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Favorite December read! I was skeptical at first because despite all the great reviews I absolutely hated the main character for the first good bit. But the character growth was spectacularly done and I fell in love with her by the end. The setting also felt magical and made me very excited to visit Edinburgh ✨

My December favorite!
#12booksof2023

3✨ Carmen has to return home when she loses her job. She is the sister who you can‘t count on and with kids and one on the way she is not the ideal house guest. Soon Carmen starts working at a bookshop of a man who likes the books more than the business. It has some great dialogue and funny situations. There is a misunderstanding and hope throughout. #WinterGames #GingerbreadGems #WordSearch 4,006

December #bookspin

Final bookspin read of the year is a pick. I enjoyed this story, mostly for all the Edinburgh geography, but found the story just ok.

I am posting one book per day from my extensive to-be-read collection. No description and providing no reason for wanting to read it, I just do. Some will be old, some will be new. Don‘t judge me - I have a lot of books. Join in if you want!

#ABookADay2023

I can‘t believe I forgot to mention this book has one of my favorite ever comments on modern witchcraft:

P.331-332 “Oh, those are those glossy working-mother types, always perfect, never a hair out of place. Bronagh told me about them. She says they‘re all witches. No other way you could conceivably ‘have it all‘ apparently.”

This may be a new addition to my annual holiday reading list, along with all the murder, fairytales, etc.

Although accurate depictions of sisterhood, children, & love, I want to live in this world where none of the depression or other mental illness is crippling. Maybe that‘s Scotland? I‘d be willing to give it a shot.

Until then, I want to share the beautiful painting my student/colleague/friend made of my children in all their alien beauty

At the beach this weekend with Maggie 🐶. Hoping a quiet stay at my aunts house provides just the right background to get out of my reading slump.

This one was lovely and my favorite of the holiday books I have read this year! Of course, it's set in a bookshop, so that already wins points 😂. The characters were charming, the sister dynamics were great, and the developing relationship between Carmen and her nieces and nephew (especially Phoebe) was heartwarming. Mr. McCready's storyline was a great touch, and his character is lovable.

I enjoyed this festive story. I loved the descriptions of Edinburgh. And who wouldn‘t love to work in such a magical bookshop? I even learnt a little bit about trees! A heartwarming and gentle read just right for this time of year.

Enjoyed this! A feel good holiday read…I‘ll check out the sequel next year! 🎄

#adventathon #AtoZ #bookspinbingo (my #doublespin for this month - meant to read last year) #candylandreadathon #holidayromance #ispybingo #promptmaze #RushAThon #wintercosy
#wintergames #candycanecrushers

December #bookspin pick!

I‘m reading this with my local book group. Two books this time, this is the Christmas themed one (the other is set in SE Asia).

Book #60 of the year! I'm feeling generous: 3⭐️

It was fine, but I could have done without the romance bit. I thought Carmen's growing bond with her family and her time helping "young" Mr. McCredie in the bookshop were far more endearing and believable plotlines. There was some humor, particularly when the children were involved.

I very much enjoyed the Edinburgh setting, particularly since I have been and could envision it all in my head. ❤️?

Apparently I‘ll just be reading books about bookshops for the foreseeable future.

#JanuaryJazz @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs
#Bookshop

This is a cute story about love (for others/family) and finding one's passion (working at the bookshop). The MC - Carmen - was hard to like until about halfway through the book, but once she grew up a bit it was a fun/pleasant read.

#BookSpinBingo
#ISpyBingo
#nobuy2023
@TheAromaofBooks @Clwojick @PuddleJumper

Make a great day everyone 🙂

My hold came in, so I'll be extending the holidays 🎄

Make a great day everyone ✨

#12BooksOf2022 @Andrew65

My favorite book of December was The Christmas Bookshop Shop by Jenny Colgan.

#darkcolor

Listened to the audiobook. What a sweet story. It was performed well by the narrator. Loved the references of real Scottish places and landmarks in Edinburgh.

I was feeling rather Grinch-y this year so decided to see whether this would get me in a Christmas-y mood. While it wasn‘t 100% successful in altering my mood, it was still a delightful way to spend a few hours. Sometimes books like this are a soothing balm, despite their predictability.

Of all the cute, sweet and sappy books I have read this month (and there have been plenty) this is my favorite of the bunch. I liked the characters a lot especially Carman. I enjoyed seeing her bloom in her new job. Then there was old Mr. McCredie that I instantly fell for. Combined with a believable plot it was a heart warming story full of Christmas cheer. 4⭐️🎄🎄🎄

A lovely, well-written Christmas romance. Lovable characters in a beautiful setting - a bookshop in Edinburgh at Christmas time. A perfect December read.
This was my #BookSpin for this month. @TheAromaofBooks
#WinterReadathon, #WinterReadathonWordBingo (Party, Decoration)
#HolidayRomanceBingo (Save a Small Business)
#WinterCosyBookBingo (Set Somewhere You Don‘t Live)
#UKRoadTrip (Midlothian)

I read this for #Midwintersolace as I wanted something cosy but outside my comfort zone. Romance is not my genre. However, I really did enjoy this charming story of Carmen and her reconnection to life, family and herself.

I wanted to love this book but I just couldn‘t get into it… I found the characters annoying and didn‘t really care about what was happening. Not a winner in my book.

