A good story, a little mysterious a little sad The life lesson analogy fairy tail stories were especially well written ( )

This was just a genuinely sweet book. The main character was lovable but also someone you could really respect. (I like how she knew she needed to change but she finished her commitments first. Maturity.) The supporting characters were all lovable, too. The Father was horrid---his scenes made me sick---but there was no raunchy anything and hardly any language.

I can't fully recommend it as it has some unBiblical elements promoted in a positive way, but I got a lot out of it and really appreciate the opportunity to enjoy the story. ( )

Wow. I so wanted to like this book. The thought of a librarian finding a mysterious book and tracing her family back and finding out secrets was an enticing one. What’s not to love about libraries?

Well. I hated it. I finished it because I thought the secret might be worth finding out about but it was a mess. The main character is a pathetic woman given to endless whining. Her older sister is a complete bitch who unconvincingly has a turn around at the end. The library patrons are all impossible and unlikeable, demanding favours from Martha (main character) like doing their laundry and mending clothes, etc etc. Ridiculous.

To add insult to injury, the book is filled with all these twee ‘stories’ - meant to be fables- that Martha and her grandmother tell each other. Martha’s child speech is completely wrong. Her grandmother is a cliche of a wild woman, saying shocking things and dressing always in turquoise. Of course she’s a lesbian. Of course she is dying of brain cancer.

For fun she reads the stories from the book she put together of both she and Martha’s tales (no credit to Martha, mind) out loud and then drops the book onto the ground with a “read me I’m yours” sticky note.

It’s not like the stories are anything special but we are supposed to believe people wander off and are changed.

Strange things happen in the book- a lot of ‘not speaking to’ moments which drag out the story far beyond any need. Martha almost gets drowned, spends days away from home and job and no one cares. By that point, I didn’t care.

And the earth-shattering secret, keeping everyone apart for 30 years is so banal I felt cheated.
We won’t talk about the editing errors and places where things are revealed more than once...

Gave a few stars because I hear the author is a well-published writer but this was a disappointment. ( )

I didn't like any of the characters (even the MC Martha) enough to keep reading. It feels like there's a sweet story about finding yourself here, but I don't have the patience to get to that point. ~ DNF @ 19%

Martha Storm helps everyone, sometimes even when they don't need it. It makes her feel needed but she really just feels invisible. A book of fairy tales with an unusual dedication sends her digging in the past only to discover a whole new life in the rubble. Another wonderful, poignant story from Phaedra Patrick. ( )

Lovely book. Great characters and interesting situations. ( )

Her books have similar themes but the characters are appealing. ( )

Honestly, it took a bit to get into the book. It may have just been me, or the gratuitous descriptions of minute details, but it just took a minute. Also, the back of the book was misleading, because for some reason the version I have just says "[Martha's] best friend" instead of "her best friend - her grandmother Zelda," which did change my expectations for the book a little. Still, I enjoyed it. Zelda is a firecracker, and I liked how well set up the reveal was, with all the early on references to various city life. The dad was straight-up abusive though, so I'm glad he never truly got redeemed. And I'm glad that Martha was given a chance to mourn and release the life she could have had with Joe, rather than just having her brush it aside and/or ignore it. I also loved that Zelda was queer and in a relationship with a woman. Bonus points for that. I loved Martha's growth in the story, and how she learns to listen to her needs instead of everyone else's. It's definitely a book that I would recommend to people pleasers everywhere. ( )

Cute, heartwarming story about a librarian in a small town who finds love in unexpected places. ( )

Martha was only 45 but I really thought she was much older. She reminded me of a spinster probably because she led a very lonely life working as a volunteer as a library assistant and took in chores for others.

There were a lot of secrets in this book that came out with her late parents, her Nana, and her sister. Martha finally got her act together and decided to do more for herself than others.

