The Bookshop of Second Chances | 
pickAlthea separated from her husband when she found out he was cheating with someone she thought was her friend. She isn‘t sure what turn her life might take, when she gets a letter saying her great uncle has left her his house in his will. So she goes to Scotland to check it out, and discovers a fabulous library of collectable books.
This fit my mood well and I enjoyed it quite a bit.
Sietje was reluctant as usual to pose with a book. 🙂📚🐕
panWhy do I keep doing this to myself. I start these kind of books because they have something to do with books/bookshops/libraries and then I keep on rolling my eyes and wanting it to be finished. But I still keep reading. This one left me with a lot of unanswered questions.
How delightful! Thank you so much, @Jerdencon 😍❤🎄 its been a bit of a rough holiday so this is just what I needed for Christmas Eve. I didn't even realize they made cookies n creme kisses! 🤩 Thank you again!
#jolabokaflodswap
@MaleficentBookDragon
Opened my #jolabokaflod box! Pleasantly surprised! Thank you so much @Nessavamusic ! @MaleficentBookDragon
pickI forgot to take a photo of this one but I enjoyed it so much, I want to make a note so I can remember to read it again. It was nice to read about a woman in her 40s who isn‘t written like she‘s more or less ancient!
pickI appreciated this book because the MCs are middle-aged, & they have good banter. Not much sexual tension/angst, which was fine with me in this story, they just progress from friends to more. This is my #doublespin for April.
pickThis was a super fast read this weekend. I was expecting a Jenny Colgan style cozy (and it is), but this had more grit and sass to it. I give it a very solid 3.5 ⭐️
pickThis was a mix of romance and novel about a woman moving on with her life after divorce. The majority of this book was focused on Thea losing her job, finding her husband cheating on her with her friend and getting an inheritance of a home in a cute Scottish town. She gets a job in a book store with a grumpy, but sexy boss. While it sounds cliché it was pretty wonderful.
pickThea‘s husband has cheated on her with a friend, and while she‘s reeling from this she inherits a house in Scotland. So what‘s a 40 something woman to do? She escapes to Scotland. At first glance, this book seems like it will be a light romance, but there is so much heart here. There are so many emotions to unpack, and Thea is refreshingly honest for a protagonist in romance novel. I thoroughly enjoyed this story. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 ❤️📚
I am going to do it….I am going to finish a 7th book this month!!! That‘s a record for me! I‘ve been really enjoying this book, and according to my Bookly app, it will take me about another hour and a half to finish.
I was, unexpectedly, very emotional reading it last night. The MC, a middle aged woman whose husband left her, doesn‘t think she‘s deserving of love. By this point in the book, I adore her, and it just broke my heart. ❤️📚
Going to jump into something light in hopes of finishing one more book in January. It will be a record month for me - I‘ve read 6 books so far this month. Previously, my most completed in a month was 5. 😁❤️📚
pickI don‘t know if I‘ve ever been so conflicted about a romance novel before.
I *loved* the setting (Scotland; a bookstore). I *loved* the tone of Fraser‘s voice. I found her funny & easy to read. Her writing & dialogue just flows.
I loved the MC, who‘s forthright, earnest, & scrappy: a reader herself, & an introvert who still recognizes the value of socializing & of friendship (especially given her recent divorce). Passes the Bechdel Test. 👇🏻
After a string of devastating luck, Thea inherits a house from a mysterious great uncle. The will reads,
“and to my great-niece Althea…whom I have only met on four occasions, but who each time was intent on reading rather than talking, which has always been my own preference...”
Her response? “Oh bless. Well there you go, Mother, so much for saying no good will come of it.”