I was in more than a book slump I was in just a slump. This book was perfect 💯 way to get out of it. I absolutely love her writing after reading The Bookshop around the corner which I highly recommend. Im so glad I picked a Christmas book. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

This cover is giving me all the Christmas feels! 🎄🎄🎄

Perfect book to get the vibe of holiday season. Such a heartwarming story set in Edinburg. every year I make sure that I read one of Jenny Colgan‘s book 😬🥰 First time I came across Dendrologist as a fictional character in the book. Such a fancy idea 😇 I hope all my #Naturalitsy friends adore such characters.
#holidayread #christmas #booksaboutbooks #bookspinbingo

Yay! My #jolabokaflod has arrived! How to patiently wait till Christmas Eve 🤩

I love this book with everything I got.
Such a good Christmas book that I think everyone should read. Shows the importance of finding yourself and that you can‘t make it on your own.

5⭐️

I enjoyed this book mostly hallmark movie vibes,set in Edinburgh Scotland Carmen the main character is not very ambitious or family oriented to the frustration of her mother and sister, her very put together sister gets her a job trying to help a failing bookstore and it‘s owner has his own family secrets and add a few love interests and a nice story though a little long,I really enjoyed the descriptions of the city
Book1 of #winterreadathon

I read this book last year and thought it might be fun to listen to the audiobook this time around. Turns out I still love it 😂! This was my first Jenny Colgan novel and I‘ve now bought, read, and listened to a bunch more. She brings Edinburgh alive at what I can only imagine is the most beautiful time of year. I also now feel a need to find this fictional bookshop and just live there! Just so sweet and holiday perfect. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I wanted to love this book! Sadly, this was not one of my favorite Jenny Colgan books. Her MCs are usually lovable characters who overcome their circumstances and everything works out well for them in the end. I just couldn't find anything I loved about the MCs in this book. They seemed too much like really annoying people, and that's definitely not what I want to read about.

Continued in comments ⬇️

Fun Cozy Christmas Romance. Story about the love between two sisters. One who appears to have a perfect life and one has the appearance of being rebellious and carefree. The choice of 2 attractive men. A run down book shop but what awaits inside is a treasure. Appearances vs reality. What I didn't like was that it was a little long winded and a little too predictable but overall a good holiday read that feels like a hallmark movie.

#WinterReadathon
First Christmas read completed this month 🎄📚

A lovely cosy read. Meet Carmen, who loses her job before Christmas and has no option left but to move in with her perfect sister and her family.
Carmen starts a new job in an ancient bookshop, can she help save the store before old Mr McCredie has to sell it?
Throw in some romance (2 totally opposite men) and sisters who compete. This story offers a strong sense of place as you are immersed in a festive Edinburgh, it seems magical at Christmas.

Starting Day 4 of the #WinterReadathon with my #DoubleSpin pick that I've been looking forward to reading, and my new favorite coffee flavor! #coffeeandabook

#winterreadathon
Starting this festive read a night early! 🎄❄️🎁
It‘s beginning to look a like Christmas 🎶

THE CHRISTMAS BOOKSHOP has shifted modes from whiney bitchiness to charming bitchiness; way more my scene. I‘m enjoying it a lot now and I wanted an excuse to listen for longer, so I pulled out the fox mittens I started last winter and kind of forgot about. (Oops.) Now I‘m only eleven rounds and a thumb away from finishing the second mitten! Whee! #audioknitting

I hung a wall of lights in my reading nook, for obvious reasons. Gonna keep the blinds closed and the lights plugged in for the next two months, thanks.

I also made a good start on Jenny Colgan‘s 2021 Christmas release, and it‘s… kind of bitchy so far? And whiney? I hope the protagonist‘s time at the bookshop helps her to evolve past the whiney bitchiness stage of her emotional development. #audiodecorating

Good. Nice Christmas story, full of festive cheer. Even though there are romantic elements it is mainly a story of two sisters and the love between them.

#Sphere

My first festive read of 2022! I really wanted to like this but unfortunately I just hated the main character and that made everything else hard to like. Like, she‘s in a difficult place but did she need to be that rude to everyone in her life including random strangers? Maybe the audio performance made her seem meaner but I just found it frustrating mostly.

Lovely

I read this book last month to put me in the holiday mood. I love Jenny Colgan books, they are pretty much always the same story... girl has a dead end job/lifestyle, girl moves to small town, girl finds simple life more fulfilling, girl falls in love. Sometimes the comfort of predictability is needed.

#12BooksOf2021 #December

Christmas. A failing bookshop. Jenny Colgan.
That was all I needed to jump into this one & I wasn‘t disappointed.

Read this during my winter break as a December themed book. Loved it. Short and sweet and a nice message.

1 of 2 #BookSpinBingo cards I completed in December. 🎄
I love reading winter and holiday books. 🤓

I really loved this story (even though the narration was not great). Carmen is 20 something and feeling a bit lost in life, especially when compared to her perfect older sister with her perfect home and perfect family. She reluctantly moves in with her sister and tries to help an old man save his bookshop, and her heart begins to melt and grow as she spends time with her nieces and nephew and finds herself interested in 2 very different men. ⬇

My cozy reading set up was elevated thanks to my partner‘s Mom. Digging my reading lap desk & personalized book cup.