You have no idea how delighted I am to blog my review of The Vintage Shop by Libby Page today.

There’s a very long story attached to my review as originally I wrote it for use elsewhere. Sadly it got forgotten in some changes and so I thought I’d blog it instead. Until I couldn’t find it. I had deleted it from every place I could think of whilst I was ‘tidying up’ my ancient laptop in the hope it might actually work better.

However, I suddenly had a brainwave and searched my downloads as I use Google Docs and download my reviews to send off, and there it was! Hurrah. So, with apologies for being exactly a year late, and with a title change to the book in the interim, I am finally sharing my review.

Published by Orion on 16th February 2023, The Vintage Shop is available for purchase through the links here.

The Vintage Shop

One dress. Three women. A lifetime of secrets.

Among the cobbled streets of Frome in Somerset, Lou is about to start something new. After losing her mother, she knows it’s time to take a chance and open her own vintage clothes shop.

In upstate New York, Donna receives some news about her family which throws everything she thought she knew into question. The only clue she has to unlock her past is a picture of a yellow dress.

Maggy is in her seventies, newly divorced and all alone in an empty house. Visiting the little vintage shop in Frome, with its rows of beautiful dresses, brings back cherished memories she’d long put aside.

For these three women, only by uncovering the secrets of the yellow dress can they unlock their next chapter…

My Review of The Vintage Shop

Two very different worlds are about to collide.

Brimming with community, friendship, family and belonging The Vintage Shop is absolutely charming, heart-breaking and life-affirming in equal measure. It’s such a lovely book written by an author who understands loneliness, grief, healing and friendship completely. I felt completely immersed in the story as I read.

The perfectly plotted narrative sweeps the reader along as they accompany Lou, Donna and Maggy on their journeys of discovery. With the tantalising sections from the past interspersed with present day action, the story is so entertaining and absorbing that it’s impossible to set it aside. Indeed, The Vintage Shop is one of those stories where you’re desperate to find out what happens but equally terrified that the outcomes might not be those you want for Lou, Maggy and Donna.

The three main characters are sensitively drawn, and perfectly balanced in the story, as the threads of their lives become intertwined. Lou’s vivacious dress sense, Maggy’s caring persona and Donna’s prickliness make each one a distinct individual that it’s impossible not to care about.

I loved the allusions to nature, autumn and fresh starts in the writing and the way Libby Page shows that what we’ve always done, how we’ve always acted, and what we’ve always believed, isn’t immutable, but can evolve and shape us positively so that The Vintage Shop educates even as it entertains. It feels as if Libby Page is giving her readers permission to be themselves. As a result, The Vintage Shop is a lovely, heart-warming illustration that it’s never too late to begin again, to make new friends and to live your life in full in your own second chance. It’s beautifully written and filled with wise life lessons that are uncovered gently and convincingly so that the reader feels moved, inspired and fulfilled by Libby Page’s sensitive and entertaining guidance.

The Vintage Shop makes you want to dig out your brightest, most ebullient clothes, and stride out into whatever the future may hold. It may be filled with pain and regret, and you’ll definitely need a tissue or two, but ultimately it’s a truly uplifting, hopeful, story that gladdens the heart and makes the world that little bit brighter. I loved it.

About Libby Page

Libby Page is the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Lido, The 24-Hour Café and The Island Home. The Vintage Shop is her fourth novel and her latest The Lifeline will be released in April. Before becoming an author, she worked in journalism and marketing. She is a keen outdoor swimmer and lives in Somerset with her husband and young son.

For further information, follow Libby on Twitter @LibbyPageWrites, Instagram and Facebook, or visit Libby’s website.