Today the blog tour for The Bookshop Of Second Chances stops here on Rea Book Reviews and I am going to be sharing my thoughts on this debut novel by Jackie Fraser.
Synpsis
Thea’s having a bad month. Not only has she been made redundant, she’s also discovered her husband of nearly twenty years is sleeping with one of her friends. And he’s not sorry – he’s leaving.
Bewildered and lost, Thea doesn’t know what to do. But, when she learns the great-uncle she barely knew has died and left her his huge collection of second-hand books and a house in the Scottish Lowlands, she seems to have been offered a second chance.
Running away to a little town where no one knows her seems like exactly what Thea needs. But when she meets the aristocratic Maltravers brothers – grumpy bookshop owner Edward and his estranged brother Charles, Lord Hollinshaw – her new life quickly becomes just as complicated as the life she was running from...
Review
I am a sucker for any books that are set in a bookshop as this is my absolute dream job so The Bookshop of Second Chances sounded like just my kind of book to read on my staycation this year.
Thea has discovered that her husband has been having an affair
with her friend, as begins to box up her belongings Thea has no idea what to do
next with no job, no house and no relationship she is lost. A lifeline appears
in news that her uncle has left his house in Scotland along with a valuable book
collection to Thea and this provides her with a getaway to take time to heal
and decide what she wants to do with her life next.
Thea is such a strong independent woman who picks herself up
dusts herself off and is ready to start her next chapter and as she takes her
time to decide what her next step is she takes a job in the local bookshop with
a well known grumpy owner Edward.
This was a promising debut by Jackie Fraser, she keeps her
storylines tight focusing on our two main characters rather than dancing off on
various small sub plots which allows us to get to know both Thea and Andrew on
a deeper level. They are down to earth flawed characters especially Andrew but
they are still likeable none the less and although I had a feeling I knew where
this storyline was going to take me I still enjoyed watching everything slot
into places with the odd bump along the way.
My only thing I found that didn’t sit right with me was the
random swearing, now I hold my hands up and say I have a filthy mouth but it
took me aback each time they swore as it seemed to come from nowhere and didn’t
feel like it was in context or that it was part of the characters traits.
The author does touch on the emotional vulnerabilities of
dating again later in life after a long relationship breakdown, the nerves of
being seen naked by someone new after so long and having to let your guard down
and learn to trust and move forward again.
I loved that the bookshop really was incorporated into the
storyline rather than just being a fleeting mention here and there. All in all
I felt this was wonderful honest and entertaining debut and I would definitely read
another book by this author.
Kindle Paperback
No comments:
Post a Comment