This is a story of loss and grief and working through it. The travelling bookshop is merely the backdrop for the in depth look at how Aria is getting over the loss of her husband. The characters are lovely, the setting is nice, there are no real conflicts apart from the one Aria is having with herself. Needed more plot and less grieving for me

Aria is a character that I was fascinated with straightaway. I loved her passion and wanted to jump in her van to travel with her, Rosie and Max to France. This was not the book that I expected but I ate it fast in a day, speeding along with her relationship and her travels (and itching to get to y

Let me first get it out of the way and say that I would like a travelling bookshop too, please!

Aria’s Travelling Bookshop is a standalone sequel to Rosie’s Travelling Tea Shop, in which Rosie found romance and Aria featured as a side character. Here they switch roles, with the main focus on Aria, and Rosie’s relationship forms a lovely sub-plot. I can confirm that you don’t need to have read Rosie’s story to fully appreciate and understand Aria’s story, but am sure it is an equally delightful read, so can’t think of a reason not to go ahead and get them both!

I found the ‘Van Lifer’ lifestyle completely fascinating and very appealing, and thoroughly enjoyed the travel aspect of the story, as Aria and Rosie and the gang tour France with their various mobile businesses. While Aria’s bookshop is right up my street, I did find myself salivating at Rosie and Max’s concoctions. Honestly, I just wanted to take to the road with them all and join in the fun.

There’s a sadder element to the story too though. I felt deeply sympathetic towards Aria’s grief over the loss of her husband and felt it completely understandable that she would feel guilt at moving on without him. To me, this felt like one of the most real and reasonable obstacles I have read in a romance novel, as there is no way to resolve the issue with the loved one who has died… you have to be ready to find the solution within yourself. Luckily, Aria has her friends, a certain journal, and a handsome fellow book-lover to help her address her feelings about TJ and find a path to her future.

This isn’t just a sob-fest either! Aria’s little ‘stories’ (about lost contact lenses etc) are pure ridiculous comedy, and her friendships with the other Van Lifers – especially Rosie – are full of warmth, camaraderie and entertaining banter.

The one relationship I wasn’t quite sold on at first was, unfortunately, the one with Aria’s potential love interest. Their initial meet-cute happens before the book starts, and it feels like the reader misses the chance to see that bond form, so when she falls into his arms (literally, from a stage) it feels like a bit of a shallow infatuation, rather than a meaningful relationship. This feeling faded as the book progressed and they eventually got to spend more time sharing interests and backstories, and by the end of the book I was with Aria all the way.

This story is lovely comfort reading for romance fans and book lovers, and I would definitely read more from Rebecca Raisin and her Van Lifers in future!



Whenever I’m conflicted, I picture myself the heroine in a love story to make sense of it all. That’s the problem with being obsessed with romance novels, you see everything play out as one, including your very own life.
Hopeless romantic Aria vowed never to love again after losing her husband, TJ, but fate seems to have other ideas and keeps throwing mysterious Jonathan in her path. Is this a test of her commitment to her husband, or is it a sign she should open her heart and her mind to the possibility of falling in love once more? Nomadic by nature, Aria can’t see the point when home is always at the end of a new patch of road…

– Rebecca Raisin, Aria’s Travelling Book Shop


Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog

I loved "Rosie's Traveling Tea Shop" and was excited to continue reading about Rosie, Aria and Max. I liked the book, but it didn't have the same spark as the first book. This book was all about Aria and her refusal to fall in love again. She promised her dying husband that she would never love again. So for three years she has only found romance through the books that she read. This is all Aria talked about, it's all Rosie talked about and it's all Aria and Rosie talked about together. The whole book was all about Aria being lonely and staying faithful to her dead husband. There was a little bit of distraction from Aria's lack of a love life with Rosie being "sick", Aria's former mother -in law who hates her and blames her for TJ's death and Tori, the pot stirrer who everyone hates. Tori's complete change didn't see believable, either did her reasons for being an obnoxious witch to Aria and Rosie. I would have enjoyed reading more scenes at the festivals and camper van life. t just felt like something was missing. How many books in English would Aria have sold in France? How does her camper-van hold so many books? Where does she store them all?

I recommend the book, especially if you read the first book in the series. I'm excited to read the next book in the series (there definitely needs to be one). I expect there will be many changes for Max and Rosie. How will they continue on their nomadic life? Rosie doesn't cope well with change or stuff that she can't control. Her lists and worries do get a little ridiculous. I look forward to reading more books by the author. Love the cover of the book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from HQ Digital through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Loved this! I finished this in a single sitting.
Would be perfect holiday reading, much of the book set in France as the travellers make their way to various country fairs to sell their wares.
Loved the characters, so well written, even the mean girl had some redeeming features. Ending was predictable but didn’t take away from the storyline in any way.

