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Saturday, November 30, 2019

Warm and Sweet, Bookshop Rom-Com Makes for Fun Reading

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Just when it seems nothing else can go wrong for Zoe O'Connell—a single mom struggling to keep up with her expensive, stressful life in London—something does.  A "reappraisal" on her crummy flat is the proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back.  Knowing she'll get no help from her absent mum nor her charming, but always penniless ex, Zoe's at her wit's end.  She wants something better for her non-verbal 4-year-old, Hari, but how can she improve their situation when she has no money, no support system, and no hope that things will ever get better?

Enter Surinder, Hari's aunt.  A friend of Nina Redmond (heroine of The Bookshop on the Corner), who's looking for help with her bookmobile business, Surinder sets Zoe up with two jobs in a tiny town in the Scottish Highlands.  Zoe will help Nina out while also working as a nanny at the local "big house."  Desperate, Zoe has little choice but to accept.  Soon, she's doing her best to keep her three rowdy charges in line, help their father engage with his children, and keep a pregnant Nina from overworking herself.  Hari seems content in Kirrinfief, so Zoe's determined to make it work despite all the challenges she's facing.  Can she make a home for herself and her son out of a backward Scottish village?  When push comes to shove, will she stay or go?

Jenny Colgan is a new find for me.  I read The Bookshop on the Corner in 2017 and loved it, so I was eager to pick up its companion novel, The Bookshop on the Shore.  While the latter is not a sequel per se, it does feature the same town as well as some of the same characters from the former.  I loved dropping in on these old friends and being introduced to new ones.  Like its predecessor, The Bookshop on the Shore is warm, sweet, and funny.  I adored everything about it, from the setting to the writing to the characters, both new and familiar.  As much as I enjoyed The Bookshop on the Corner, I liked this one even better as it has more depth to it.  Colgan writes such fun books.  I definitely plan to keep exploring her backlist while eagerly awaiting her newest offerings.


Grade:


If this were a movie, it would be rated:


for language (a half dozen or so F-bombs, plus milder expletives) and innuendo

To the FTC, with love:  I bought a copy of The Bookshop on the Corner with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger.  Ha ha.

14 comments:

  1. I think The Bookshop on the Corner is the book that really made me fall in love with Jenny Colgan so this book is a must read for me. I'm so glad you enjoyed it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've only read these two by Colgan. I need to read more of hers!

      Delete
  2. I have read one book by Colgan, and it was fun. I love companion series, and the fact that they involves book stores is even more of a win

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Companion series are fun, especially if you love a certain setting or group of characters and want more of the same, but also something a little different.

      Delete
  3. An A-? That's a high rating and makes this one (and the first one) tempting to pick up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Right? Usually I save A's for books that really blow me away. I wouldn't say this one did that, but I enjoyed everything about it. I couldn't think of any criticisms, so I went ahead and gave it an A :) Maybe I'm getting soft in my old age??

      Delete
  4. I love that cover- makes me want to go bookstore shopping. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's kind of a misleading photo because the bookstore in the story is actually a bookmobile. Still, it's a fun cover. Makes me want to sit at that little table with a hot cocoa and just gaze at all the books in the window!

      Delete
  5. I have read and listened to a few books by Jenny Colgan, this one included, and do enjoy her work. Great review Susan, I am glad you enjoyed this one.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I did enjoy it very much. I need to read more Colgan in the new year. Her books just make me happy!

      Delete
  6. I will add this author to my list. Books about books stores? What’s not to like!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Right? The bookmobile is not heavily featured in the book, but it's definitely there. I hope you enjoy Colgan when you get to her!

      Delete
  7. I loved this one, too! It made me want to move to Scotland and find someone to fall in love with. ;D

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hooray! Another couple of books about books and bookstores. On the list they go...how long they will linger there, I can only guess.

    ReplyDelete

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<i>Reading</i>
End of Story by A.J. Finn

Listening

<i>Listening</i>
My Contrary Mary by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, and Jodi Meadows



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