Title: The Christmas Bookshop
Author: Jenny Colgan
Genre: Holiday, Fiction, Romance
Published On: November 16, 2021
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Source: ebook
Pages: 288
Synopsis:
Perfect for the holidays! A brand-new heartwarming Christmas novel from the beloved New York Times bestselling author of The Bookshop on the Corner and Christmas at the Island Hotel.
When the department store she works in closes for good, Carmen has perilously little cash and few options. She doesn’t want to move in with her perfect sister Sofia, in Sofia’s perfect house with her perfect children and her perfectly ordered Edinburgh life.
Frankly, Sofia doesn’t exactly want Carmen there either. Her sister has always been sarcastic and difficult. But Sofia has yet another baby on the way, a mother desperate to see her daughters get along, and a client who needs a retail assistant for his ailing bookshop, so welcoming Carmen might still have some benefits for everyone.
At Sofia’s behest, Carmen is thrown into the daily workings of old Mr. McCredie’s ancient bookshop on the streets of the old dark city. Can she use her design skills to revamp the store and bring it back to popularity in time to benefit from Christmas shopping traffic? Can she choose between bad boy literary rock star Blair and quiet Quaker student Oke? And will she heal the rift with the most important people of all: her family?
My thoughts
(Spoiler free)
The Christmas Bookshop is the second book I’ve read by Jenny Colgan and I adored the story, the characters, and especially the setting of charming Edinburgh, which is the perfect setting for a Christmas romance set in a bookshop. And while this one has plenty of romance, it’s primarily a story about sisters and family and finding your place in that family.
“Carmen tried to tell herself the city was so lovely only because it was filled with annoying rich people who wore red trousers and had surnames as first names and were all snotty show-offs like Sofia. But it wore you down, the magic. Even now, only in November, when night fell so early it felt like every street was beating back the dark every way it knew how: early trees appearing, glowing gold from inside the smart New Town apartments and in the big bay windows of the West End terraces; lights garlanding every road and stretching across the wide bank of George Street, with its expensive shops and bars wreathed in holly and more lights; the pillars of the huge Dome restaurant swathed in meters of foliage and lights sparkling and twinkling; the Ivy restaurant transforming its doorway into the wardrobe doors of Narnia that took you into a snowy scene.”
Jenny Colgan, The Christmas Bookshop
Carmen has always felt like a failure, especially compared to her perfect sister Sofia, who was excellent at school, has an impressive job as a lawyer, a handsome husband, and three beautiful children. When Carmen loses her job and Sofia (with some encouraging from their mother) offers to let her come stay with her family and help out one of Sofia’s clients through the holidays, Carmen doesn’t feel like she can say no.
When she arrives and discovers she’s sleeping in the basement (next door to the annoying nanny), is expected to help out her very pregnant sister with her nieces and nephew on evenings when the nanny is in class (and her handsome husband is out of town on business), and that the bookshop she’ll be helping in is more like a storage room than a bookshop, she feels like she’s been set up to fail—once again.
But as she settles in, she gets to know the village, the bookshop, and her family. And she starts to discover who she wants to be.
The characters are so well-done in this one. They’re funny, relatable, and engaging. Children aren’t always done well in romances, but I adored Carmen’s nieces and nephew! And if you’ve read Colgan’s The Bookshop on the Shore, you may recognize a few side characters. I haven’t read the book, but I could tell there was history there so I looked them up. Now I’m even more eager to pick it up. I already have the book waiting on my shelf.
Just like the other Colgan book I read, The Bookshop on the Corner, there are two possible love interests in The Christmas Bookshop. If you’re not a fan of triangles, then you have no need to worry. Colgan never seems to take it to that point. I always enjoy how she manages to leave the reader wondering who the main character will end up with throughout most of the book. I’m very happy with how the love story came together. It’s sweet and super memorable.
One of my favorite aspects of this novel is the setting of Edinburgh. I can’t remember ever reading a book set there and it had me googling all the locations she mentions. It sounds absolutely charming at Christmastime with fairy lights, Christmas markets, hot chocolate, mulled wine, snow, and the festive bookshop.
Much of this one is also set in fall, starting around the first of November, so it was nice to ease into the Christmas part and experience Edinburgh in the fall, as well.
I absolutely loved this holiday romance, and it’s the perfect read to kick off the holiday season!
Thank you to the publisher, William Morrow Paperbacks, and Netgalley for providing me with an advance copy.
(All quotes are taken from the advance copy and are subject to change in final print.)
Rating:
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About the Author
Jenny Colgan
Jenny Colgan was born in Scotland and has lived in London, the Netherlands, the U.S. and France. She eventually settled on the wettest of all of these places, and currently lives just North of Edinburgh with her husband Andrew, her dog Nevil Shute, and her three children: Wallace, who is 11 and likes pretending to be 19 and not knowing what this embarrassing ‘family’ thing is that keeps following him about; Michael-Francis, who is 9 and likes making new friends on aeroplanes, and Delphine who is 7 and is mostly raccoon as far as we can tell so far.
Things Jenny likes include: cakes, far too much Doctor Who, wearing Converse trainers every day so her feet are now just gigantic big flat pans; baths only slightly cooler than the surface of the sun and very very long books, the longer the better.
A Song For A Book
When I started thinking about a song for The Christmas Bookshop, I went looking for a Christmas song by a Scottish singer or band. I quickly discovered “Winter Wonderland” by The Cocteau Twins, a lovely, dreamy version I could imagine Carmen playing in the background of the bookshop.
Sleigh bells ring, are you listening?
In the lane, snow is glistening
A beautiful sight
We’re happy tonight
Walking in a winter wonderland
Gone away is the bluebird
Here to stay is a new bird
He sings a love song
As we go along
Walking in a winter wonderland…
Have you read The Christmas Bookshop? Or did you add it to your tbr? Let me know in the comments!
Happy Wandering!
I hadn’t heard of this one before. It sounds good. I will put it on my list for if I feel like a holiday read.
Yay! Happy to help. 😉
I still haven’t read anything by this author but I’ve seen lots of positive reviews about her Bookshop on the Corner book! This sounds (and looks) like a fun festive read 🙂
Yes! I loved that one, as well. I think you’d like them. <3
I loved this book! The author included witty wordplay with plenty occasions to laugh out loud. I was relieved Carmen selected who she did. I also enjoyed seeing the growth of not only Carmen but Mr. McCreadie as well. The sisters developing relationship was nice to see. Looking forward to reading other works by this author.