A sweet, wholesome Christmas book with a literary twist. Lots of fun references to famous and even contemporary romances and the narrator was so soothing. A perfect audiobook to get lost in

A lovely book to lose yourself in. Great characters and just the right amount of romance, a perfect read any time of year.

When Megan Taylor's husband dies of leukemia she is overcome with grief. Retreating from the world she gives up her job in publishing and her home in London, returning to her family home in York. Three years on and Megan is still living with her mother and helping to run the family bookshop. Given the chance to launch the new book by renowned author Xander Stone Megan thinks this could be an opportunity to help the ailing finances of the bookshop. Unfortunately Megan and Xander don't seem to like each other.



This story has everything you would expect from romance fiction. Megan is still grieving the loss of her husband and wracked with guilt that she wasn't with him when he died. Returning to her family home has allowed her to grieve at her own pace, unfortunately it also means she's been completely protected from having to deal with life in general.

Along comes handsome author Xander Stone. Megan and Xander immediately rub each other up the wrong way, a very common romantic trope, so we all know right from the start where this story is going to end. As we gradually get to know Xander we, and more importantly Megan, learn that he is very misunderstood. Xander also has a good understanding of the grief Megan is coming to terms with as he is struggling with the death of his mother.

The story goes through all the twists you expect, from the hostility, gradually thawing, stranded in a snow storm, meddling people, a misunderstanding that threatens to wreck a blossoming romance and a secret or two. In fact every romantic trope going. What really makes the story enjoyable is that it features a book group that pulls to pieces all the tropes in romantic fiction. It's great to read a book that pokes fun at itself.

There are a host of minor characters to enliven the story, many of whom make Megan realise she's been walking around with blinkers on for three years. Narrator Laura Brydon does an excellent job at giving each character a distinct voice, at one point I thought I was listening to Jane Horrocks.

Lovely little read to help you get into the festive mood (even in August!)

Narrator was good with multiple voices for the characters but some of the males ones were annoying.

Megan the main character is very likeable.

This was an surprise book for me. Reading about chirstmass in August was nice. Well it was not all about it. I love that people get a second chance in life and they do it with books. Can it be there a more romantic thing than this. Possibly but this was super cute done.

Thank you Saga Egmont Audio and Netgalley for this audio.

A bookshop Christmas by Rachel burton releasing September 2022. A bookshop Christmas is a proper English clean romance. A young widow goes back to help her mom run a bookshop. There she meets an author whom likes to protect himself from getting too close to people.

A Bookshop Christmas - Rachel Burton

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Saga Egmont Audio and I am leaving this review voluntarily

A snowstorm. A stranger. A spark. And it's Christmas!
It should be the perfect start to the perfect love story.

But real life is far messier and more complicated than in the pages of the books in Megan Taylor's family bookshop – the last few years have left this young widow in no doubt of that. Moving back home to York should have been a fresh start, but all it did was allow her to retreat from the world.

This book is the perfect mix of emotions, with tender and heart-breaking moments. This book attracted me with the cover and title - I mean Christmas and Bookshop this was destined to be a great book.

I am definitely putting this on the list of books I am recommending for the holiday season. A thoroughly enjoyable festive read with great, well-written characters in a beautiful setting.

Rating 4/5

3.5 ⭐

Themes & vibes:

• Christmas at a bookshop
• slowburn, Hallmark-like romance
• romance book club
• overcoming grief
• cozy, comfortable read

Cute story set in York during the Christmas time. This book had a lot going for it. The writing style was good, the premise exactly what I wanted. It also had some nice character growth moments, as well as many sweet and silly occasions.

However, the main part of the story, the romance – I didn’t really like it. I didn’t like the guy and there was something a bit forced and unnatural about the way they fell for each other.

But, a good chunk of me not liking it was just my personal taste. I’m sure a lot of people would read this story and absolutely adore it. It was pure Hallmark, what more can I say.

I've listened this book as an audiobook. And it was - ok. Far from my favorite narrator, but she did a decent job.

If you want to see my much more in depth review, you can check it out on my book blog NovelOnMyMind.

Thank you to Aria or Aries and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of A Bookshop Christmas by Rachel Burton in exchange for an honest review.

This audiobook was super cute and would definitely be absolutely perfect to listen to during the holidays! Looking forward to rereading!

A charming little Christmas book! It took me a bit to get into the writing but then I was drawn into the characters.

The narrator isn’t my favorite but I appreciated her different voices!

Thank you NetGalley and the narrator for the ARC!