There are stories that nestle quietly into your heart, and then there are stories that crack it wide open before tenderly piecing it back together. This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page belongs firmly in the latter category, offering readers a meditation on grief that feels less like a manual and more like a warm embrace from someone who truly understands.
A Gift That Transcends Death
Tilly Nightingale’s life shatters when her husband Joe dies after a brief illness. Six months later, on her birthday, she receives an unexpected phone call from Alfie Lane, owner of the local independent bookshop Book Lane. Joe has left her a final gift: twelve carefully chosen books, one for each month of her first year without him. What begins as a painful reminder of all she has lost gradually transforms into something remarkable—a roadmap back to herself.
Page’s premise is deceptively simple, yet she mines profound emotional territory from it. The concept of a deceased partner curating a reading list might sound contrived in lesser hands, but This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page handles this device with exquisite sensitivity. Each book Joe selected—from Roald Dahl’s Matilda to Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic—serves a specific purpose in Tilly’s healing journey, whether reigniting her love of reading, inspiring international adventures, or simply holding space for her grief.
The novel’s structure mirrors Tilly’s gradual emergence from the fog of loss. Page wisely resists the temptation to present grief as a linear progression with neat stages. Instead, Tilly stumbles forward and backward, has good days and terrible ones, makes mistakes and finds unexpected moments of joy. This authentic portrayal elevates the narrative beyond typical grief fiction into something that feels bracingly real.
The Transformative Power of Literature
What makes This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page particularly compelling is how it celebrates books not as mere escapism but as catalysts for genuine transformation. Tilly doesn’t just read about Paris in Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast—she impulsively rents an apartment in Montmartre for three weeks. A cookbook from Delia Smith doesn’t just teach her recipes; it becomes Joe’s voice guiding her toward nourishment and self-care. Wild camping literature sends her to the Scottish Highlands with her friend Rachel, resulting in both comedy and self-discovery.
Page demonstrates genuine bibliophilic passion throughout, peppering the narrative with “Book Lane Recommends” sections that feel like personal recommendations from a trusted friend. These literary touchstones ground Tilly’s journey in specific, tangible experiences rather than vague emotional generalities. The author clearly understands that for true readers, books aren’t passive entertainment—they’re invitations to reimagine our lives.
However, the novel occasionally struggles to balance its dual focuses. Some books receive extensive exploration while others feel cursory, which can create an uneven rhythm. Page’s ambition in covering twelve books plus Tilly’s evolving story sometimes leads to rushed resolution of certain plot threads. Readers invested in particular books from Joe’s list may find themselves wishing for deeper engagement with how those specific texts shaped Tilly’s transformation.
Bookshops as Sacred Spaces
Beyond the central premise, This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page is a love letter to independent bookshops. Book Lane, with its creaky floorboards, resident cat Georgette, and passionate staff, emerges as a character in its own right. Alfie Lane, who inherited the shop from his father, initially appears as a simple facilitator of Joe’s gift, but Page gradually reveals him as Tilly’s perfect counterpoint—someone who understands both the weight of legacy and the courage required to forge one’s own path.
The romance that develops between Tilly and Alfie unfolds with refreshing restraint. Page resists the urge to rush them together, instead allowing their connection to deepen organically through shared literary passion and mutual understanding of loss. Alfie lost his father; Tilly lost her husband. Both understand that grief doesn’t diminish love for others—it expands our capacity for empathy. Their relationship develops against the backdrop of Book Lane’s fight for survival, adding stakes beyond the personal and reinforcing the novel’s central theme about community and connection.
The supporting cast enriches the narrative considerably. Harper, Tilly’s sister and travel journalist, initially keeps her engagement secret to protect Tilly’s feelings, creating believable sibling tension that Page resolves with nuance rather than melodrama. The “Paris Grief Gang”—a support group Tilly joins during her French sojourn—provides both comic relief and emotional depth, demonstrating how strangers united by loss can become essential family.
