I love being given the opportunity to update our school library which is a unique space for both senior students and staff to access high quality literature. This is definitely a must-buy. It kept me absolutely gripped from cover to cover and is exactly the kind of read that just flies off the shelves. It has exactly the right combination of credible characters and a compelling plot thatI just could not put down. This is a great read that I couldn't stop thinking about and it made for a hugely satisfying read. I'm definitely going to order a copy and think it will immediately become a popular addition to our fiction shelves. 10/10 would absolutely recommend.

This book is the typical woman’s fiction romance.
This was ok but it did nothing new.
A ok read on the beach

I wrote this book so I am not going to review it. I downloaded it because I was excited, and so I could read it on my Kindle.

And I am writing this so *not reviewing it* doesn't drop my NatGalley rating. :)

(I am giving a star rating because I am confident it is a four-star book. That seemes to be the general consensus so I don't feel boastful.)

The Bookshop of Second Chances by Jackie Fraser is a heart-warming and engaging debut novel. Set in a quaint little Scottish town, the story follows Thea, a woman who escapes to the charming town in search of a fresh start. Along the way, she meets the Maltravers brothers: Edward, the grumpy owner of the bookshop, and his estranged brother Charles, Lord Hollinshaw. As the story unfolds, readers are taken on a journey of self-discovery, with Thea discovering a new and brighter version of herself through the help of the Maltravers brothers and the stories she finds within the pages of the bookshop. Jackie Fraser's vivid descriptions of the town and characters makes this story come alive in a truly enchanting way. The Bookshop of Second Chances is an enchanting read that is sure to bring hope and joy to its readers.

I love books about books or bookshops. This was what I like about escapist fiction and I enjoyed reading this very much.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review. I must admit that it took a couple of attempts to read this. I loved the synopsis and enjoyed the basic story, however I did feel as if it needed a little bit more emotion - I didn't feel as invested in the characters as I expected to be.

This was a brilliant read and is being featured on my blog for my quick star reviews feature, which I have created on my blog so I can catch up with all the books I have read and therefore review.
See www.chellsandbooks.wordpress.com.

Thea is facing the end of her marriage and salvation comes just in time a she is left a cottage in the highlands. Not knowing what to face when clearing out a beloved ones belongings where does she start? Short of money she has to get a job. two brothers enter the race to win her affections but both offer different prospects. Clearly the brother with the book shop is the one to help clear a large library of books which may or may not be valuable. Will she stay in Scotland and find love or return home

A nice easy read. Nothing that outstanding about it but the characters were nice enough. It was a lovely setting, a bit predictable but it was sweet, a good one for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

This was a really comforting read with fabulous locations, great characters, a lovely romance and had an ending that will definitely warm your heart.

Thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours for the invitation to the tour and to Harper Collins for my copy of the book via Net Galley.

A Halloween party at a beautiful Chateau for two hundred guests, Aura and Nick are just two of them, the host Thea watches on.

It all seems perfect until a body is found…..

You know from the outset that Nick and Aura have come to France to escape a secret but they sell their small house and buy this ramshackle of a home that needs a lot of money and time spent on it. Aura invites a film crew to follow their journey. Nick is not so keen.

The cast of characters then begin to unfold Helen the Au pair, Frank the kindly expat who offers to help show Aura and Nick the ropes. Nick seems suspicious of everyone so why did they come to France? You will definitely want to keep on reading to find out. Frank introduced them to Thea who is a bit standoffish to Aura but very welcoming to Nick.

Not a likeable bunch of people and I love that in a twisty turny thriller because you never really know who to trust. Chateau Amaryllis is very ostentatious as is Thea ! But Aura and Nick are in for an even bigger surprise when they are invited to dinner at the Chateau. Their marriage is obviously rocky and strange occurrences start to happen at their new home makes the tension ramp up.

I loved The Chalet and this one had me gripped ! It is very clever and shocking too ! I read in one sitting it is one of those books that you will want to just keep on reading but I guarantee you will be surprised with the finale.

I really enjoyed it!

Have I already mentioned the fact that I love reading about books in books, books set in bookshops, books based on characters who love reading? Well, I do and this ticked all of those boxes and have a little bit of a love triangle thrown into it as well! What's not to love?

