REVIEW: “The Story People” by Heather Kaufman

 

About the Book...

*Title: The Story People

*Author: Heather Kaufman

*Genre: Contemporary Christian Romance

*Series: No, a standalone novel.

*Recommend for: ages 15+

My Personal Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐

📖Synopsis

When Ben Palermo inherits his uncle's bookstore, he has a secure career and a built-in home, but he doesn't have contentment. As Ben looks ahead to the next chapter of his life, some well'meaning customers scheme to keep him in town by finding him a proper wife-on their terms. The moment author and illustrator Rosemary Berg walks into his store, Ben is captivated. And she is overwhelmed by his disarming charm and eerie familiarity. but can she trust him? Or should she turn instead to an old friend who is finally ready to claim her heart? The Story People is a celebration of stories and the bond they form when shared and loved. It's about having the courage to live your own story well as you give your life over to God, the author and perfecter of our faith.

💭My Thoughts 

“The Story people have lived here for ages,” the boy says. “They moved in when the books moved in.” 

“Where are they now?” The girl looks frightened. 

“They’re out in the bookstore gathering stories.”

If I could, I would perhaps give this 4.25 stars-I really enjoyed this sweet contemporary Christian romance! 🥰 But as one reviewer said, this book is more than a love story between a man and a woman- it is a love story between people and books.

I loved the little quirks of this book- such as the fact that there’s a snippet of another story at the beginning of each chapter, and as the book progresses they beautifully intertwine. Or that the last line of a chapter is the chapter title. Things like that added immensely to the story for me.

The attraction between Ben and Rosemary was admittedly a little quick, however, they were attracted to each other’s personalities rather than their physical appearances, which is something I always notice and appreciate. There were also a couple brief moments that the romance was a little much for my personal taste, but if you are someone who enjoys romance more than I, you would probably squeal in delight over the parts that made me slightly roll my eyes. 😅

There were SO many humorous parts throughout, particularly relating to the old lady characters, that had me cracking up. As well, this book probably had more misunderstandings between characters in it than any other book I’ve read- some were hilarious, some not so hilarious.

There are two minor reasons that I don’t give this book 5 stars; one, as aforementioned, the romance was occasionally a little too much for me as someone who just isn’t the biggest romance fan. And two, there was almost a love triangle of sorts, and while it went how you would expect, I was just a tad disappointed at how a certain character was dealt with- it seemed a bit rushed, and while they reconciled to a degree, I would have liked to see him find love, too 🥺

That being said, altogether I still greatly enjoyed this book. It was unique, sweet, thoughtful, humorous, imaginative, bookish, and I would recommend it to many people!

“After all, a room is just a room until it is made alive by imagination. And a book is just a book until it is opened and loved.”

Read for…

💕A story about stories

💕Childhood wonder and make believe

💕Winsome writing style

💕Bookstore owner MMC and author FMC dynamic

💕Adorable contemporary Christian romance

💕Strong faith content

💕Matchmaking 

💕Hilarious old lady characters and their antics 

💕Many, many misunderstandings 

⚠️ Broad content notes

Loss of loved ones and grief touched on; Divorce and mentions of parents fighting and shouting at each other, and the father abandoning the family; attraction, noticing, kisses (one or two lightly descriptive) and wanting to kiss; No language, only occasional phrases like “Heaven help us” and “Good heavens.”

🌼 Was this review helpful? Please consider following The Boundless Bookshelf!

Bookishly yours, 

Lottie M.