Jackie Fraser

A woman desperate to turn a new page heads to the Scottish coast and finds herself locked in a battle of wills with an infuriatingly aloof bookseller in this utterly heartwarming debut, perfect for readers of Evvie Drake Starts Over. Thea Mottram is having a bad month. She's been let go from her office job with no notice--and to make matters even worse, her husband of nearly twenty years has decided to leave her for one of her friends. Bewildered and completely lost, Thea doesn't know what to do. But when she learns that a distant great uncle in Scotland has passed away, leaving her his home and a hefty antique book collection, she decides to leave Sussex for a few weeks. Escaping to a small coastal town where no one knows her seems to be exactly what she needs. Almost instantly, Thea becomes enamored with the quaint cottage, comforted by its cozy rooms and lovely but neglected garden. The locals in nearby Baldochrie are just as warm, quirky, and inviting. The only person she can't seem to win over is bookshop owner Edward Maltravers, to whom she hopes to sell her uncle's book collection. His gruff attitude--fueled by an infamous, long-standing feud with his brother, a local lord--tests Thea's patience. But bickering with Edward proves oddly refreshing and exciting, leading Thea to develop feelings she hasn't experienced in a long time. As she follows a thrilling yet terrifying impulse to stay in Scotland indefinitely, Thea realizes that her new life may quickly become just as complicated as the one she was running from.

A Novel

The Bookshop of Second Chances

This is a great book for rom-com and soap opera fans. Fraser’s writing needs some work—smoother transitions, a sense of time passing, and improved dialogue—especially in the first third, but about halfway through it becomes much more entertaining. The reader is invested in the story and not so much on how it’s told. The characters aren’t special, but they’re fun to read. Edward Maltravers is a hoot and a half. I smiled more than once as Thea slowly melted his icy heart. Fraser also writes a good deal of self-reflection, which makes the story relatable. Not a bad read, not my favorite, don’t regret reading it, but happy to move on to another book. 

Adelia French

Amber Brianne

I did love how the emotion poured from the pages, and then from my eyes. I was either crying because I was sad with Thea, or crying because I was so happy for her.

Megan Creasy

Honestly this book was extremely dull. The cover is cute and the plot had potential but the writing couldn't captivate me.

Lauren Sullivan

Content warnings: (view spoiler)[adultery, miscarriages (in the past), misogyny, estranged family relationships, alcohol use, drug use (marijuana) (hide spoiler)]

Isn’t that cover adorable? I was drawn in by the sunny colors – hello summer! – and further intrigued by the blurb. As you might expect from the illustrated cover, this leans more towards women’s fic, but despite a few issues, I rather enjoyed it.

After her husband leaves her for her best friend and she loses her job, Thea moves out of their house and into the Scottish cottage she just inherited from her great-uncle. I mean, what better way to deal with a complete upheaval of your life than to move to a quaint little village? Thanks to a library full of rare books, Thea’s got enough to live on, but decides to take a job with at the local bookshop, against the initial reluctance from the grumpy and somewhat misogynistic bookshop owner. But as the months pass, is she turning over a new leaf or just hiding from life?

“There’s a rack of vintage postcards of the local area in fantastically saturated colors, and a list of Questions to which the answer is No, all of which are quite obnoxious. I can tell Edward Maltravers (or someone who works for him) adds to these as they occur to him, since halfway down it says, Do you have or want to buy FIFTY SHADES OF GREY? Another one says, Are people more important than books? and, My child does not read, will they be okay?”

I’d say this book falls more under the women’s fiction umbrella than romance. Sure, there is a romance in it, but the main point is Thea restarting her life and figuring out what she really wants, and part of that just happens to include a romance. And while I’m not quite at that age yet, it was also refreshing to read a book about a woman in her mid-forties. Thea’s practical, if a bit out of touch with her emotions, and has no qualms telling it like it is. While I liked her and would love to sit down for a cup of tea and chat about books with her, there were times her practicalness edged into doormat territory for me.

“So anyway. No girls?”
“Too much trouble.”
I shake my head, disbelieving. “It’s not your tree house.”
“Yes, it is. It’s totally my tree house.” Edward nods, firmly.
“What kind of trouble, anyway? Weeping? Menstruating?”
“Jesus Christ.”
This makes me laugh. “Well?”
He lifts a shoulder, irritable. “They fall in love with me. Or I fall in love with them. It’s stupid and annoying.”

