As Janice is a “collector of stories”, there are many mini-stories that you’ll find in this book. All of these are part of Janice’s repertoire, and most of them are heartfelt and memorable stories in their own right. I enjoyed all of these little nuggets from Janice’s collection. What a perfect little gem of a book I really loved it a rare beautifully crafted piece of perfection .Two perfects on one sentence seems poor writing but sometimes just sometimes it’s needed ! So why only three stars? Because I found the main character, Janice, pretty annoying and clueless. She is portrayed as a smart middle aged woman, but her actions are all on the contrary: she stays with her freeloading husband, she doesn't stand her ground with people that push her around, and miraculously, she is friends with many of her clients. Having said that - and if you are prepared to get past this - the stories are nice and the dialogues with the dog made me smile all the time.

Secrets On The Estate” by Mel Sherratt – Book Review @writermels #SecretsOnTheEstate #EstateSeries #BookReview#NovNov23 November 28, 2023 She wants to hammer home with true conviction that she is the story collector. That she gathers stories because she doesn’t have a story. She wants to shout this loudly to drown the little voice within her.’ Life-affirming, hopeful fiction that can definitely fit into the 'Uplit' genre, this wonderful novel will definitely be on my list of 'Best Books of 2022'. Highly recommended!

About Fictionophile

The editing needed to be tighter and better. Some of the plot developments are too abrupt, almost entirely dictated by character and not by requirements of the story. The plot feels very cluttered and has a lot of convenient settlements at the end. THE AUTHOR: After studying history at university, I moved to London to work in advertising. However, in my spare time I studied floristry at night school and eventually opened my own flower shop. I soon came to appreciate that flower shops offer a unique window into people’s stories and eventually I began to photograph and write about this floral life in a series of non-fiction books. Later, I continued my interest in writing when I founded my fountain pen company, Plooms.co.uk. The Keeper of Stories has many stories within the main story - that of a mouse of a woman who finds her inner lioness. And Janice's story is the most interesting of all because, although she believes herself to be 'just a cleaner,' she really is a brave, loving and resourceful woman, one whom I would be proud to have as a friend. My thanks to HarperCollins UK Audio and NetGalley for the ALC of “The Keeper of Stories”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the audiobook.

Janice can’t recall what started her collection. Maybe it was in a fragment of conversation overheard whilst cleaning? Before long, Janice notices people were telling her their stories. Perhaps they always had done, but now it is different, now the stories are reaching out to her and she gathers them to her…Absolutely spellbinding…a warm-hearted, thoughtful, funny and yet deeply poignant’ Celia Anderson, author of 59 Memory Lane If you ever feel like you need some light entertainment in between more serious or painful reads, then this is the right book for you. I certainly felt I could do with such a book and it filled that craving nearly perfectly.