Having never been to Scotland myself, it's books like this that make me feel like I have, and then make me want to go and visit even more. Jackie has created such a picturesque setting for this story and, like Thea, I'm really intrigued by the history of a place so was drawn into her descriptive writing. I loved reading about Thea's adventures of the lodge, the house and the surrounding fields - especially all the stone writings and things. If these are based on real places then I need to visit even more!

I found Edward and Charles to be just fascinating characters, despite being brothers they really couldn't be much more different. While Charles seems to embrace his title of Lord (although I get the impression that there's more to him than meets the eye) Edward has distanced himself, getting rid of his accent and quietly holing himself up in his antiquated bookshop.

Edward's grumpiness was great and really adds to his character, I wish I could be like Thea and see past all of this but I think I would have been much like all the other residents. I really liked the way that she would be really blunt with him, not afraid to tell him if he was being an idiot or an arse, yet also treat him with respect and friendship. You could tell that there is something bubbling under the surface between them but is Thea still holding a torch for Chris and can she really trust Edward after his rather... open past... shall we call it..?

This is the first book I've read by Jackie Fraser but I think it's safe to say that this won't be the last, I'm ready for more adventures!!

The Bookshop of Second Chances is the debut novel from Jackie Fraser which follows the trials and tribulations of Thea as she navigates her way through a new world of singledom following the unexpected termination of her marriage. The setting for this book was in Scotland and from the outset it was just fabulous. I really wanted to be able to go and visit the village of Baldochrie with its stunning countryside and of course Fortescue books which was run by Edward. Not to mention the location of Edwards ‘shed’ which seemed so otherworldly and beautiful. A real place to get away from it all and give yourself time to chill and relax and take stock of your life. The setting in my opinion makes up for some of the issues I found with the book. The story started out really well as we got to know our main character Thea and the reasons why she has found herself in the village but did drag somewhat in the middle until picking up pace ever so slightly in the last quarter or so.

Thea has suffered a double whammy in her life. She has been made redundant from her job and in the last ten days her husband has left her for another woman he has been secretly carrying on with for years. She is heartbroken and feels like she is the worst in the world that nobody wants her. What is so wrong with her that her husband could betray her in that way? But luck in some small way seems to be on her side when a letter from a solicitor arrives informing her she is now the owner of West Lodge a small house in Scotland left to her by her Great Uncle Andrew. This gives her the perfect escape route as she flees to Scotland on the pretext of sorting the house out for sale. But perhaps the little village she finds herself in will offer more than one enticement to stay permanently?

Throughout the book Thea reiterates that this is just an extended visit to sort out the house but really deep down you can see her new surroundings start to have a good effect on her and maybe this is what she needs in her life given the devastating and cruel blows she has been dealt with that came from nowhere. She has been humiliated and needs time to lick her wounds. She thinks she is avoiding having to deal with her feelings by investing so much time in the bookshop but really subtly she is in fact facing what she is has been trying to supress. You do feel sorry for Thea that her personal life has reached the state it has and you know she needs to build herself back up again. She is miserable when the divorce is sprung on her out of nowhere but over time being in Scotland makes her happy and she begins a slow, slow journey of improvement and fulfilment.

What Thea wishes to do with the lodge seems to fade into the background as the story progressed and I thought her new job in Fortescue books took over and this role and whom she meets through it became the focus of the overall plot. The Maltravers brothers, Edward and Charles, have long been at loggerheads and the reason for this does eventually become clear and I did think Charles was very much justified in his stance but then I could perhaps say the same regarding Edward. Thea seems to come between the pair and for Charles I sensed he would play her if he could because he could see the way Edward was thinking. But Thea has been brutally burnt once before and she is not going to let that happen again. She becomes feisty and I loved how she stood up for herself and wasn’t going to be someone who could be walked all over for other peoples gain or for their fun and games.

Thea first encounters Edward when she goes to sell some of her Uncle’s old books and suffice to say from the outset Edward is not a character that you warm to in an hurry and to be honest I hadn’t even come around to him by the time I reached the end of the book. He is rude and abrupt and even though he needs someone to work in the shop, women are not allowed. That says it all in relation to his viewpoint on women even though he seems to have slept with an abundance of them. Thea won’t crack though. She gets the job and she does well in this new position as she truly loves books and interacting with people. But Edward ugh, just his whole demeanour and attitude I really couldn’t stand it. He is surly and packed full of resentment with bottled up issues and family problems just bubbling away and eating him up that it affects how he interacts with people and Thea on a day to day basis.