This was a little slow to start with and to be honest I did struggle a little. I persevered and was pleased I did. Great to see previous characters and get back to that lifestyle again

Great book! I’ve read the first book in this series and the second one is just as good! Same great characters as before but this time it’s based on Aria instead of Rosie. The writing is so easy to read, try chapters are relatively short and it’s just a nice all rounder. It’s definitely made me decide to take a look at this authors other books!

Hoped this would be an interesting book about a travelling bookshop.Some parts were interesting, but a lot of time was spent on conversations between Aria and Rosie.
Kept getting bored with this book but did persevere to the end.
Thanks to Netgalley for an Arc.

If only I had put 2 and 2 together sooner, I would have read this months ago when it first landed on my kindle. I can't believe I didn't twig that this although not necessarily a sequel is set with the same characters, although different lead, that were in Rebecca Raisin's previous book Rosie's Travelling Tea Shop!

Thankfully I twigged within a few pages, and I was ecstatic to be amongst my favourite group of nomads, and that this book featured so much more of Rosie and Max's story, in addition to us getting to know Aria even better.

And Aria really is a character you want to get to know, she is the ultimate bookworm, especially loves romances, and I think any book lover would love to visit her campervan shop, given it is filled to the rafters with books, and barely has any room for her to sleep in it!

She is a widow and has been on the van circuit of festivals travelling for 3 years now, but while knowing that TJ was her one true love, she meets Jonathan and starts to wonder all sorts of things about romance and whether you can in fact fall in love again.

All of this is set to a backdrop of a summer travelling around France, taking in Rouen, Bordeaux and the French Riviera to name a few of the spots, and they sound idyllic.

There is plenty of french food to make your mouth water, and there are some surprises along the way too, as well as a beautiful way of Aria discovering she may just be ready to allow a new special person into her life.

I spent a wonderfully sunny afternoon in my garden, completely entranced by this story, loving every word of it, and at the same time I'm really hoping this isn't the last we have seen of the van lifers - we need more, I need to know how their stories continue!!

Another gem of a book from the always pleasurable to read Rebecca Raisin.

Thank you to HQ Digital and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

A ride around France - just what I needed being stuck at home during Lockdown!
It felt like I was riding in Aria's van with the travelling crew and was part of their gang for the time that I was reading this book.
I identified with Aria as a fellow lover of books, although I'm not sure I'd have QUITE as many as her stacked up in teetering piles!
Having visited the south of France, I could imagine the scenes that took place in Nice and surrounding areas - happy memories.
Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC for review.

I received an eARC from Netgalley for an honest review

I could not put this book down!
After the death of her husband Aria joins a group of like minded travellers and sells books from her van while travelling along with her best friend Rosie and Rosie's boyfriend Max. Aria made a promise to her husband that she would never love anyone else and so she has sworn off relationships and spends her time with her friends and with her nose in a book. Then she meets Jonathon who is now popping up when she least expects it and although drawn to Jonathon she wants to keep her promise to her husband and so keeps him at a distance.
After the arrival of her husbands diary Aria starts to think a bit differently and with a few pushes from her friend Rosie Aria begins to look at her future differently
I read this book in one sitting. I cried as Aria worked through her grief and laughed out loud with the antics of Rosie. This is a beautiful story about love, grief, friendship and new opportunities. I look forward to reading more from this author

I started this book just over a week ago, which is a long time for mw to be reading the same book. I found the story very middle of the road for me. Nothing much happened and I found the main character Aria quite miserable and annoying.
Her husband died 3 years ago and she is struggling to come to terms with this. She feels extremely lonely, guilty and confused as she starts to have thoughts of a new man. Her friend Rosie seems a great character but I can't really write anymore about the story as for me there was not much happening. They travel across France in a group selling their items they make or obtain. Nice enough story but not enough depth for me unfortunately. I don't like to leave a negative review but I like to leave an honest review. Thank you to netgalley and the author and publishers for the opportunity to read this ARC for my honest review

Three years after losing her husband Aria is trying to decide whether she can move on. As part of a group of van owners who travel to festivals and fetes, selling their goods, Aria travels in a van that doubles as a book shop. The book loving part of the story stood out, especially when she meets an author, Jonathan. Otherwise, I found the book a bit slow at times. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

This was my first introduction to Aria and Rosie. I didn't read the previous book, Rosie's Traveling Tea Shop, but the author developed the story in a way that readers don't have to read the first book to enjoy this one.
If you’re looking for a lighthearted, heartfelt, quick read then this is perfect and something I would recommend.

The main character, Aria, is dealing with grief and loss after her husbands death. She’s not quite sure how to continue on living and so she takes a long trip. Here she discovers herself again, learns what makes her happy, and even meets someone she might allow herself to love.

Like I said, this was a very sweet, fun read and I really recommend it!

