The Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan
Reviewed by: Dawn Dickey
Genre: Fiction / Romance
Suggested Age: 14+
What is the book about?: Carmen Hogan, like her Scottish hometown, is down on her luck. Her longtime job in retail at the town’s last remaining department store is coming to an end as the store closes for good. It’s the end of an era, and, for Carmen, means an uncertain future. Meanwhile, Carmen’s sister Sofia is a successful lawyer in Edinburgh, with a beautiful house which she shares with an equally successful husband and three – soon to be four – children and a nanny. Sofia comes up with a hopefully brilliant solution to help a dear old client, Mr. McCredie, who runs a bookshop filled with dusty, rare and vintage books. Sofia recruits her now out-of-work sister Carmen to help turn around the finances at the bookshop. Carmen can live in Sofia’s (somewhat dreary) basement apartment and even (hurray) help with child care on the nights when nanny has evening classes. Carmen reluctantly accepts, and her bookstore and romantic adventures in the imposing (and hilly) Scottish capital begin!
My Review: Author Jenny Colgan never disappoints. This novel is warm and inviting. The setting, lovely Edinburgh, comes alive for the reader as Carmen finds her way around Edinburgh as a resident and not just an occasional visitor, and I find the setting almost as interesting as the characters. The characters are quirky, crazy but at the same time realistic, learning and growing together in ways that they would not have imagined at the tale’s beginning. It’s a feel-good, laugh-out-loud read that I highly recommend!
Three Words That Describe This Book: Funny, charming, heartwarming
Give This a Try if You Like…romantic comedies or novels by writers like Sophie Kinsella or Cecelia Ahern or Marian Keyes
Rating: 5/5