Areas Where the Story Stumbles
While This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page succeeds admirably in most respects, it isn’t without flaws. The pacing occasionally feels rushed, particularly in the final third when multiple plot threads converge: Harper’s wedding, Book Lane’s potential closure, Tilly’s career shift, and her burgeoning relationship with Alfie. Page attempts to tie everything together neatly, but some resolutions feel convenient rather than earned.
Additionally, certain secondary characters remain underdeveloped. Blue and Prudence, Alfie’s bookshop employees, are charming but sketchy. Rachel, Tilly’s friend who accompanies her on various adventures, serves primarily as a sounding board rather than a fully realized person. Given the novel’s length and ambition, more attention to these relationships would have strengthened the overall tapestry.
The novel’s treatment of Tilly’s mother-in-law Ellen also feels somewhat unresolved. Their fraught relationship, established through flashbacks to Joe’s life, builds toward a confrontation that never quite materializes with the emotional catharsis the setup promises. This subplot ultimately feels like a missed opportunity to explore how grief complicates family dynamics across generational and cultural lines.
The Craft Behind the Comfort
Page’s prose style deserves particular recognition. She writes with clarity and warmth, creating sentences that feel effortless while carrying significant emotional weight. Her descriptions of places—from Parisian rooftops to Scottish moorlands to London’s Primrose Hill—are vivid without being overwrought. She trusts readers to feel deeply without manipulating those feelings through excessive sentimentality.
The author also demonstrates admirable restraint in her depiction of grief. Rather than wallowing in Tilly’s pain, Page shows it in small, devastating details: Joe’s trainers repurposed as bookends, his hoodie remaining on the coat rack because without it the flat “just didn’t look like home,” Tilly speaking aloud to his urn on the bookshelf. These specific, concrete images convey loss more powerfully than pages of introspection could.
Page’s previous novels, including The Lido and The 24-Hour Café, established her talent for community-centered stories with heart. This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page represents her most ambitious and emotionally complex work to date, tackling grief while maintaining her signature warmth and optimism.
Who Will Love This Story
This novel will particularly resonate with:
- Readers who found comfort in Meg Mason’s Sorrow and Bliss or Rachel Joyce’s The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
- Anyone who has experienced profound loss and the messy, non-linear path of healing
- Book lovers who understand that reading is more than entertainment—it’s transformation
- Supporters of independent bookshops and those who mourn their disappearance
- Readers seeking romance that develops slowly and authentically rather than through manufactured drama
The four-star rating this novel has garnered feels entirely appropriate. It’s an accomplished, moving work that successfully balances heartbreak with hope. While not without imperfections, its emotional honesty and celebration of literature’s redemptive power make it a worthy addition to contemporary fiction exploring grief and recovery.
Similar Reads Worth Exploring
If This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page resonates with you, consider these complementary titles:
- The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman – Another celebration of bookish living with humor and heart
- The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin – A widowed bookseller finds unexpected connections through literature
- The Museum of Broken Promises by Elizabeth Buchan – Objects and memories help characters process loss and find new beginnings
- The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett by Annie Lyons – An unlikely friendship helps both parties rediscover joy after loss
- The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo – Exploring love, loss, and the paths not taken
The Final Chapter
This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page ultimately asks an important question: How do we continue living when we’ve lost someone who felt essential to our existence? Tilly’s answer—through books, community, new experiences, and eventually new love—may not be everyone’s answer, but it’s presented with such authenticity and grace that it feels universally relatable.
This is a novel that understands books don’t just reflect life—they actively shape it. Joe’s gift to Tilly wasn’t merely distraction from grief but an invitation to remain fully, messily, courageously alive. In capturing that journey with both tenderness and honesty, Page has created something rare: a comfort read with genuine depth, a romance grounded in real loss, and a tribute to literature that earns its reverence.
For anyone who has ever found solace in a bookshop’s quiet corners, who has turned to stories during dark times, or who believes that the right book at the right moment can change everything, This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page will feel like coming home.
