I received and am reviewing the audio version of Something New at the Borrow a Bookshop.

I wasn’t aware that this was book 3 in a series but it read perfectly fine as a stand alone for me. I absolutely loved the premise of the story in that patrons rent the bookshop for 2 weeks at a time and are able to run it for those 2 weeks. Sign me up please!
Joy and her little daughter Raida are the newest temporary residents of Clove Lore and Joy is assigned to upgrade the technology aspects of the bookstore, including social media and security. What they are hiding is the fact they are running away from Raidas abusive father and Joy sees danger around every corner.
My favorite character of course was little Raida, she made the story very heartwarming and relatable. As the mother of a daughter myself I loved the relationship that was written between Joy and Raida.
I had a much harder time connecting with Joy. She was a little more one dimensional and obvious than the other characters and she was aggravating and whiny at times.
All together, this was a good audio book and it read pretty fast. It dealt with some serious material but managed to keep everything light hearted and fun.

A feel-good heartwarming story even though it delves into some intense and emotional circumstances. I loved the characters and the whole premise of working at a cute bookshop for your housing. The setting of Clove Lore is charming - a quaint seaside village and it's the community and residents who make the story! They are quirky, eclectic, and fun! If you love light and cozy with a bit of drama and rom-com this might work for you! Kiley Dunbar has a series of these Borrow a Bookshop novels. This one is the first one I have read and the third one in the series but it can definitely be read as a stand alone. I believe each novel contains different characters who take advantage of the Borrow a Bookshop opportunity but the setting of Clove Lore remains constant!

The borrow a bookshop sees sparks fly again. Joy comes with her daughter Radia to work on the bookshops computer system and website. She is a digital nomad to be on the run from her ex.

I really liked Monty in this book because he is just so easy going. He was so patient with all of Joy's past baggage. Radia brought the fun and was always very blunt about everything. The "petting zoo" stag party was a hoot.

I loved the welcoming hometown feel of this book, but sometimes Joy was freaking out jumping at shadows a bit too much. It all calmed down and wrapped up nicely in the end. I want another bookshop romance, who next?

Thank you to Saga Egmont Audio and Netgalley for providing me a copy of this Audiobook for my honest review.

A great love story with so much depth to discover along the way. Everyone enjoys a happy ending, but you couldn’t help but root for the characters. Not only for their personal growth but for their relationship. I really enjoyed this book and plan to read Kiley Dunbar’s other Borrow a Bookshop novel.

Unfortunately this was a DNF for me. There was something about the cadence of the person reading it that kept pulling me out of the story.

This book hooked with an interesting concept- holiday makers have the opportunity to borrow (and run!) a quaint little bookshop in the seaside town of Clove Lore. Though this book was the third in the series it does stand alone. Digital nomad, Joy, and her five-year-old precocious daughter named Radia Pearl are the latest to “borrow” the bookshop. Joy is tasked with updating the bookshops’ technology needs including an inventory and website. Unbeknownst to her, she will also have to restock the shelves and run the small cafe. Radia immediately takes to both of these activities and begins to mention wanting to stay beyond their allotted time. Joy also makes friends with a local chief, Monty, and the sparks begin to fly. However, Joy’s need to be nomadic might dampen the fire before the flames even begin. Overall, I enjoyed the story. I could picture the seaside town and the bookstore. As a librarian, I loved how the town rallied around this bookstore after a devastating flood several months ago before Joy arrived. However, I wish more time would have been spent exploring the relationship Joy had with her abusive ex. This doesn’t make for light-hearted reading but if the threat was so real that she constantly had to be moving I wish the resolution would have been more thought-out. The ending felt a little too tidy to me but it stuck with the overall jovial feel. A recommended purchase for public libraries.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hera for the complimentary digital audiobook of this book. All thoughts and opinions shared are my own. This audiobook is available on April 25, 2023.

Digital nomad Joy has been booked to modernise the running of the bookshop at Clove Lore following the disastrous floods of the winter. Along with Joy is her 6-year-old daughter, Radia. The pair have been on the move for five years but Joy is beginning to feel guilty about some of the things her young daughter is missing out on, such as friends and school. The tight-knit community of Clove Lore seems to magnify all the things Radia is missing but Joy is still reluctant to put down roots. Joy is determined that once the job is complete they will move on to the next one. Little does she realise the power Clove Lore and it's inhabitants have over people in need to connection.