We were introduced to the heroine of this book, Aria, in last year’s delightful chick lit/romance/women’s fiction, Rosie’s Traveling Tea Shop. Aria was an experienced Van-Lifer who quickly took Rosie under her wing and got her up to speed on the traveling van lifestyle. In that book there were hints of how the loss of her beloved husband caused Aria to turn her back on love and conclude that she would remain without a partner for the rest of her life. In Aria’s Traveling Book Shop, I was hoping to see Aria move on from her grief and finally start living again. She eventually does, but first she has to sort through a lot of unresolved grief as well as guilt over moving on, even though her husband strongly encouraged her to do so before he died. This lends the book a rather melancholy tone although it is lightened somewhat by descriptions of yummy French food and the beautiful regions of Normandy, Bordeaux, and the French Riviera that Aria, and Rosie visit on their van circuit through France.

The main story follows Aria and her tentative steps forward to find a new love, but there is also a big surprise in store for Rosie and Max. I think the biggest flaw with this book was that Aria’s story just seemed to drag with no real movement whereas the subplot featuring Rosie and Max was the more interesting and fast moving part of the book. I’m not sure if that’s because Rosie and Max were just inherently more interesting. I loved that Aria was such a bookworm (and a romance lover), but it seemed like that and her grief were her only defining characteristics. As for her love interest, Jonathan, we hardly saw him at all and it didn’t seem like there was any real romance between them, just a few chance encounters. Overall, this was an enjoyable although not compelling read.

Die Ankündigung, dass Rebecca Raisin in die Welt der „Nomaden“ zurückkehrt und einen Roman über Aria schreibt, hat mich riesig gefreut und gleichzeitig hatte ich Angst, das Buch würde mich enttäuschen. „ Rosie’s traveling Tea Shop“ war so perfekt, in meiner Vorstellung konnte der nächste Teil der Reihe dieses Niveau niemals halten. Weit gefehlt: „Aria’s traveling Book Shop“ hat meine Erwartungen übertroffen. Zum Einen war es natürlich toll, in diese wunderbare Clique zurückzukehren, die Reise geht dieses Mal nach Südfrankreich- ein sinnliches Erlebnis.
Zum Anderen ist Aria ein toller Charakter:
„My willpower is also fairly weak, and I’ll follow anyone anywhere if there’s fun to be had, money be damned.“
Sie liebt Bücher über alles, geniesst das Leben auf den Straßen, Festen, Festivals mit ihren Freunden und hat dabei ein dunkles Geheimnis. Der Tod ihres Mannes liegt wie düsterer Schatten über ihr. Sie hat der Liebe abgeschworen- zumindest im richtigen Leben, die Liebesromane sind ihre Heimat:
„Books are so safe compared to the real world.“
Aber natürlich sind Rebecca Raisins Heldinnen keine Opfer- sie stellen sich den Herausforderungen mutig und voller Energie. Es war ein Vergnügen, Aria auf ihrer Reise zu begleiten.
Ein großartiges Buch über die Magie von Liebesromanen, Autoren und natürlich den leidenschaftlichen Lesern.

A stunning read. I’m a true fan of reading and a advocate to the young. This book was mesmerising, a book that I loved from start to finish.
A book I really didn’t want to end.

Looking forward to more.

This is my first introduction to Aria and Rosie. I didn't read Rosie's Traveling Tea Shop, but Rebecca Raisin developed the story so that readers don't have to read Book 1 to enjoy this book. If you’re looking for a lighthearted, heartfelt, pure escapism read then this is perfect and something I would recommend.

I love a book that takes me to a holiday and this time I got to travel to historic streets of Rouen, visit a chateau, and traipse around Nice and St.Tropez with Aria, Rosie, and her boyfriend,

This is a story about love, loss, second opportunities, and friendships. Aria is a widow and still grieving the loss of her husband, which doesn't leave any room for new romances. On this van adventure, Aria learns to live again, to forgive and to move on with the help of her friends and someone unexpected, Jonathan. The characters are well crafted and the dialog is realistic.

This is a lovely rom-com story and right in time for summer holidays. I am going seek out Rosie's Traveling Tea Shop!

Thank you NetGalley for an e-ARC.

This was a good book. I loved the storyline and got absolutely lost in Arias travels in her cute little bookshop. It was heart wrenching to read the parts from TJ's diary that I felt like tearing up myself. I do wish the plot was a bit more focused on his diary though, there's was alot of sections of the book that went in a little too long.
Overall a lovely book about grief, love and friendship.

A travelling bookshop on wheels what is not to love.
Aria goes travelling to France after losing her husband TJ, with her friend Rosie and Max who also own a travelling tea shop.

I found this book a little hard to get into maybe because I haven't read the first in the series, Once I was in I don't think that mattered too much.

It was a light enjoyable read and had humourous and emotional parts.

It was nice to escape to France during these hard times.