With her signature blend of magical and heartfelt storytelling, USA TODAY bestselling author Jennifer Moorman returns with The Charmed Library, a love letter to libraries, favorite childhood stories, and readers who have fallen for fictional heroes.
Like many other public libraries, the one in Blue Sky Valley, North Carolina, is a haven for readers. But it's also unlike any other. In this library, fictional characters step off the page into real life. Assistant librarian Stella Parker has no idea. Still reeling from her father's death and--more recently--a breakup, she hasn't noticed. All she knows is she's stuck in a job she's overqualified for and stumped about what to do with her life.
Everything changes when she burns her beloved journal.
Words matter to Stella. For as long as she can remember, she's seen them. Words appear--in varying colors and fonts--rising from surfaces, bouncing over objects, and even wiggling out of people. Words give her insight into emotions and untold stories. But the words change for Stella after she burns her journal. Suddenly they're demanding, urgent--and painful.
Then Stella stumbles upon strange characters in the library after hours. One is an oddly familiar World War II soldier who introduces himself as Jack--Jack Mathis, the main character from her favorite book. A fictional hero and Stella's first crush. Standing in front of her in the flesh.
Jack tells Stella about the magic hidden in the library. Skeptical, Stella rashly invites a villain to visit, and chaos ensues. As she discovers the importance of protecting the library's secret and gets to know the real Jack, words continue to appear. What are they trying to tell her?
Much too quickly, Stella is faced with the reality that all stories must end, and magic comes at a price. The characters who visit the library can only stay for fourteen days. And Jack's time is almost up.
A cozy, Hallmark-esque rom-com, The Charmed Library invites readers to escape to a world where words come alive and book boyfriends leap off the page.
What did I think?
What an absolutely fabulous story Jennifer Moorman has written to delight readers and book lovers! As a life-long reader I've always thought the library was magical and clearly Jennifer Moorman does too as the magic of books shines out from every page of The Charmed Library.
I adored Stella from the start. She is feeling very lost and alone; not even her job in the library excites her. No, this isn't a horror novel! When Stella returns to the library one evening she meets some very familiar characters but they can't be real, can they?
Although I've never had a book boyfriend, I totally get why Stella is drawn to Jack as he has been there for her whenever she has needed him, she just needed to open his book. It's like all her dreams have come true when she can see, touch and (eeeek) kiss him. The downside of this is that like all library books, Jack can only be checked out for 14 days.
My heart was breaking as the chemistry between Stella and Jack is clear for all to see but to say that they come from different places is an understatement. There's a real element of magic in the book as Stella can see words in different colours and, whilst some colours are obvious, there are some mysterious purple words that the reader has to collect like bits of a jigsaw in order to see the finished picture.
Charming by name and charming by nature, The Charmed Library is a beautiful and unusual love story with a sprinkling of magic and a lot of books. It's the first book I have read by Jennifer Moorman and I will definitely be looking out for more now. Don't miss this one, book lovers!
I received a gifted paperback for the Tandem Collective readalong and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.
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