Pictured: Tiny little bookworm, Alyisha (with giant hair; thanks, Mom).
pickThis was delightful and thoroughly enjoyable. Thea, recently separated from her husband, inherits a house in Scotland (along with an impressive book collection). This checks so many boxes for me. Thea is a refreshingly honest heroine, funny and self-deprecating, understandably sad over the breakup of her marriage, but forging ahead into life in a small town. She takes a job in a bookshop (✔️) with a curmudgeonly but handsome proprietor. ⤵️
Now that my library has reopened, I‘ve once again succumbed to the “can‘t check out just one” lure. I went in to pick up one book on hold & saw this one on the “New Arrivals” shelf. It has the word bookshop in the title, and the blurb describes a woman who inherits a home in Scotland along with a “hefty antique book collection” —that‘s the library equivalent of clickbait for me. I couldn‘t resist! (Also excited about the Abhorsen short stories...)
pickThis was terrific. Without a job, her husband now living with her friend, Thea is at their former house packing when she is given a letter advising of a Scottish inheritance. What evolves is a lovely village and newfound home, a job in a bookstore, and a new love. Thea is a hilarious warm-hearted person. Not only do I want to be her when I grow up, I want to be her now! Entertaining, lovely and easy summer read I thoroughly enjoyed. 5/5
#CurrentlyListening
UPDATE: This was very enjoyable! Bookstore setting, witty banter, happy ending. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 A great #beachread!
pickI inhaled this book! A rainy Saturday and vaccine fatigue = reading this book basically in one go. Delightful sweary banter set in Scotland in a bookshop! All my favourite things ❤️ please make it a movie 🙏🏻
Started this yesterday ( raining Saturday seems made for reading all day) and I read half of it. Love it. Makes me think of Jenny Colgan
so-soEh. Woman/ man romance. The man has some Darcy-like qualities. Cute but not amazing. Good narration on #audiobook
so-soA few years ago, I read Shaun Bythell‘s THE DIARY OF A BOOKSELLER , and it's impossible not to think of that while reading this book, because Edward, the cranky bookseller from a posh family, seems to be pretty close to Shaun's self depiction. Add on the protagonist Thea who has been left a home (and a lot of used books) by her great-uncle ...↘️
pickThis book had me in the first part, lost me for the middle, but brought me back in the end. It is nice to read a book about a middle aged woman being an adult. Even after her horrible first few weeks. Language can be crude, but in a nice direct way. It‘s refreshing to read adults being adults. Actually TALKING to each other. Although I wish the romance was drawn out longer, thou the chapters said how the year went by
I‘m pretty sure I know where this is going, and I‘m not really there for it. Like, Thea is not even divorced yet and here she is getting over that affair to feeling conflicted about Edward. He‘s so brash and harsh. I do love the premise a “grumpy exterior but soft interior” kind of person. But this seems so pushed and rushed here in the middle of the book
pickI really appreciated a really fun romance about a woman in her mid 40s - gives me a bit of hope! I loved how Thea, the main character had just given up on censoring herself and became her true self
The Random House Book Club is having a virtual happy hour with the book author next Tuesday, May 25 6pm, so I got a load of reading to do
I like the premise of this book being that Thea is having everything bad happening to her when she finds out she‘s inherited a bookshop from a distant uncle. One that she goes to to relax, whereas she confronts someone about buying her uncles collection. So does she stick with this seemingly good second chance?
pickThough a bit drawn out, this is a pleasant and rather sweetly predictable romance. After twenty years of marriage, Thea learns of her husband‘s infidelity and a timely unexplained inheritance allows her to make a fresh start in Scotland. Soon, she is working in the town bookshop for the town grump- but it‘s not long before she manages to soften his gruff exterior. With older protagonists, this is a refreshing read and a nice lighthearted escape!
pickThea, at 40+, married for two decades, finds her world upended by a separation from her husband. She moves to Scotland to take possession of a lodge bequeathed to her by a great-uncle. She begins a job in a local bookshop with a grumpy boss named Edward, and the two gradually become friends.
This is a story about learning to trust again and not just in love. There‘s also an estranged sibling arc, a look at betrayal from two different viewpoints 🔻
Just signed up for #GroupL of the #LMPBC to read LGBTQ+ titles! Woot!! Who's with me? @suvata @Shakespearience
pickJust lovely. I adored that the protagonist was in her 40s and they were all middle aged and that was normal. It‘s seems so dark to read something where everyone is my age and normal things are happening and they‘re getting on with life. Just a lovely, gentle read.
