Summer at the Santorini Bookshop by Rebecca Raisin is a 2024 HQ digital publication.

Evie loses her job just as her mother asks her to travel to Santorini to keep an eye on her Gran, who has recently remarried… again… and recently purchased a bookshop. Who could refuse Santorini, her free-spirited Gran, and a bookshop?

Well, Evie has bitten off more than initially thought. Turns out Gran’s landlord is demanding payment or else he’ll take over the bookshop. Evie would do anything for her Gran, so she agrees to ‘fake-date’ the landlord’s grandson- a gorgeous man named Georgios. Can she keep her feelings for him at arm’s length until she can get Gran’s bookshop back in the black?

Meanwhile, Evie tries to stave off her persistent mother and sister, track down Gran’s newest husband, and look for a new job…

I loved Evie’s character- I could absolutely relate to her- and that’s always fun. A slight bit of a pacing drag mid-book, but other than that a delightful story all the way around.

Any book centered around a bookshop is pretty much a no-brainer. Add to that, the location, a bit of mystery and a few quirky characters, a light romance, and you’ll have a fun summertime day of entertainment while you enjoy the beach or side by the pool.

As usual a fab read from Rebecca, lovely storyline and great characters I did not want to put this book down, gripping!!

I always enjoy Rebecca Raisin's books because she writes such fun female lead characters. They are relatable and hilarious at the same time! Just like Evie is in this book.

Losing her job as a book scout who finds hidden gems to turn into romantic comedy films, Evie agrees to her mother's request to go to the picturesque island of Santorini in Greece to find out what the latest shenanigans her adventurous and full of life grandmother is involved in. It turns out that her gran is in the process of renovating a bookshop she has rented but having money issues. When she persuades Evie to fake date her landlord's grandson Georgios in order to buy some time, Evie is very reluctantly persuaded. Only to find it increasingly difficult to remember the 'faking ' part as she spends time with him.

I loved the ode to readers and their love for books throughout this story. There is a night time library bar that Evie's gran has come up with and it sounds so perfect. I learnt a new word 'Epeolatry' which means the worship of words which is so cool. Evie is the kind of person you can laugh with especially because she longs to escape into a book and does not particularly like 'peopling' as she calls it even though she is better at it than she believes! I personally related to her wish that more people would email or text instead of wanting to call because I struggle on the phone too at times! Also, Evie's gran is a hoot and totally an inspiration in the way she fully embraces life even if some of her experiences sound dangerous! Evie's chats with her mom and sister are really funny but so familiar and their connection is so lovely. The six unique rescue dogs with their own quirks add to the fun. All the Greek food made me hungry especially as most of it is vegetarian and I wanted to get my hands on all of it!

Coming to the romance part, it seemed to be relegated to the sidelines which was fine by me because I liked the other aspects of the story taking up importance. I figured out certain things about it quite easily but that's hardly surprising in a book of this genre so that was all good.

From the beautiful cover to all the book talk to a book loving hero and heroine to a truly bookish story which is definitely over the top at times, this was a very refreshing read indeed. The narrator of the audiobook has done a fabulous job bringing out Evie's voice brilliantly.

This is one of those heartwarming cosy books I love to lose myself in.
Well written this fun book has wonderful characters & was a joy to read.
Titles with book or library in their title always seem to draw me in & I wasn’t disappointed.
Evie who is a book scout has recently lost her job & is looking for a fresh start.
Her very eccentric grandmother, whom she loves dearly, has taken on a small book shop in Santorini.
When a chance to visit her is on the cards she is very eager to leave her problems behind & see what her grandmother is up to.
Things are not quite as idyllic as she was expecting as her grandmother & landlord are not on the best of terms.
Her grandmother persuades her, against her better judgement, to fake date her landlords son to keep him sweet.
Absolutely loved this entertaining read it was a real page turner for me.