Overall, it was a fast, good read. ( )

Definitely cozy and s little bit mystery. Cute story. ( )

I breezed through this book as I could relate to the main character, despite not liking her very much. Martha lives her life for other people and has no clue how to carve her own wants, needs and desires into her days. This book tells the story of her self-discovery which I found satisfying. ( )

3.75 stars
It's a nice story that you don't need to focus on, somewhat uplifting.
It's certainly not amazing but it's still pretty decent.
Martha Storm isn't very social, she loves books and does more for others than she does for herself.
She has no partner, her parents are dead, she has a critical sister.
The realistic situation of losing time for yourself for others really highlights the struggles endured.
Martha was annoying at times, she was so spineless and just let everyone walk all over her, the way her not knowing how to do makeup was portrayed so odd, same with the friendship.
For someone so invested in helping others, the friendship foreign feeling was odd to say the least.
I really hated the Father and was waiting for someone to realise how abusive he is, but Martha, strong as a child, became so meek as an adult.
She grows throughout the story though, also the mystery was quite intriguing and I read this in one sitting!
Somewhat enjoyable but certainly not fantastic. ( )

An entertaining story about a woman who stops living her life for other people and starts living for herself. Reminded me a little of Major Pettigrew's Last Stand. ( )

Digital audio performed by Imogen Church

Martha Storm volunteers at the local library and would love to have a permanent paid position there. She has a degree in English literature and has applied several times, but the man in charge prefers “younger apprentices.” She’s clearly unappreciated, but soldiers on. And then one day a book of fairy tales is left for her, and she discovers that it is dedicated to HER by her late grandmother. As she tries to puzzle out where the book came from and how it came to be in her possession, she uncovers family secrets.

Patrick writes quirky characters with hidden secrets very well. These are nearly broken people who keep their heads down and try to exist without much support or joy in their lives. And yet …

My heart broke for Martha … especially for the Martha who was a child clearly on the outs with her parents and sister. When she finally uncovers the full truth behind the book of fairy tales, and her life, she gains a new sense of herself and the possibilities she’s longed for are finally in her reach.

This is the second book by Patrick that I’ve read. Both were heart-warming and enjoyable.

Imogen Church does a find job of voicing the audiobook. She sets a good pace and has clear diction that is easily understood even when listening at increased speed. ( )

Meh. It's not bad, just average in the statistical sense. The story wasn't what I expected from the blurb; not because it was misleading, but rather because my inference of it was of a story altogether different.

The story was never bad enough (or really, bad, though the writing wasn't strong enough to follow on the heels of Dorothy Sayers) to DNF it, but I didn't really care much about the main character, or anyone in her orbit. I suspect this is supposed to be a tear jerker, but at no point did I feel even the slightest tug; my tear ducts remained unmoved and indifferent from beginning to end. I also suspect it's plot twist is supposed to have packed an emotional punch, but honestly, this particular plot twist is practically a cliche at this point.

The MC's 85 year old grandmother is gay. Whoopty doo.

As I said, it's not a bad book; it just wasn't really my jam.

It did, however, have a large number of scenes that take place in a library, and the MC volunteers at said library, so I got a monopoly square out of it, and of course another book off my TBR. ( )

When librarian Martha is left a book with an inscription appearing to be from her grandmother - who died three years before that inscription! - she must find out what is going on. Her parents had told her that her grandmother, Zelda (who never got along with Martha’s father, but she and Martha were two peas in a pod) had died. Not only that, the book consists of many stories that Martha herself had written when she younger; Martha hasn’t written since her grandmother died. This leads to the uncovering of many family secrets.

