Book info

• Title The Music Shop
• Author Rachel Joyce
• Year 2017
• Genre Romance

1988. Frank owns a music shop. It is jam-packed with records of every speed, size and genre. Classical, jazz, punk - as long as it's vinyl he sells it. Day after day Frank finds his customers the music they need. Then into his life walks Ilse Brauchmann. Ilse asks Frank to teach her about music. His instinct is to turn and run. And yet he is drawn to this strangely still, mysterious woman with her pea-green coat and her eyes as black as vinyl. But Ilse is not what she seems. And Frank has old wounds that threaten to re-open and a past he will never leave behind...

Thoughts

I loved this. It was absolutely engrossing, and even though the story itself was gentle and slow, it became a pageturner in its own right. The characters were beautiful, I really loved the energy of Kit, and how they supported each other was lovely to see. It’s a story that’s well known - the death of the high street, and the encroachment of developers - but it’s so well done here, it almost creeps up on you. And then the end where it all unravels but starts to get pieced back together… just lovely.

Rating: 5 / 5