In August 1939, with war looming, Grace Bennett and her friend Viv follow their dreams to London. Ensconced in the home of a family friend, the pair set off to find jobs. Viv lands at Harrods, but Grace must settle for a dreary-looking bookshop called Primrose Hill, where the dust-covered offerings are maintained by the grumpy Mr. Evans. Grace isn't a reader, but that changes quickly when a handsome RAF officer recommends The Count of Monte Cristo. After subduing the dust and moving on to the haphazardly organized shelves--all the while powering through Jane Austen--Grace is shaping up nicely as a bookseller until war is declared, with the quiet of the Phony War gradually giving way to the Blitz. Martin capably portrays the horror of nightly bombings, but where she really shines is in depicting Grace's rebirth as a reader, which parallels her growth as a readers' advisor and book-club leader, her nightly readings providing welcome respite to the shell-shocked locals. This engaging mix of books, romance, and war is not without tragedy, but the unapologetically uplifting ending will find booklovers wiping away a tear or two.

Grace Bennett arrives in London at the time of the Blitz but happily lands a job at a small bookshop on Paternoster Row. Initially not a big reader, she discovers the passion for books that unites the community around her, especially when hers is the only bookshop left standing after a brutal air raid that wipes out London's literary center. USA TODAY best-selling author Martin bases her latest on a true story; with a 100,000-copy paperback and 10,000-copy hardcover first printing.