Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. I have chosen to write this honest review voluntarily and it reflects my personal opinion.
The book starts as 2 best friends, who own a bookstore business together, are beginning to take each other for granted. They have both reached a point where they want to undertake a brief change but haven't discussed it, and a row ensues. As each goes on their travels their behaviours are more suited to toddlers - "I won't contact her because she's not contacted me" and it becomes increasingly difficult to believe they are best friends. Marianne's travels are described in such minute detail I felt as though I was being dragged alongside her (despite never wanting to go to America) and Jenn's 2-week preparation for opening the bookshop are omitted altogether. She's armed with her plans and spreadsheets but doesn't do any market survey which does not fit with her characterisation. The narrative alters between the two friends but both use a lot of modern language and abbreviations which were beyond my comprehension at times, such as OOTD!
I could not sympathise with either of the characters and didn't find this slow story at all engaging. I have given it 3 stars because I believe that younger female readers are likely to to find it credible, with the constant checking each other's Instagram feeds while refusing to actually contact someone

This is a charming, humorous, and sweetly romantic book.
It is the ideal holiday choice because of its wonderful scenery and topic, and was very easy to read.
This is a really wonderful, uplifting novel.

A good holiday read. The story is about two friends who are feeling restless and wanting more in life and decide to embark on separate adventures that could affect their friendship. A nice bit of escapism.

A lovely escapist read for the summer – when we get there again. I timed this review wrong! 🙂

I did mostly enjoy this book, what’s not to love? A book about running a bookshop and on an island in the Maldives. I’ll admit, I was slightly disappointed. As the word ‘bookshop’ is in the title, I expected more bookshop. I imagined delving through the shelves and instead was delving through the main character life.

I enjoyed reading about the different parts of the world and the different experiences that the two girls went through, but I found a lot of the dialogue a bit too stiff, and the plot was too unrealistic at times. It was a good light read though. At first I wasn’t keen on how the narrative switched between Jenny and Marianne but it grew on me and all tied up together in the end.

It was a warm hug of a summer holiday and I very much enjoyed that feeling. The story was fairly standard chic lit, the characters stereotypical and the at times the writing was a bit jittery. If I’m honest I’m not sure that the author has actually visited the Maldives but I could tell that she had travelled to the American locations as these were written better and very much real. All in all a light escapist read and a firm three stars.

The Holiday Bookshop is a cute and fun story full of laughter drama and adventure. With characters you come to love and a lovely story. It's a very nice read.

A great easy read, exactly what I needed.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

The Holiday Bookshop - Lucy Dickens

A nice easy read of a book, with a great setting and characters.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House UK

A lovely book and very likeable characters, set partly in a nice warm climate! Will be keeping an eye out for more by this author.

Jenny and Marianne are supposedly best friends as well as business partners, as they run a bookshop on the beachfront in a small town in the UK. Supposedly because apart from slagging each other for most of the book, you can't really see the close bond that best friends usually have between them. Jenny thinks that Marianne can't be counted on, and Marianne thinks that Jenny is too stuck up and doesn't know how to relax or 'go with the flow'.
When Jenny gets an opportunity to move to the Maldives for three months to open a bookshop in a resort, Marianne is annoyed, as she was planning to go on a road trip in the US with her new boyfriend she's met a few months before. And so, after a huge fight, the two "best friends" leave the bookshop in the hands of Marianne's brother, and they both go their separate ways.
For the rest of the book, you switch between Jenny in the Maldives and Marianne in the US, where they both epically fail day after day - Jenny because she's an overthinker and a perfectionist, and Marianne because she's too fixated on having a plan to the point of being reckless. While comical at times to read, it is also very frustrating, as no sane adult should really behave like that. But who knows? Maybe I'm too boring for this kind of lifestyle myself, just like Jenny is.
I enjoyed reading about the different parts of the world and the different experiences that the two girls went through, but I found a lot of the dialogue a bit too stiff, and the plot was too unrealistic at times. It was a good light read though.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley and Penguin Random House UK for a free electronic copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Oh wow. I expected the holiday bookshop to be a comforting read with a relaxed storyline that feels like a getaway, and that’s exactly what it was. Although it took me some time to get hooked, this book was the perfect example of a laidback distraction to unwind, with the setting of the Maldives and multiple locations in the US transporting you to a vacation despite the rain right outside your window. It was really enjoyable to read a story about the two best friends and their conflicts. Despite their individual love stories, the plot surrounded them and how they found pieces if each other within themselves, which was extremely heart-warming to read. It was also very interesting to see that Jenny’s chapters were narrated in first person, and Marianne’s in third person; possibly because Jenny was taking the reins of the decisions in her life, and Marianne stepping back from that exact attitude. I wish we got to see more of Jenny and Evan after so many years of holding back, but I loved their reunion! Overall, The Holiday Bookshop was an almost perfect getaway, only lacking in its engrossment; I found myself reading this slowly, rather than consuming it all at once because it wasn’t as gripping as I thought it’d be. Regardless, it was an enjoyable read, very Sally Rooney-esque, and I would definitely recommend it as a read to escape to a more simple and relaxing setting.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK for an advanced copy of this book.

A great read about pushing yourself and not settling. I really liked the underlying message in this classic romantic story! It is also set in the most dreamy location!

Thank you to Net Galley for an advanced copy of this book. The Holiday Bookshop is not my type of book but the perfect read for a holiday. It is chic lit, easy to read and pretty predictable. However, it was good to get an insight into both the Maldives and Las Vegas.

I just didn’t get how a small business owner could just get up and abandon her business to go across the world in peak tourist season. I’m sure if I could have got over I would have loved it but not for me this time.

The raw ingredients of this book sounded like they would be perfect for me. Travel vibes, romance, best friends, but actually when thrown together I felt that even 50% of the way through the story nothing had really happened. I found the two storylines disjointed and found that I couldn't care less about any of the characters.

Best friends Jenny and Marianne run a bookshop together in Cornwall. Both are feeling restless, leading to them arguing and setting off on separate adventures. Will they find their way back to being friends again?
A great holiday read

This was an amazing piece of escapism. Cornwall, The Maldives and Vegas. What more could a girl ask for? I really enjoyed having Jenny and Marianne's different stories to switch between and loved the ending. I'll definitely be looking out for more by this author.

I quite liked this, it certainly is an easy read and lovely setting, I thought the story was great and liked the way it unfolded but found the writing style a little irritating in places. Decent beach read.

After a slightly rocky start I fell head over heels for this book. The scene setting at the start of the book portrayed a couple of annoying women - however I guess that’s the point - but they got good! Fantastic storylines for both women. The scenery is just amazing! Really makes you feel like you are there. Entertaining and heart warming, really enjoyable! I devoted this in about two days!

Thank you Netgalley

Lovely feel good book to read. It was a joy to read. Lovely characters. Great plot. The book was charming. Very well written. I’d definitely recommend this book For everyone

Many thanks to @netgally for the pre-read of this. I found this book very light reading and found it full of travel and locations that would whisk me out of my house, imagining I was on the beach in some of the chapters. Lovely read around two friends who have built a business together (a bookshop no less- what a dream!!), and have found themselves in somewhat of a rut. I found myself sympathising with Jenny as she sounds very much like myself- sometimes I just wish I could bite the bullet and do something spontaneous! Really easy read and easy to follow storyline.