Sequel by Katherine Reay

Of Literature & Lattes by Katherine Reay

This book is the sequel to The Printed Letter Bookshop.   I enjoyed that book and enjoyed this one, too.  The author concentrates on the lives of Alyssa Harrison and Jeremy Mitchell as they intersect with the little town of Winsome, Illinois.

Characters from the previous book populate this one, too, including Alyssa’s mother and father, Janet and Seth Harrison, the Bookshop’s owner and employees, as well as some townspeople.

Reading this book gave me a sense of a Mitford novel, where many characters’ lives are open to the reader’s scrutiny.  I loved how the characters, especially Janet, grew and changed.

Another aspect of this book that I really appreciated was the references to other works of literature and the impact that those works had on the characters.  How can an author go wrong in quoting from Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men or mentioning Madeline L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time?

This book was a clean read, but had no mention of Jesus, God, the Bible or salvation, but led the reader to assume their inclusion in the changes that some of the characters had undergone.

 The author has created a little town that I would be interested in reading more of in the future.  If you are a lover of literature and small towns, women’s fiction and second chances, you will enjoy this book.  I am grateful to my daughter-in-love, Mallory for providing me with a copy to enjoy.