I really enjoyed this. I listened to the audio, and I thought it was done well. I did lose a bit of interest in the stories that Martha had written (but “stories within stories” tend to do that with me… not usually interested, I skim). I did find the rest of it – the family relationships and secrets interesting, though I did guess at one of them, but that didn’t take away my enjoyment of the book. ( )

This was a quite an interesting book as a woman looks back over her life and that of her family and friends. Not a lot happens so if you are looking for a plot driven book this isn't for you. But if you want to discover a family mystery and watch the characters grow along the way this might be the book for you. ( )

Just not a book I devoured. At times it was difficult to keep reading as Martha was not an exciting character. ( )

Although the story moved rather slowly, it pulled you in because you needed to find out WHAT was happening and how a conclusion could be reached. Nicely told and the stories within the story fit the complete book perfectly...cleverly done. Hmmmm...I think it really needed a better title but after all, I did pick it up. ( )

When I started this book by Phaedra Patrick, I confess I had misread the blurb and with a mystery and a book of fairy tales, was expecting something more along the lines of magical realism. (Oops) While it took me a bit to right myself with the plot, I soon fell into the rhythm of this surprising sort of coming of age story. (Surprising as Martha is quite middle aged.)

Martha is a librarian who sees her own worth what she can do for others. She set aside her own life to care for her parents (despite the awful, controlling way her father treated her.) She spent her life bending to meet the will of her father, who forced her to read encyclopedias instead of stories, forbid pretty gifts from her mother and grandmother, and even after his death, still heard his voice in her ear criticizing her. While some may not get her, I see a woman damaged from emotional abuse, the same abuse her mother endured, and my heart ached for her. Patrick does a remarkable job building character, and brought Martha to life in awkward and painful full color, along with the delightfully odd Seigfried, Owen, Suki and Zelda.

Despite the tangible sadness in this book, it is a wonderful story of self discovery, of being true to oneself, of secrets and what they do to families, and ultimately, of forgiveness and acceptance. When Martha reaches a moment of realization, the pace of the book changes as she grows stronger, and I rooted for her.

This book was a delight. ( )

A quick read; however, the characters are not compelling and the plot was not all that interesting. All plots are, in a way, contrived; however they are not as obvious as this one was contrived. It could have been an interesting story line if it was not so clumsily handled. On the other hand there were a few good quotes and lines in the book ( )

"The Library of Lost and Found" had some sweet moments but overall it was a fairly mediocre read. I was frustrated with Martha and her mother, neither were strong women, and disgusted with her father's manipulation. Martha did come into her own and found some happiness at the end but there were too many times where I wanted to shake her for the choices she made. Sadly, I never found her an inspiring protagonist. ( )

Martha Storm is one of those people whose life has sort of…passed them by. She spent years taking care of her elderly parents with no real help from her sister. She volunteers to help anyone in her small seaside village with anything, to the point of doing a neighbor’s laundry for her. She’s a volunteer librarian who keeps getting passed over for the actual paying jobs. Yet she’s still incredibly lonely.

But when she arrives at the library one evening to set up for an author event (that had been canceled without her knowledge) she finds a book with her name on it. It doesn’t look familiar to her. When she opens it, she finds an inscription made out to her from her grandmother, dated two years after her grandmother’s death. Surely that’s an error? When she begins reading the book, she recognizes the stories. She wrote them for her grandmother when she was a small child but they were never published. What exactly is going on?

I read and loved Ms. Patrick’s first book, The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper, during my blogging break. I was excited to listen to another one of her books.

I really enjoyed The Library of Lost and Found as well, and for a lot of the same reasons.

Martha Storm is so lonely but she’s so kind and has so much to give. Seeing her family and “friends” take advantage of her generosity was painful. But seeing her finally start to grow into her potential had me cheering! It’s a painful process, as growth always is, but so necessary. I especially loved seeing her find a circle of true friends who supported her. I’m not sure how old Martha is but she’s probably in her 40s or 50s. Change gets harder as we get older but it is possible. I love books that prove this point.

The storyline about the mysterious book and inscription was heart-breaking but touching as well. I won’t say more about that to avoid spoilers.

Imogen Church’s narration was perfect.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who needs an ultimately heart-warming book who doesn’t mind going through some difficult times to get there. You’ll be cheering Martha on too. ( )