A lovely holiday read about a book lover going to help her gran out at her bookshop in Santorini. Not just any bookshop, this is a booklovers paradise and even includes cocktails! Over the top, but enjoyable characters, such as Gran, all help Evie realise her dreams may not be exactly as she thought, and the hunky local who also happens to love books is not there by accident either. Good fun.

This was a fun read with great characters including the rescue dogs whose actions made me laugh out loud. Evie’s grandma in particularly is a particularly full of life character who shows that age is no barrier to having fun.

What’s not to love about a book based around a bookshop and all set against the beautiful backdrop of Santorini.

Would love a sequel to this to see how the characters lives progress.

I.thoroughly enjoyed this story!! It starts with Evie, who has lost her job as a book scout. She’s devastated but she then finds out her grandmother is in trouble in a foreign country and needs her help! With her family’s blessing, she flies out to find out what is happening. It’s not like she has been led to believe and her grandmother swears her to secrecy so she’ll have a chance to sort things out before the family are told anything else! Evie’s mother is like a dog sniffing out any trouble and lies, so Evie has to be careful in future.
Georgios the landlord’s son shows an interest in Evie, so her grandmother asks her to pretend to be interested in him too to keep the landlord off her back for a while!! She has great ideas for her bookshop, but will they work? Will Evie fall for Georgios?
Many thanks to HQ Stories for the opportunity to read this arc copy for review consideration via Netgalley. My opinion is my own.
#Netgalley, #HQStories, #RebeccaRaisinWrites2.

I loved this story almost as much as I like Greece and bookshops so it’s a win win for me. I could almost feel the sun shining through the pages also imagining this Greek god of a man. A super read for your summer holiday if you can wait that long, I couldn’t so ended up reading it very quick as I could not put it down.

I would firstly just like to say a big thank you to Rachel’s Random Resources who very kindly forwarded me an arc copy of this book, for my kindle, in return for my honest review…

I have to admit that i read this book purely because of the title, it drew me in and made me want to find out more. Just the sound of it was so warm and inviting and definitely my kind of book…

Summer At The Santorini Bookshop was a wonderful, escapist read and perfect for a spot of armchair travel and after reading it i so desperately wanted to take a visit to Santorini…

I loved all of the characters but honestly, Gran was my favourite and just happened to carve a special place in my heart. I loved all her antics and she had me giggling along in quite a few places!!

This was a lovely, heartwarming book and left me with a wonderful, warm and fuzzy feeling and a very happy heart…..

I had a feeling I would enjoy this book before I had started it, as I loved another book by Rebecca Raisin about a bookshop in Venice. This book lived up to the hype I had built up in my head, and contained the perfect mix of romance and travel.

I was invested in this book from the beginning, and really enjoyed the way the fake dating trope was explored in this book, as it was not the usual format of both main characters fake dating to fool everyone else, and I enjoyed the different take on it.
Evie was such a sweet character and I enjoyed going on her journey with her, through travelling to a different country and falling in love, to figuring out how to get her dream job. I liked Georgios, but I couldn't fully connect with him, as I felt like the story did not give up a whole lot of information about him, besides why he left his job and what he wanted to do career wise after that. I would have liked to know more about him, but there was just enough info to make him a perfect fit for Evie.

Evie's gran was one of my favourite characters throughout this book, and I loved the way she dealt with everything, and how she would solve certain situations. I also have to mention all the dogs that she adopted! I think that they were an amazing addition to the story and having their little characters pop up every now and then added to the plot and my enjoyment of this book overall.

This book is the perfect summer read to cosy up with anywhere, whether on a sunny beach or a comfy bed!

Rebecca Raisin writes some of the best rom-coms in the business and Summer at the Santorini Bookshop is no exception. Set on a wonderful Greek island and filled with colorful, sometimes hilarious, characters, the book was a gem of a read from start to finish. Sure, it was a bit OTT at times but aren't they all, really? What is important is that it is well written, enjoyable and the perfect summer escape. Well done and highly recommended.

Now there is a place for escapism and a bit of romance thrown in but this book by Rebecca (and I've read her others), is just a step to far in being unrealistic and frankly annoying. Sorry but having tried to listen to the audio, I thought I might be better reading it. No! Not a winner for me this time.

