I liked the setting of the book, an ancient bookstore in Croatia. I thought the book was going to be more of a mystery, from the description. But it is a book about friendship. Most of the book was interesting, but parts were a litter too slow for my taste.

brilliant and captivating! a gorgeous work about friendship and growth through a book club. thanks so much for the arc!

This has most of the ingredients for a good book, but doesn't quite make it for me.
A good premise, but I just didn't find the characters especially engaging or believable. the author seemed to be trying to hard to get her messages across about long covid, LGBTQ, social media etc. and did not let the characters come to life.
Perhaps with some really good editing, this could become a good book.

Transport yourself to the city of Dubrovnik where you will meet a group of individuals who separately have individual demons to dispel. in this book the magic of friendship through the medium of a bookshop threatened with closure brings the characters to their own realisation of self worth and help them to move on. Basically about the value of friendship with some other undercurrents making it fall into different genres but interestingly put together

Set in Dubrovnik in a little book shop which included 4 main characters. Claire, Luna, Karmela and Vedran, Claire's cousin.

The storyline follows each characters journey from heartbreak, acceptance, discovery, a missing person but most of all the love they each have for the bookshop and the strong friendships beginning to form. When it looks like it may have to close, they pull together to fight hard to keep the little bookshop open.

An enjoyable read, a little hard to get into in the beginning but as the chapters flowed and the characters became more familiar I found it hard to put down.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Claire is both excited and nervous about starting a new job at a book store. Who doesn't love a good mystery. Her and her coworkers try to help solve a crime. That will take everything they have to solve . A good read.

An eclectic group of people (some from previous books of Glyn’s) form a book club in the Welcome Book Shop in Dubrovnik, Croatia. Each has struggles and relies on the other bibliophiles for validation and friendship. As the members begin to feel comfortable with each other, the book takes on a cozy mystery vibe and the author’s sense of place rises quickly. Glyn’s ability to show how books can unite and transform us is stellar, as is her investigation into trust, friendship, forgiveness, truth, tolerance, pride, loneliness, literature, and love. Her main theme may be about belonging, but she offers readers so much more.

My love of history kept me engrossed in this book as I learned about the Croatian War of Independence, Dubrovnik Defenders, the earthquake of 1667, Sponza Palace, Ragusa Republic, and the island of Sipan, and the former Yugoslavia to name just a few. I loved my time in this beautiful city and was in awe of the beautiful buildings, friendly people, and great food. This book has me yearning to have another adventure in this part of the world.

Readers like me may appreciate a heads up that this book spotlights Long Covid, abusive/toxic relationships (references to suicide), LGBTQ representation, and the refugee experience.

I was gifted this book by HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

4.5* Loved this book. All the characters weee great and it was like stories within a story for each one. I would recommend this title

Multiple POV. A mystery to solve, plus separate, individual storylines for each character. Set in Dubrovnik, Croatia. 

This is a book about belonging; about pride, in more than one sense of the word; about truth; about forgiveness, including forgiving yourself; about healing; and about finding your way through big challenges in life. 

The descriptions were lovely; it was easy to picture the views, the food, the locations that were being described in this book. I was intrigued by the main storyline, if I can call it that - the one we're given a hint to at the very beginning of the book. That kept me wanting to know how that part would resolve, but I found the other storylines much less interesting as the book progressed. I think it was because of the pacing - some things were dragged out too much and others were rushed over too quickly. 

This was the first book I've read that talks about covid. I liked that at first, and Claire's hesitation about re-entering society was relatable; but, ultimately, I'm not sure it was handled all that well (and that may be just a personal thing). I found the writing quite choppy/disjointed. As mentioned before, some things were drawn out, others rushed; arguments and feelings were unrealistically blown out of proportion; for me, there wasn't a good flow and I didn't feel strongly about any character. The writing didn't pull me in.

Unfortunately, about two-thirds in, the writing itself was making me lose interest and I mostly skim-read the rest of the book. Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins One More Chapter for allowing me to read and review it. It had a happy ending and was set in a beautiful location; I wish I had enjoyed it more.

I loved that this book takes place in Dubrovnik. It was so nice to be transported back there through this book while I was reading it in gloomy winter Illinois. I enjoyed the author's addition of Croatian words and translations at the end of the book. The novel touches on subjects like the power of friendship, grief and the struggles of fitting in. At times, it was a little slower than I would have liked, but I did read it quickly and ended up enjoying it overall and would recommend it if you like a feel good bookclub read.

Thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, one more Chapter for the digital arc in exchange for my honest review.

