The Christmas Bookshop: A Heartwarming Holiday Romance Novel of Family Bonds, Unexpected Love, and a Charming Edinburgh Bookshop

The Christmas Bookshop is a delightful, feel-good novel that celebrates books, love, and new beginnings. It’s an ideal choice for readers looking for a cozy Christmas story with emotional depth and plenty of festive spirit.

Carmen followed her heart and read books wherever her interests took her, about space, history, romance, anything she felt like, alighting from one to the next like a butterfly.’ In her family, Carmen is viewed as the one who is floundering career-wise, although she is loved by her parents, she is viewed in a different light than her older, and more successful sister, Sofia. The successful lawyer, the one who also has three children and another on the way, as well as a successful husband. Carmen, on the other hand, has no love life, a rather dreary job which she loses early on as this story begins. Now jobless, she moves back home with her parents, temporarily, until her mother suggests, perhaps, she could move in with her sister Sofia, and help out with the house and kids as well as a client of Sofia’s, a man who owns a failing bookshop, Mr. McCredie. McCredie’s bookshop is in a bit of a financial pickle, he has a very limited amount of time before he loses the bookshop, which happens to also be where he lives in the rooms beyond where the public see - that is if anyone were actually coming in to shop for books. Even if they did, they’d have a very difficult time trying to find anything. If he can’t find a way to attract enough buyers before Christmas, he will lose everything. If he can raise enough money, he will at least be able to sell it, although it seems impossible. When Carmen arrives at Sofia’s house, it is the first time she’s seen it. To her it almost seems like a house out of a fairy tale. While Sofia welcomes her in, there is a sense of her viewing her more as another “helper” than a beloved sister. It’s only once she’s there that she is aware that Sofia also expects her to be the back-up nanny to Skyler, since Skyler is also a university student, and has her yoga and meditation to keep up with, as well. Although the children don’t seem to be particularly fond of their Aunt Carmen at first, she does manage to win them over, a little at a time. The youngest is the first to warm up to her, and she notes that Pippa, her older sister seems to be a lot like Sofia as she seems to enjoy tormenting her little sister. This story, for the most part, is set between the bookshop where she goes to help Mr. McCredie save his bookshop from financial ruin. It is a much bigger task than she’d expected, but the more time she spends there the more invested she becomes. It helps that she loves to read, and so she has a good eye for both the books, and the importance of having some way to draw people into the store. When she comes across McCredie’s old train set, the whole scene of how the bookshop will look begins to take form in her mind. She also adds a story-telling time for children, which helps, as the parents tend to love the bookshop’s transformation. Her love for both the work she is doing there grows. At the same time, she is working to help McCredie interact more with the patrons, and soon thereafter, another surprise helps. A famous, beloved author will be coming there to do both sign books and do a reading. A sweet story that shares the beauty that surrounds the area, a beauty that comes from both the patrons, the descriptions of the local buildings, the oncoming days of wintry snow, and more. There is also a bit of a romance, a love story, but at its heart, this story is about creating bonds, and how extending kindness and love might, perhaps, lead to becoming a better and more loving person.

This is a well written typical Christmas story that is very enjoyable. I was pleasantly surprised that the story held more meaning than the typical holiday romance. I would recommend it to anyone who could use a reminder that love of many kinds continues in this confusing, often troubling, world. Read it for relaxing comfort with a cup of hot chocolate on a cold and snowy day.

I read dozens of books of all kinds every year and this one stands out a mile! Its multiple story lines are woven expertly and very easy to follow, as are the characters who you can take into your heart immediately. Its imperfect characters in imperfect circumstances are heartwarming and real, as is the background of Edinburgh, Scotland. The situations, characters and background sweep you in from the very beginning which is why it's very hard to put down! Highly recommend!

This is a very delightful story set in Edinburgh, Scotland. The description of the cities was very detailed and east to envision. There were just enough characters to keep the story interesting. Carmen and Sophia kept the drama to a minimum, as Carmen emerged to find herself. Enjoyable plot with just enough twists to keep the reader guessing. Simple and entertaining.

Entertaining, easy read!

I greatly enjoyed the story. It is full of magic, love, family, and friendships. Jenny Colgan did a superb job of describing the world in a beautiful way where I felt like I was right there with the characters. Unfortunately, I found many parts to be too jumpy and chaotic. It didn't flow very well. There were also parts where it felt like it just dragged on. The characters were all very interesting, but sometimes a bit irritating. "People buy things in the hope that it will make them feel better," said Blair. "It gives you a momentary boost, just buying it, but not for long." "All days are special days. Every day we should feel, I hope, a little grace. And we can use it to bring peace in everything we do, to recon- cile and bear quiet witness to our common humanity. Sorry. I don't really have anything special to say..."

I loved every page of The Christmas Bookshop. It had a few of my favorite things: books, Christmas, snow, sisters and love. Having lived under the diamond achievements of her older sister Sofia, Carmen always felt less than. Sofia grudgingly with their mom's encouragement helps find Carmen a job. She was made redundant at her job and had to move back home. So begins the delightful story of what it means for sisters who were at odds with each other and they had been their entire life, find their way through a beautiful journey of forgiveness and reconciliation. And Carmen gains so much more. So much more than she could've ever expected. Sofia has an amazing life. She's a successful solicitor, married to a successful husband and they three cute kids with a fourth on the way and they live in a beautiful home. Carmen has very little and is basically homeless. By the way, the children made me smile often. Pippa and Phoebe. Just cuties and you definitely see little Sofia and Carmen in those two. Jack was just Jack. The nanny, Skylar, was an ole biddy. There was a dofus of an inspirational author who was a fraud and quite miserable. I did not like those two clowns at all. Oke was just intellectually adorable. You will have to swipe to read the parts they played in this warm story. There was a host of lovely characters that made the story more wonderful. The sense of community in the town was so noticeable that I want to go there fo get a visit. I'm sorry but you're really gonna have to get your own copy. But you will not be disappointed in the decision to read The Christmas Bookshop. Perfect holiday read. Thank Ms. Colgan. Merry Christmas!!