This is Book 3 in the Borrow A Bookshop series from Kiley Dunbar and it feels like returning to a well-loved holiday spot. All the eccentric characters are still there and you have a pretty good idea of how the story is going to go but that’s part of the attraction of the familiar. The lightness of the story works well as an audiobook.

Joy is a complex character. Highly intelligent, an expert in IT, she’s traveled the world to fulfill contracts. The big question is why her need to constantly be on the move? As the story progresses, we learn that not only is she estranged from her own family, she’s also fearful of her ex-partner finding her.

Travelling with a young child means that her daughter has experienced more than most children. Initially Joy saw this as positive but now Radia is obsessed with all the things that young children are obsessed with; friends, school, parties.

The community of Clove Lore is rebuilding itself after the disastrous floods of the previous winter and as we have learnt from previous outings the community work together and help each other, particularly where the bookshop is concerned. Despite her best-efforts Joy is surrounded by support, friendship and a blossoming romance.

The on-off nature of the romance is exactly as we’d expect, straight-forward romantic fiction would be a bit boring. As we learn more about Joy and her past we discover why she is continually on the move and reluctant to become involved with anyone. Thankfully these darker elements of the story are contrasted with the lighter tones offered by eccentric Minty, lady of the manor, who is trying to launch a wedding business by persuading smaller businesses to provide goods and services for free.

Cover ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Narrated by Helen Duff ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Story by Kiley Dunbar ⭐⭐⭐

The narrator was fantastic and did a great job brining this book to life.

Joy was a hard character for me to bond with. I felt like her reasons for her actions and reactions were over the top and extreme but it did come together beautifully in the end with forgiveness and apologies.

I loved the concept of the Borrow a Bookshop model, and the village it makes its home in was a wonderful place to visit.

Joy and her 5yo daughter Radia are the newest caretakers of the Borrow a Bookshop. As a digital nomad, Joy has chosen not to put down roots anywhere, which offers a unique learning experience for Radia, who has seen more of the world than many people ten times her age!

But little did Joy expect that this little village would work its way through her defenses and into her heart.

I really enjoyed this story and the connections Joy and Radia made as they finally find a place to call home.

Thank you to Kiley Dunbar, Saga Egmont and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

I thoroughly enjoyed this fun, easy to read women's fiction/romance book.

Joy Foley and her daughter Radia Pearl arrive in Clove Lore to rent the Borrow-a-Bookshop, and help it recover from the winter flood. Monty Bickleigh helps Joy to settle in, and they get on well together, forming a friendship, and perhaps a bit more.

This is a lovely, uplifting read, and I loved the settings, the characters, and the bookshop, as well as the beautiful cover. I also loved the audiobook narrator Helen, who brought the book to life magnificently, with her beautiful voice.

This is book 3 in a series, all of which are wonderful, and highly recommended!

Many thanks to the author, narrator, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book.

I received this audio book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for the opportunity. This is the third book in a series about Borrow a Bookshop, and all are available in audio format as well.

Kiley Dunbar has written a charming story about a single mom, Joy Foley, and her five-year old daughter, Radia Pearl. Joy is a "digital nomad", whose two week contract is to install a computer system, and create a digital inventory for the bookstore. What she doesn't expect is to be drawn into running the bookstore and Cafe while doing her computer work.

The town of Clove Lore is filled with quirky characters. Radia wants to interact with people she meets, and Joy is forced to join in to protect her.

Joy is hiding from Radia's father who deserted her when she was in the hospital after giving birth. She is estranged from her parents and has no support system. Interactions with strangers cause anxiety but as she gets to know the townspeople she grows comfortable.

The upcoming wedding of Elliott and Jude is an amusing backdrop for the budding romance between Joy and Monty Buckleigh, the chef at the Sirens Tail pub. Minty, the lady of the manor, wants to build a wedding planning business and intends to showcase it via the wedding.

The narrator does a good job of conveying the various characters. Her voice is a nice match for the story.

This is a beach read (listen) that kept me engaged. It contains the obligatory gay and nonbinary characters expected in contemporary novels. The previous novels are referenced but the book stands alone.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. Took me a bit to get into this book and there were some parts that moved slowly, but overall a nice read.

