The Little Shop of Found Things

Our Review

THE LITTLE SHOP OF FOUND THINGS, book 1 of the Found Things series by Paula Brackston, is romantic time travel.

Xanthe Westlake and her mother, Flora, are opening an antique shop in the English town of Marlborough. Xanthe has always had an affinity with some of the antiques she finds, but when touches a silver chatelaine, she has an intense connection to it.

While she’s examining the chatelaine, she’s transported back to the seventeenth century where she discovers a young woman wrongfully imprisoned. When she returns home, the ghost of the young woman confronts her, threatening to harm Flora if Xanthe fails to save her daughter.

Racing against time, Xanthe returns to the past to save the young woman. While she’s there, she meets architect Samuel Appleby. She is drawn to him, and as they spend more time together, she falls in love with him. She’s torn between her love for him and returning to her life in the future. 

I enjoyed this book but felt like there were loose ends that weren’t resolved with the ghost or Samuel. I also didn’t understand why Xanthe couldn’t tell her mother or Samuel she was a time traveler. Even so, it was an enjoyable time travel with heartwarming romance. I recommend this book.