That’s a decided opposite to Edward, the local bookshop owner, who would most kindly be described as a curmudgeon. While Thea has a tendency to be blunt, Edward’s downright rude and borderline cruel, especially to his younger brother, Charles, who inherited the lordship after Edward abdicated it. I liked seeing Edward fall in love with Thea almost more than seeing Thea fall in love with him. It’s very slow burn, but watching them become friends was highly enjoyable. They had lovely banter – Thea, after all, doesn’t let Edward get away with his usual grumpiness – but it did get old hearing everyone else in the village try to convince Thea that he liked her. However, I never really grew to like Edward, so that affected my enjoyment of the relationship quite a bit. Edward and his Charles are estranged and have a lot of decades-old resentments between them. They both did some really awful things to each other, and especially with what Edward did, I had problems understanding how Thea could just accept that give her own recent history.

“What a gorgeous day. I feel my spirits lift further. You could almost say I was happy. I don’t like to address this thought head-on, though, because if you look at happiness it usually disappears, a shy creature. And also—it’s just a layer, isn’t it? A moment’s joy that’s come from nature, sunshine and seaside, overlaying everything else.”

Watching Thea fall in love with the Scottish countryside was much more enjoyable. Baldochrie, Thea’s cottage, and the bookshop were all lovingly described. Thea initially intends to only stay for a bit, but as the summer turns into fall, it becomes clear how much the town fits her. It’s all a bit cliche – that sort of second chance at life that has a mature woman starting over in a vacation destination and falling in love with the black sheep. And while I can’t say it was thrilling or particularly compelling, it was an enjoyable read. The narrative is very much in Thea’s head, with lots of rhetorical questions and dropped off sentences. I liked it – it felt almost like I was chatting with a friend – but I can see how it would turn off some readers.

Overall, I’d give this 3.5 stars. If you’re looking to spend some time in the Scottish countryside and don’t mind a chatty narrator, I think this would be a nice summer read.

I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Set in a charming little Scottish town, The Bookshop of Second Chances is an uplifting story of fresh starts and new beginnings by a hugely talented debut author. 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... An enchanting story of Scottish lords, second-hand books, new beginnings and second chances perfect for fans of Cressida McLaughlin, Veronica Henry, Rachel Lucas and Jenny Colgan. 'How much do I love this book? So, so much. Refreshing and romantic, it's an absolute cracker!' HEIDI SWAIN, Sunday Times bestselling author 'A gorgeous, tip-top, pitch-perfect romantic read - I loved it!' RACHEL HORE, Sunday Times bestselling author 'The Bookshop of Second Chances has lifted my heart more than anything I’ve read for a very long time. It’s funny, clever, well written, warm, joyful and comforting. I could rave about it all day!' IONA GREY, bestselling author of Letters to the Lost 'An escapist romance that glows with warmth! I loved it.' CARMEL HARRINGTON, bestselling author of A Thousand Roads Home 'A real winner with so much heart and a wonderfully relatable heroine.' CHRISTINA PISHIRIS, author of Love Songs for Sceptics

The most uplifting story about fresh starts and new beginnings you'll read in 2020

Liz Carpenter

Less fluffy and more relatable than I was expecting. Not exactly action-packed, but I still read straight through.

Erin Pitstra

This is the first 3 star read this year, I enjoyed a lot of parts of this book, but I just didn't like the writing style, and had a hard time getting into it at first, I also wasn't a fan at how much it felt like the book jumped around and just suddenly ended scenes.

Alisha E Tucker

Thea is let go from her job without notice and then finds out her husband of twenty years is having an affair with her friend.

Her distant great uncle in Scotland passes away and decides to leave his home and book collection to her, so she decides to escape to the small costal town as a vacation. 

What she wasn't expecting was to fall in love with the town and everyone who lives there. Except the only person she can't win over is Edward Maltravers, the bookshop owner. 

She decides to get a job at the bookshop, just part time during her indefinite "vacation". But will she be able to get along with the grumpy Edward? Who is always testing her patience, and bickering with her?

The Bookshop of Second Chances A Novel

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