This book was a little slow but exactly what I wanted. Thea is leaving her husband and discovers she inherited her great grandfather's house in Scotland and she travels there from England to start over. Thea sort of gets a second coming of age in the village where her great grandfather once lived. It would have been nice to hear her connect more with her family considering that's why she went to the village but you do get to learn bits and pieces about them. I thought it was inevitable that Thea would get with a guy and wasn't sure if I wanted it. It was obvious who it would be and honestly I wasn't mad about it. It transitioned nicely into the story and had a wonderful wrap up. It was a nice light story.

While these type of romances aren't usually the types of books that I gravitate towards, the bookshop angle is something, as a lifelong booklover, that I really couldn't resist! And I am happy to have read this sweetly predictable romance, The book opens just after Thea has learned that her husband of twenty years has cheated on her with a friend and neighbor. Fortuitously, she learns of an unexpected inheritance that allows her to escape the shambles of her life.

In a small Scottish town, Thea finds herself making new friends and loving her new job at the local bookshop, run by the town grump, who she, of course, manages to soften. The story is drawn out a bit too much and while it doesn't hold any surprises or twists, the storyline itself still makes for an entertaining read. I really enjoyed the setting and the characters do all come to life (though they do make some choices that I think will offer readers plenty of fodder for discussion). More than anything, this has made me miss browsing bookstores in person! And I also appreciated the later middle age of the protagonists - late 40s isn't an age group I feel like I see too often I'm fiction! This adds to the book's refreshing nature. All in all, this one is sweetly fun!

The Bookshop of Second Chances is clever, witty and fun. This novel was an easy and quick read, and I enjoyed a book that was engaging without making me think too hard. Sometimes that's exactly the kind of book we all need. Thea is a character that is relatable, even when Edward was not. I found parts of this novel hysterical, and other parts were just plain moving. Seeing what Thea was going through and how she refused to be intimidated by Edward made her a character whom I respected and rooted for. this novel also moved at a good pace, which was nice. The romance was allowed to develop without the characters immediately going from acquaintances to intimate acquaintances. While there were times that Edward frustrated me, I grew to appreciate him as a person as I got to know his past. My only real issue was his issues. It didn't seem that anyone who had gotten revenge on his brother in the manner he had could be trusted as easily as Thea did in having a relationship with him without knowing all of the facts. Even when I knew all of the facts, I was still very wary of him as a match for her. Overall, though, this was an enjoyable novel.

I loved the characters and was able to visualize the town and surrounding countryside. My first book from this author Jackie Frasier.

After her husband leaves her for her best friend and she loses her job, Thea moves out of their house and into the Scottish cottage she just inherited from her great-uncle. Thanks to a library full of rare books, Thea’s got enough to live on but decides to take a job at the local bookshop, against the initial reluctance from the grumpy and somewhat chauvinism bookshop owner. Thea initially intends to only stay for a bit, but as the summer turns into fall, it becomes clear how much the town fits her. It’s all a bit cliche, (but if you saw the movie Under the Tuscany Sun) It's just the same but a different Country. (But I loved the book) an Enjoyable Read.

Thank you, NetGalley, for a copy for an honest review. I really enjoyed it.

While I found it hard to relate to the characters, I did enjoy this one. I loved the setting. and the banter between the main characters, got to have that in a rom com or a women's fiction novel.

This was a 4 star read for me. Thank you to & Jackie Fraser for my copy of The Library of Second Chances, for an honest review. Thea Mottram, is having a very bad month. Her husband has been caught cheating and picks his mistress to stay with.. She also losses her job and needs to find a place to live. When out of the blue, an uncle, she has few memories of, leaves her a house in Scotland. This couldn’t have come at a better time and a move to the Scottish coast May give her the new life she desperately needs. Thea find herself loving her new village and the new people she meets. She can’t help but find peace and comfort in this new life. The cottage she is left is perfect for her and it filled with library filled with the most wonderful books. Thea wanders into town to see how much these books are worth and meets Edward. They become fast friends and life really starts to change for her.
While in this new place, Thea has decisions to make and plans to put into motion. But the slow lifestyle is making it hard to move in any particular direction. This story is so cute. The characters are so kind. The Bookstore of Second Chances is funny, sad and heartwarming all at once. It is an easy read and I am glad for my copy. I have shared my review on my Instagram page and shared my review on Barnes & Noble. I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did.