I really really loved this book! Have never read this author , it has also made me want to go to Croatia. Highly recommended.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a nice surprise. I didn't know anything about it, or the author, when I saw it pop up on Goodreads. I admit, though we shouldn't judge books by their covers, the cover and title of this one caught my eye. I have visited Dubrovnik and thought it was an absolutely lovely city that I'd enjoy visiting again someday, plus I love books. The Dubrovnik Book Club sounded like a fun read, and it was. It is told from the perspective of four different characters, and the chapters shift among their POVs. I would definitely put this in the "cozy" category, despite the fact that every character is dealing with some sort of trauma (recovering from/fearing another bout with Long Covid, a past abusive relationship, coming out in a conservative environment, and being a war refugee). You'd think all that trauma would make for a harrowing read, but it doesn't. This is the story of people from different backgrounds coming together and helping each other heal and find their places in the world - prompted by a book club, no less!

The blurb talks a bit about a mystery, and it's true, there is a bit of one. One character, Vedran, was wrongly accused of his girlfriend's death, but I wouldn't describe this as a mystery novel if that's what you're looking for. It's more of a slice of life novel. I loved the lush descriptions of the city and the food - it made me feel like I was right back in Dubrovnik again. The characters all read believably as their own unique people, with different problems and flaws, but everyone, ultimately, is a good person trying to do the right thing and be good to other people. The book club is a backdrop, but not the focal point of the story. I do wish the story had talked a little more about the books the club reads, but that's a minor quibble.

For my books, I tend to grade on a scale of personal enjoyment. For me, this quiet, hopeful story was worth 4 stars. I didn't expect to be as caught up in it as I was, and I scored it highly for that. If you like books, travel, and/or food, let yourself be transported to Dubrovnik for awhile and enjoy this book!

Dubrovnik! Who'd have thought there was so much to love in a city I have not visited, but this author has done quite the job of convincing me that I should. The bookshop at the centre of the story sounds just perfect, a refuge for a disparate band who are as different from each other as it's possible to be and yet turn out to be a perfect combination together.
There is a lot more to this book than I had expected, the cover is so pretty, this is a book worth settling down for - a five star read for certain - this is your summer holiday reading sorted between two very pretty covers!

Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my ARC, in exchange for an honest review. Quite the ride! Very cinematic in scope and very much had been guessing till the very end. I want more!

A London native moves to Dubrovnik to live with family and becomes the manager of a bookstore. The book club she starts attracts several disparate members, each with their own secrets and fears they must overcome. The depictions of the city of Dubrovnik were well done and it was easy to picture what a delightful, historic city this is. Characters were well developed, but I didn't feel particularly connected to any of them, and with the book being overly long, it was a plodding read at times.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

This book makes me want to go to Croatia and save a bookshop. Claire, who has suffered from long Covid and is now anxious about being around people comes to Croatia to live with her grandparents. She works in the bookshop with another employee, Luna, and they host a book club. It was a great story about friendship, a book club, and many POVs that are all connected. Nice, light read that will transport you to the city of Dubrovnik.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to Net Galley and Harper Collins for an early copy of The Dubrovnik Book Club by Eva Glyn

The title o the book may be misleading as very little time is spent at the actual book club meetings. Rather, it is the glue that unites the main characters with a variety of issues as they struggle in Dubrovnik.

Lawyer Verdan (the nephew of Jadran and character in The Collaborator's Daughter cannot move past the mysterious disappearance and possible death of his girlfriend Didi. He had been a suspect in her disappearance, but with no body, the case has simply lingered.

Claire (Fran's granddaughter from The Collaborator's Daughter) is visiting Dubrovnik for a few months and gets a job at the local bookstore where she meets Luna, an employee who was left a sheltered life on a nearby island and is trying to establish her gay life.

When Luna's roommate, Ezra, finds evidence that Didi may in fact be alive, the fractured egos of the other characters must decide how to handle the news.

There are several situations in the novel that bear pointing out: the continued references to long-term Covid and its effects may be bothersome to some readers. The fact that Didi left a pregnancy test right in the bathroom for Verdan to see is too convenient and moves the characters away from any meaningful discussion. Luna appears almost frantic to find a gay partner and settles for the first woman to show any interest in that way. It is up to Claire to inform Luna that the bookshop is closing even though she is only a summer employee when this should fall to the owner regardless of his sad circumstances.

One highlight of the book is Karmela, the young academic with a vital interest in the old buildings of Dubrovnik and their connections to the Ragusa Empire of the past.

I really enjoyed this. Some serious topics handled really sensitively and gorgeous descriptions of Croatia. Highly recommended.

This was really a different read for me. While listed as a mystery, and there was a small mystery, this is definitely more of a human relations and relationships story. Loved the bookstore in Dubrovnik, this is the center of the book, a very unusual book club is formed, with people interacting who would have nothing to do with each other normally but with very tenuous connections something fascinating is formed. The interesting city, it's history and cultural form a backdrop for people, all dealing with their own traumas, who somehow manage to move on, help each other out and form connections that will last a lifetime. Definitely an interesting read, a little heavy emotionally but worth it. Thank you to #NetGalley and #OneMoreChapter for the opportunity to read.

I loved this book from start to finish. It got to grips with some very thorny subjects, most sensitively. A wonderful backdrop set in Dubrovnik. Interesting characters and a plot which moves along at a a good pace. Definitely recommended.