoilers but there were several other more minor storylines lurking in the background. Perhaps the most intriguing element though was the magic that was present in this world. I have seen similar concepts before but nothing quite like this one. The idea that you can simply read a book and will something into existence but only if you have the necessary skill and power and the book has the requisite power. It makes for an interesting concept and one that is not fully explained in the book. Honestly, I felt like there was a lot left unexplained about how all of that works. What little there is was scattered throughout the book and you have to pay attention to piece it together. It added an interesting extra layer of mystery to the story, in addition to the layers added by the plot. Definitely worth reading and something I highly enjoyed. It gets 4.5 out of 5 stars from me.
This is a great example of a fantasy novel and would hold the most appeal to readers who enjoy fantasy. I highly doubt it would hold any appeal to readers who don’t enjoy fantasy though. It is aimed primarily at adults and while there are some minor adult references I think it could potentially be read by older teens as well without any problems. There was little else that would be concerning so I would have no problems with it. I would consider it worth consideration for many fantasy readers so I hope you will consider trying it out. As always feel free to share your thoughts in the comments if you do.