Reading The Bookshop of Second Chances by Jackie Fraser is like having a hot cuppa of tea with a friend. The story is a quiet read with great characters and a slow reveal of what love can look like when it is unexpected. The story allows the reader to take the journey with the characters. And it doesn’t hurt that the main characters make a hot cup of tea often.

Thea has lost her job and her husband and what she calls her life all within a short time. Finding out about her job was heart wrenching but finding out about her husband having an affair with a friend for years was devastating. Luckily, Thea finds out that she has inherited a great uncle’s house and a book collection up in Scotland gives her a place to go while she figures out things.

As the story unfolds, you realize that Thea is in a better place where she can start anew. Edward owns the local book store and is the person that Thea is supposed to have help from, selling her uncle’s antique books. Edward is also the brother of Charles who shows up offering to buy the cottage left to her. Thea is a bit quirky as are many of the characters. She is struggling to find her new normal and Edward - well he is rather cranky and interesting and endearing and…

I enjoyed reading The Bookstore of Second Chances by Jackie Fraser. I enjoyed the pace of the book, the unexpected relationship of Thea and Edward and how the story itself revealed itself. This book was a nice surprise of a read!

The setting for the book is a small village in Scotland, in a bookshop owned by a local man, Edward. Thea is leaving her home in Sussex after fortuitously inheriting a home in the Scottish village, where she strikes up friendships with the locals. Romance is slow to develop as she heals after her husband cheated on her with a friend. I recommend the book for romance fans, and thank NetGalley for the ARC. I enjoyed the story and the characters.

Things are not going well for Thea Mottram. Her husband left her for one of her friends, and she was let go from her office job. But then, Thea learns that a distant uncle in Scotland passed away and left her his home. This provides Thea with the perfect escape from her current life in Sussex. In Scotland, Thea falls in love with the town and people. All of the locals are warm and inviting, except for Edward...

This was a cute and easy read. I loved the setting of Scotland because I’ve always wanted to travel there. It was fun to visualize the characters and the town. I also obviously loved that Thea began working in a bookshop. At times I wasn’t fully invested in Thea and Edward’s relationship. It just seemed like something was missing. With that being said, The Bookshop of Second Chances was a cute, creative debut novel.

Jackie Fraser’s debut novel “The Bookshop of Second Chances” focuses on the story of Thea Mottram. Not only has she been let go from her position, but her husband (of only 20 years) has left her for one of her own friends.
Lucky for Thea, a great-uncle in Scotland dies and leaves her his home and antique book collection. So she leaves Sussex for the small town on Baldochrie. Thea loves the cozy cottage, but knows she has to find at least a part-time job. Where better than the local bookshop? The owner, Edward Maltravers, is kind of grumpy, but she can deal with that. Besides, she is hoping he will buy her uncle’s collection.
Thea finds she is falling in love, both with Scotland and Edward. Fraser has a wonderful debut novel.

I loved reading a more adult romance. Having the characters be a little further along in life made for a nice change from all the angsty 20 somethings.
When Thea finds out about her cheating husband and decides to spends some time away, she finds herself falling for the least expected person.
While I enjoyed the relationship between her and Edward, I felt like there was so much room for character growth and witty banter. Their personalities are so strong, yet we barely touch the surface. I wanted more inside jokes, snarky wit, and crude comments.
I will also say the pacing overall was a bit of a long haul. A lot of time is spent in Thea's day to day ramblings. 3.5

Isn’t that cover adorable? I was drawn in by the sunny colors – hello summer! – and further intrigued by the blurb. As you might expect from the illustrated cover, this leans more towards women’s fic, but despite a few issues, I rather enjoyed it.