I was so excited about this audiobook but was semi uninterested pretty fast on. I understand it takes place in another part of the world, but I had a harder time following the audio moreso because of thick accent. I have never read any of the borrow a bookshop series maybe we was lost and uninterested. I am still interested to give this series a shot but starting with the first book and than on. Will most likely skip audio this one. This book does seem to have potential to being a great read just highly recommend reading first of series first

Something New at the Borrow a Bookshop was a very enjoyable read. Of course it is a gentle, happy read but sometimes that's just what we want in a book. The narrator, Helen Duff, has a voice that is the equivalent of a cat's purr. The beach-side setting was beautiful to imagine, the village was quaint, and the characters a "warm fuzzy" notion of how caring people in real community might behave without quite become caricatures. I liked having family dynamics brought into the story which added complexity to a fairly by-the-books romantic plot (the main character, Joy, hops from place to place with her six year old, Radia, in tow trying to ensure that a past traumatic relationship with Radia's father can never catch up to her until one day she lands at Clove Lore and falls not just for the place but for a handsome local). At times I thought that Joy's reactions were a little over-wrought and her handsome local, Monty, a little too good to be true, but overall a very nice read.

Charming and sweet, perfect for fans of Jenny Colgan. A recommended purchase for collections where lighter WF is popular.

Reading or listening to a Borrow a Bookshop story is like being wrapped in a warm seaside hug, and this latest instalment was no exception.

The only reason it was a four star read rather than a five star one for me was that the coercive and controlling ex-boyfriend storyline was wrapped up a little too easily and tidily. That said, I think it must be a difficult balancing act to introduce domestic violence as a plotline within such a well-loved cosy romance series, and I'd far rather see the author bringing in the all-too-common topic and give it a convenient ending than avoid it all together.

It was also lovely to see the Borrow A Bookshop thriving again after the flood. I know it's entirely fictitious, but by now it just *feels* so real to me.

All in all, another lovely piece of bookish escapism. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me listen to this audio-ARC.

Book Title: Something New at the Borrow a Bookshop
Series: Borrow a Bookshop - Book #3
Author: Kiley Dunbar
Narrator: Helen Duff
Publisher: Saga Edmont Audio
Genre: Romance, Books about Books
Pub Date: April 25, 2023
Pages: 299
My Rating: 3+ Stars

Aww I am someone new to the Borrow a Bookshop series! I was immediately drawn to this delightful cover and always enjoy a nice cozy book about books. If you are like me and new to this series, this bookstore is different than a typical bookshop is an Airbnb style bookshop located in a quaint village where digital fans can rent the space for a two-weeks and actually run the bookshop.

Story starts with Joy Foley, who is a tech on assignment to update and implement a more modern computer system to the Bookshop.
Joy’s five-year-old daughter Radia Pearl Foley is already excited about the Children’s Corner. Although she is on five years-old she loves to read.
We discover that there is a dark side in Joy’s life as she is running from Radia’s abusive father. She never stays in one place long. But the friendly people of Clove Lore have shown her what it’s like to have friends are making Joy consider settling down and stop running,
Plus young Radia has befriended Montague (Monty) David Bickleigh who is an ex-fisherman and current chef at the local pub; and is someone Joy has an attraction. Trust me you will as well!

Another story is about recurring character Minty who is overwhelmed with planning her upcoming wedding so has hired a wedding planner who has ideas she likes even if the bride or Groom is not interested.

As mentioned I was drawn to this story as I love the cover and enjoy books about books!
I also enjoy a good audiobook and was in the mood for a sweet story.
Have to admit I am a narrator snob so did listen to the Audio Excerpt before downloading it. I liked what I heard however as I got into the story there were times I didn’t liked the performance of some of the characters but glad I hung in there. I am sure if I read it I would have given 4 = great stars as it was enjoyable but gave 3+ as some of the enjoyment got lost with the narrator’s voice.
I love little Radia but didn’t like when they shortening it to Rad as it often sounded like ‘Rats’.🤔

Want to thank NetGalley and Saga Edmond Audio for granting me this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for April 25, 2023

A warm hug of a romantic story about second chances and new beginnings. Its also about finding comfort in the realization that the past can shape a future better than imagined. I enjoyed the seaside setting and the characters. Fans of the series are sure to enjoy but this is the first I've read and didn't feel lost. Helen Duff's narration was fine. Her silky-smooth delivery made listening easy.
Thanks to Saga Egmont Audio and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to the audiobook.