Preloved by Lauren Bravo

 Preloved by Lauren Bravo




Preloved by Lauren Bravo is published on 27th April 2023 by Simon and Schuster. My thanks to the author and publisher for sending me a copy to review and to Random Book Tours for inviting me to take part on the tour.

Synopsis

A love story about things... 

Gwen’s life has stalled. She’s in her mid-thirties, perpetually single, her friends are busy procreating in the country and conversations with her parents seem to revolve entirely around herbaceous borders and the council’s wheelie-bin timetable. Above all she’s lonely. But then, isn’t everyone?
 
When Gwen’s made redundant from a job she drifted into a decade ago and never left, she realises it’s time to make a change. Over what might be the best – and most solitary – meal she’s ever eaten, Gwen vows to find something meaningful to do with her life, reconnect with her family and friends – and finally book herself a dentist appointment.
 
Her search for meaning soon leads her to volunteer in a local charity shop where she both literally and metaphorically unloads her emotional baggage. With the help of the weird and wonderful people she meets in the shop and the donated items bursting with untold stories that pass through its doors, Gwen must finally address the events and choices that led her to this point and find a way to move forward with bravery, humanity and more regular dental care.
 
Brimming with life, love and the stories bound up in even the most everyday items, Preloved is a tale about friendship, loss, being true to oneself no matter the expectations – and the enduring power and joy of charity shops.




My Review

As a charity shop addict, Preloved didn't disappoint. This is a lovely, easy to read, heartwarming, witty story that will fill you with warmth. I love the idea that as well as the secondhand items in that arrive in the charity shop getting a second chance and having a new lease of life, the same also applies to Gwen. To me this felt like a novel of people watching at it's best as we get to know the different characters that come into the shop and are part of Gwen's journey.
The last part of the book was incredibly heartwarming and moving, focussing on how we all deal with grief in our own unique way.
The chapters are woven together cleverly so that we follow Gwen's progress and her relationship with her parents and their "loss" whilst at the same time learning about the history behind some of the items that are donated to the charity shop in which she now works, each one having their own unique little story.
This is a lovely book to snuggle down with on a wet, rainy afternoon, or alternatively, on a nice warm sunny beach and I would certainly recommend it to anyone, like me, who often persuses the shelves in charity shops wondering at the life, and love, some of the items have previously had.







About the Author

Lauren Bravo is a freelance journalist who writes about fashion, popular culture, food, travel and feminism, for titles including Grazia, Stylist, Cosmopolitan and Sunday Times Style.

She volunteers in a charity shop once a week (partly to get dibs on all the best clothes).

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