After her husband leaves her for her best friend and she loses her job, Thea moves out of their house and into the Scottish cottage she just inherited from her great-uncle. I mean, what better way to deal with a complete upheaval of your life than to move to a quaint little village? Thanks to a library full of rare books, Thea’s got enough to live on, but decides to take a job with at the local bookshop, against the initial reluctance from the grumpy and somewhat misogynistic bookshop owner. But as the months pass, is she turning over a new leaf or just hiding from life?

“There’s a rack of vintage postcards of the local area in fantastically saturated colors, and a list of Questions to which the answer is No, all of which are quite obnoxious. I can tell Edward Maltravers (or someone who works for him) adds to these as they occur to him, since halfway down it says, Do you have or want to buy FIFTY SHADES OF GREY? Another one says, Are people more important than books? and, My child does not read, will they be okay?”


I’d say this book falls more under the women’s fiction umbrella than romance. Sure, there is a romance in it, but the main point is Thea restarting her life and figuring out what she really wants, and part of that just happens to include a romance. And while I’m not quite at that age yet, it was also refreshing to read a book about a woman in her mid-forties. Thea’s practical, if a bit out of touch with her emotions, and has no qualms telling it like it is. While I liked her and would love to sit down for a cup of tea and chat about books with her, there were times her practicalness edged into doormat territory for me.

“So anyway. No girls?”
“Too much trouble.”
I shake my head, disbelieving. “It’s not your tree house.”
“Yes, it is. It’s totally my tree house.” Edward nods, firmly.
“What kind of trouble, anyway? Weeping? Menstruating?”
“Jesus Christ.”
This makes me laugh. “Well?”
He lifts a shoulder, irritable. “They fall in love with me. Or I fall in love with them. It’s stupid and annoying.”


That’s a decided opposite to Edward, the local bookshop owner, who would most kindly be described as a curmudgeon. While Thea has a tendency to be blunt, Edward’s downright rude and borderline cruel, especially to his younger brother, Charles, who inherited the lordship after Edward abdicated it. I liked seeing Edward fall in love with Thea almost more than seeing Thea fall in love with him. It’s very slow burn, but watching them become friends was highly enjoyable. They had lovely banter – Thea, after all, doesn’t let Edward get away with his usual grumpiness – but it did get old hearing everyone else in the village try to convince Thea that he liked her. However, I never really grew to like Edward, so that affected my enjoyment of the relationship quite a bit. Edward and his Charles are estranged and have a lot of decades-old resentments between them. They both did some really awful things to each other, and especially with what Edward did, I had problems understanding how Thea could just accept that give her own recent history.

“What a gorgeous day. I feel my spirits lift further. You could almost say I was happy. I don’t like to address this thought head-on, though, because if you look at happiness it usually disappears, a shy creature. And also—it’s just a layer, isn’t it? A moment’s joy that’s come from nature, sunshine and seaside, overlaying everything else.”


Watching Thea fall in love with the Scottish countryside was much more enjoyable. Baldochrie, Thea’s cottage, and the bookshop were all lovingly described. Thea initially intends to only stay for a bit, but as the summer turns into fall, it becomes clear how much the town fits her. It’s all a bit cliche – that sort of second chance at life that has a mature woman starting over in a vacation destination and falling in love with the black sheep. And while I can’t say it was thrilling or particularly compelling, it was an enjoyable read. The narrative is very much in Thea’s head, with lots of rhetorical questions and dropped off sentences. I liked it – it felt almost like I was chatting with a friend – but I can see how it would turn off some readers.

Overall, I’d give this 3.5 stars. If you’re looking to spend some time in the Scottish countryside and don’t mind a chatty narrator, I think this would be a nice summer read.