Edward is just so closed off and strange and he manifests his feelings in such a gruff and boorish way. But as with a lot of books in this genre when characters act in this way there must be a perfectly good reason for it and when the layers are peeled back and Thea breaks through his tough shell yes dare I say it I did feel a tiny morsel of sympathy for him. Still overall as a character he was infuriating and even though his grumpiness may have been a pose or concealment still I just thought his overall attitude didn’t sit right with me at all. Thea was a brave woman to take him although deep down I thinks he relished the challenge as it helped her become that little bit braver and helped with her own healing process.

The Bookshop of Second Chances I feel overall was too long and could have done with being much shorter. I have seen other reviews mention the same and given the length it was I think it affected the overall flow of the story as a whole. It just seemed to get bogged down in too much unnecessary detail where Thea rambled on and on. It was like her mind was racing all the time and it spewed forth onto the pages in one long swoop which made it difficult for me to fully connect with her. She was constantly talking and analysing and going off on various tangents which added nothing to the story and I found it hard to become fully invested in her the more the book progressed. As the romance element was introduced, and subsequently progressed, you could see where things were going but the initial spark although really evident became somewhat dimmer as the plot developed until things came to a head rather suddenly.

Even as I neared the last few pages it felt as if the author had more that she wished to tell and then all of a sudden the book finished. From what I have just said it sounds like I didn’t enjoy this book but I did. I just feel a little more editing in terms of cutting down on the length would have made the plot tighter and given a somewhat lighter feel to the book as you were working your way through it. No doubt about it, the author has lots of potential and she has written a promising debut with an interesting overall premise. There is comedy and romance, a wonderful setting and of course given the title lots of mentions of books which ultimately will please many readers.

I really enjoyed this book. I really liked how it was a romance novel where the main character wasn’t 20 something but still seen as desirable. I loved the bookshop setting too

The title of this book pulled me in instantly, as I absolutely love stories that have bookshops involved.
I couldn't wait to get started on this debut novel by Jackie Fraser, and from the first page I knew that I was going to fall in love with this story.

Thea is our protagonist in this story. She has lost her husband, her job and her home all in a short period of time, she is understandably needing a bit of time away from it all. When she finds out she has been left a house with a rather large book collection in the Scottish Highlands she is left with the decision - does she leave and start a fresh, or sell the house?

This book was an absolute joy to read, and I found myself fully immersed in the story. The way in which the author describes the setting makes you feel as though you are there in the Highlands with Thea.
The story is full of humour, romance and intrigue and really kept me hooked to the very end.
A fabulous heart warming read. I will certainly be looking forward to future books by this author.

I liked the setting and the plot but I couldn't care about the characters.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I enjoyed this book. It was set in a beautiful part of Scotland which Jackie described so well, that it left me itching to travel to find. The characters were likeable and unique. The pace was just right. I found it funny and lighthearted. Overall a lovely book.

4 out of 5.

Interesting, Unique and a book I will be collecting for my forever shelf I have found this one hard to put down and have been completely captivated.
I adore the writing style, plot and characters. A great book!

I loved the bookshop setting, and I loved that the main characters were in their 40s. It made a nice change from all the twentysomethings that usually populate this genre. But sadly that's where my love for this book ends. The story felt very flat and very drawn out, most of the characters were unlikeable, and I never quite felt that urge to rush to the end of the story to find out how it all ends. All in all, quite a disappointing read really.

Thea is made redundant and then finds out her husband has cheated on her with her friend all in the same month, she then inherits a property and some money from a great uncle in a small village in Scotland. Understandably she decides to spend the summer in Scotland assessing her life and next steps. Whilst there she meets the owner of the second hand bookshop and begins working there, he is grumpy, which she ignores and soon the sparks fly. I love books set in bookshops, perhaps unsurprising as I love books and reading, this one doesn't not disappoint. The story is engaging, the characters believable although the sibling rivalry is a tad excessive. The setting is gorgeous and it always feels so tempting to move somewhere quieter, closer to nature, where people are friendly. A lovely gentle, yet grown up read.

With thanks to the publisher and netgalley for an arc in exchange for a review.