Marianne Buxton is the most unbookish member of her family by a long shot; in fact her life revolves around music. But when her dream job in the music industry comes to an abrupt halt, she is desperate for work so drunkenly applies for a temporary job in an independent book shop. Shocked that the owner, Celia, gives her the job, she’s even more surprised when she discovers that there’s a secret doorway in the store and it leads her into the world of Pride and Prejudice. But can this fictional world provide Marianne with what she needs to help put her life back together again?
Anna’s Bookwanderers series is one of my favourite middle grade series so I was incredibly curious and eager to read her first novel for adults. If I had to sum up Read Me Like A Book in one sentence, I’d say that it's book wandering for adults with a whole delicious dollop of romance running through it.
Marianne’s life is a bit of a mess really! She’s been sacked from her job for an accident that wasn’t her but she doesn’t feel she can reveal the truth as she is covering for the rock star she’s been having a secret affair with. With no job, she’s been forced to move back home where she once again has to share her childhood bedroom with her sister, Tess. Getting the job at Wildflower Books is a bonus but then she meets Jude who also works there, and it’s fair to say they get off to a very rock start: he’s very bookish and she hasn’t read a book in years; he can’t understand why Celia has given Marianne the job and is rather rude to her from the start. The secret door seems to be Marianne’s only escape but even there, things aren’t plain sailing… I mean, how exactly do you explain those sudden disappearances? (especially the one with Mt Wickham!)
Read Me Like A Book is everything I hoped it would be and more: it’s a wonderful tale set in the most bookish of worlds about a character who is very real and relatable and is someone readers are going to love; it’s romance and regency splendour; it's heart-warming and funny; it’s utterly moreish and completely absorbing. Anna’s writing is beautiful and you will find yourself swept away in both worlds whilst desperately hoping that the book will never end. Publishing on the 6th May, this will be a book you will fall in love with and a world you will want to return to (I sincerely hope there will be a return to Wildflower Books).
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