I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

“The Bookshop of Second Chances”, by Jackie Fraser, is a story about starting over, finding your worth and second chances set in a rural but charming Scottish village.

A forty-something wife decides to separate from her philandering husband – cheated on her with one of her friends, I may add – and decides to stay in an inherited home left to her by a long-lost great-uncle and book collector. This is her chance to find herself again after such heartbreaking betrayal and start over. It’s great to see a storyline premise of a life not ending for a woman after forty!

Despite the charming Scottish setting, the story ended up in a juvenile tangled web of controversy. The men were immature and ridiculous, so much so that I found myself shaking my head and rolling my eyes. I won’t say too much about overcoming the conflicts as I don’t want to give anything away, but I will say they felt half-baked.

With so much enjoyable possibility for this story I was very excited to read and had high hopes. Yet, I found myself skimming – and I am ALL FOR character development. Though the main character, Thea, did have some shining moments, this book felt about 100 pages too long.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group, and Ballantine Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review! ❤️️

This review will be blunt and brutal. The novel has all the makings of a cozy story and starts off pretty great but oh my gawwwwd the non-stop cringefest of Edward's antics had me constantly annoyed. I finally gave up at 65% and that's saying something. I would have quit earlier if I didn't like the story set up or I would have trudged on through since I'd already made it that far but this book is 448 pages long! Why is it that long?! I give this book 2 stars only because I was so happy that the main character is a woman in her mid to late forties and she has some really sassy dialogue. Also, the books and bookshop are are afterthoughts barely sprinkled into the story. Such a disappointment.

This book had a great story and I appreciated that the main characters in this romance were middle aged and not young with their whole lives ahead of them. That first part of their lives was over and I appreciated that transition.

A great, quiet novel. There are no big dramatic gasping moments to this novel, but I like it that way. Two characters who are each rediscovering themselves and coming into their own. Lovely!

This one just wasn't for me. While I loved the idea of it I just didn't loved the characters and their chemistry just didn't seem very realistic to me. It was well written and a light enjoyable read but that couldn't overcome everything else for me.

Thea is in desperate need of a second chance - her husband is having an affair with her friend, and she's just been fired from her job. Luckily, her Scottish uncle has left her his cottage and collection of rare books. As she meets the residents of the small coastal town, she finds there's one she can't win over: Edward Maltravers, the local bookshop owner. But she manages to get a job at his shop, and their banter turns to fondness, and maybe even something more...

I liked the Scottish bookshop setting - it was nice to see Thea recovering from her losses in a cozy environment. Thea was a fun protagonist, and I was on her side immediately. Unfortunately, this story missed the mark for me with Edward. He's a very juvenile character, with his "no girls allowed" policy in the bookshop and his pattern of sleeping with his brother's girlfriends/wife. I found his conflict with his lord brother to be very tiring. Ultimately, the romance between Thea and Edward didn't appeal to me - there wasn't much chemistry or even affection there. I think Edward needed to work a lot more on himself and his issues before getting into a serious relationship - relationships don't fix all one's issues, and I think it's problematic of romcoms to give people that illusion.

Thank you to Ballantine Books for providing an ARC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A sweet and fun romance set in a Scottish bookshop. Thea Mottram is going through a rough patch. In the last month, she's been fired from her job AND her husband of twenty years has left her for one of her friends. On top of it all, her uncle has passed away - and left her his home and antique book collection. No time like the crumbling present to take a little vacation, no?

Of course, the small town reset is exactly what Thea needs. With a sparring partner in the form of a handsome yet aggravating local, the scene is set for Thea to turn her life upside down, and embrace life in Scotland for... ever.

Some dialogue felt a little stilted and unrealistic, Thea truly *never* stops talking, even when she should, and it prevented me from getting into a good flow with the book - but still a cute read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for advance access to this title!

What a cute cover! This was a nice book; a comfort read for romance readers who want a cozy romance set outside the US. I didn’t find the two characters had a lot of chemistry with their dialogue. I could have used a little more to take it to the next level!