I'm going to preface this review by saying, I've absolutely loved the numerous (more than 5) books I've read by Rebecca Raisin. Every book has been a 5 Star read for me so I was thrilled to get this ARC. It's painful for me to have to say this book was such a let down for me. I don't know why I could not connect with these characters. It was so hectic, I felt like everything was trying to be so forced (the trendy booktok themes, the insta-fake-love). The mystery aspect was thrown in there but just kind of all over the place. I just could not get into all of the different aspects that didn't tie together for me. For some reason I just kept having to force myself to pick it back up and push through, which was so unlike every other book I've ever read by this author.

Things I love: books with a beautiful backdrop (like Santorini!), books that make me laugh, books with loveable characters (like Evie's grandmother!), and, you know, books in general. I wish I had a Santorini bookshop to run when I lost my job! This book had such a silly, fake dating trope that had me smiling and rolling my eyes at the same time. A quick, fun, beach read that had me picturing a summer in Santorini!

While I was intrigued throughout the story I was dissapointed with the ending. I don’t know why because it had everything for a romantic ending but I did not feel the same as the characters. When I read a story I want to relate throughout the entire story or atleast understand the relationship. Togo from seeing eachother once in a while to Kouspora?!? I feel like it was not believable. I believed Gran’s stories more. She was a great character and my favorite ofcourse. I also felt like Roxy’s story fell flat! At first it was almost like she knew Georgios before but then her story ended. I love Rebecca Raisin but I was dissapointed by this one for sure.

Summer at the Santorini Bookshop was another fab book by Rebecca Raisin. I have yet to find one of Rebecca’s books that I didn’t enjoy and I always struggle to put them down, always thinking I’ll just read a few more pages and sit until I’ve finished it. This book was no exception. Evie after loosing her job goes to a Greek island to help her grandmother in her bookshop. When she finds out the landlord is threatening to take it away Evie is determined to stop that happening. A fab read that will keep you wanting to read on to find out what happens next.

This was just what I needed. Set in Santorini with a family who obviously care deeply for each other even if sometimes it is shown by interfering. I smiled regularly and could imagine the bookshop in all its.glory with the characters coming alive on the page. Heart warming and easy to read.

Set in an idyllic bookshop (which given the number of rooms seems to go on for miles!) overlooking the sea with sunshine, cocktails and a wealth of eccentric characters (pen lady and donkey man are two of my favourites!) and some equally eccentric dogs, this is a joyful, funny romance well worth a summers afternoon read, preferably on a beach with a cocktail!

Summer at the Santorini Bookshop by Rebecca Raisin is a predictable summer read, Evie has been made redundant and then rushes off to save her grandmother and her bookshop in Santorini at her mother and sister’s behest. Her grandmother is a flamboyant 83 year old woman who is married for the ninth time? Possibly.
As her grandmother is behind in paying rent on the remarkable bookshop she has renovated, she has the idea that Evie can fake date the grandson of the owner of the store.
In between the grandmother rescuing 8 dogs and expecting Evie to wash and care for them and just getting into more eccentric behaviour. The two women are very different but adore each other and that is why Evie covers for the grandmother when her mother and sister FaceTime her on a regular basis to see what is going on.
An easy to read summer story with glorious eccentric characters and fantastic scenery.
Recommended

I was super excited to read this, especially as I was heading to Santorini myself this month. I do wish I could have found a bookstore like this but all, I did not. How delightful a story and what a wonderful character Evie's grandmother was. So eccentric. A fake-dating romance that leads to true romance trope which fits perfectly for this ideal and romantic setting of Santorini. Full of laughs and warm hugs, this story makes you feel good. It is the perfect book to read on a hot summer day and dream of being on the island of Santorini. Rebecca Raisin does it again. Many thanks to #netgalley #summeratthesantorinibookshop #rebeccaraisin for the opportunity to read and review this book.