A low-stakes cozy read. Agnes is a Spanish archaeologist searching for a job in London, which she finds during a particularly rainy day as assistant at the lovely Moonlight Books bookshop with its motley crew of customers and staff. Here is found family, new beginnings, and all versions of love a person can find.

Some of the dialogue got a little boring with constant literary references and direct quotes. Parts of it read almost as a class (on architecture, history, or literature), which felt contrived. But the story was very sweet, the characters loving and philosophical at certain points, and the whole atmosphere of the book was warm.

Perfect book for a rainy, quiet day.

Emily St. Aubert, a sensible and sensitive young lady, is much affected by the environment she finds herself in. Soon orphaned, she is entrusted to the care of her aunt, with whom she travels to Italy before eventually returning to France. She composes fairly bad poetry through it all.

Her adventures are marked by the discovery of love, by loss and misfortune, by mysterious happenings in all the big houses she visits. There are ghosts, bandits, and lots and lots of distateful, disgraceful men all around her.

I was expecting more ghosts and supernatural happenings than were actually included, which was suprising since this is usually considered an early Gothic novel. But throughout, reason takes precedence over fantasy, which did detract a little bit from the enjoyment of the book as a Gothic one.

Regarding the characters: I did not care for Valancourt at all and was rooting for his rival throughout. Emily is sweet and courageous, even if she does faint a lot. The Villeroi family are nice, perfect friends. Annette and Ludovico are a hoot! I was always amused when they came into any scene. The villains were villanous, and the peasants were homely and kind, which is always a comfort in these kinds of readings.

All in all, very enjoyable and highly recommended.