This is a wonderful escape that was fun, touching, and as cozy as a cuppa in front of the fireplace. Women’s fiction usually has me wishing for a stronger romance subplot, but this one had enough to keep me happy even though it was not enough to be categorized as a romance novel.

I absolutely loved the setting in a small Scottish town, which added to this book’s charm. Add in a bookshop as a pivotal location and it could hardly get better. Except for the private little beach hut which takes it into perfection territory.

I was also pleased to read a story featuring a mature woman in her forties. Despite her current run of bad luck, she is fun and smart and likable. I greatly enjoyed her interactions and growing friendships with the people she meets in Scotland. This book also has some major cha-chings for anyone who fancies the inclusion of a manor and a younger brother who is the lord because the grouchy older brother gave up the title. The brothers have interesting dynamics that add much to the book.

Although the main characters face real issues, this book never feels too unsettling or painful. If you have ever daydreamed about moving to a small town and working in a bookshop owned by a gorgeous grouch who is much softer on the inside than he lets on, this is one you must read. I also recommend this for anyone looking for cozy and feel-good Women’s Fiction.

This was a cute and enjoyable book from start to finish. Thea is great, strong character and I admired her resilience even when she was going through so much emotionally with a loss of husband who cheated and the loss of job. She decided to start over in Scotland. She finds a bookshop she loves but the owner, Edward is anything but inviting to her when she tries to sell her uncle's book collection. Edward and Thea fight all the time, each has their own walls and angst. Does understanding come? Do the walls come down? You will have to read to find out!

This was a surprisingly good book by Jackie Fraser even though this kind of story has been told before. Fraser puts her own spin on it and it is enjoyable and a break from thrillers. I would definitely read another book from this author in the future.

Thanks to Netgalley, Jackie Fraser and Random House Publishing Group Ballantine Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 5/4/21

*Wont buy for HS library, but would if I was an adult buyer.*

So, I got this title as an ARC from NetGalley. And I’d like to explain the rating of 4, first of all. I’d have given this book a 5 but for one thing: the structure of the chapters/pacing of the writing. I rarely felt like a thought or storyline or conversation or character arc was completed before I was moved on to the next thing. So, while I adored the plot, the characters, the development of the story, the broody leading man, the secondary and tertiary characters, and the setting entirely, I didn’t love the experience of reading the book as much as I could have. The transitions are just really choppy and uncomfortable.

Also, if I’m being honest, I don’t get the draw of the MC. She is a good vehicle for the story, but she does not engender caring feelings in me, which I don’t quite understand. But it’s a good read, nonetheless. 🤓💜📚

4 1/2 stars

This is a beautiful narrative story about Thea. She's been let go of her job and her husband of 15 years cheated on her, so she's leaving him. Then she learns her uncle passed away and left her his cottage in Scotland and it's a chance to take some time off.

She falls in love with the village and decides to stay a while and gets a job at the local bookstore, despite the owner's misgivings.

Edward comes off as almost rude in the beginning, and definitely aloof, but little by little, they form a friendship (and something more) that surprises them both.

I really liked the setting of Scottish small village, the bookshop with its antique books, the trip to the beach, etc.

Thea and Edward are weary and hesitant, but the ending is the best.

I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

Sexual content (behind closed doors) and language (enough to be annoying).

I started this book thinking that it would be a cute, cliche-ridden tale of a woman who loses all and moves to another town to start a new life kind of book. That would have been totally fine but this was so much better. I LOVED Thea-she was a mature woman whose decisions weren't cringeworthy. At the beginning of the story, she finds out that her husband of 20 years has been cheating with one of her friends. If that isn't enough, she also gets downsized from her job. She finds out that an uncle that she hadn't kept in touch with has left her a cottage and a large antique book collection in Scotland. She and one of her friends travel to Scotland to assess what's there and to get everything ready for sale. She ends up becoming intrigued with the town, the cottage and the grumpy local bookseller Edward. I really enjoyed the slow burn romance and the banter between these two. Both of them had some personal trust issues to work through but following their story was definitely worth it. I can't wait to read more from this author.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for the ARC in return for my honest review.

Could not even get through the whiney first chapter. I get she’s sad but it was just heaping it on in the most cliched way.

Thea, at 40+, married for two decades, finds her world upended by a separation from her husband. She moves to Scotland to take possession of a lodge bequeathed to her by a great-uncle. She begins a job in a local bookshop with a grumpy boss named Edward, and the two gradually become friends.

This is a story about learning to trust again and not just in love. There’s also an estranged sibling arc, a look at betrayal from two different viewpoints and a good supporting cast.

I had a couple of issues that bothered me: I felt Thea was a bit of a doormat at times; and right in the middle of the story as things were going along nicely, one of the characters reveals a disturbing and out-of-the-blue flaw.
Still, overall a good story with the ends tied up happily.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #BallantineBooks for providing me the early ARC. The opinions are strictly my own.

Thea is struggling after she loses her job, and finds out her husband has not only been cheating on her, but cheating on her with her friend! Luckily for her, she has now found out that her Great Uncle whom she barely knew, has left her his Scotland home, as well as a fantastic library filled with antique books. While cleaning out the house, Thea falls in love with the small town, and decides to stay for a while, getting a job at the local bookstore where she meets Edward. Edward is a grumpy grump grump, but something about Thea softens his grumpiness and a friendship forms. Edward isn’t good at friendships though…

Oh man would I love to go to this Scottish countryside and relax with lots of books! That’s 90% of what I was thinking while reading this one! I have to start by saying that this book is very similar to Much Ado About You which I just recently read, so I think if I had more space between the two I would have loved this one more. I recommend giving some time between the two! I still really enjoyed this book though. Edward was such a damn grump, and had questionable morals which made me want to smack him, but I also saw the charm that eventually won Thea over. His rivalry with Charles was kind of understandable, but also had me rolling my eyes at the two and wanting them to just grow the f up, much like Thea felt! I did really love that Thea knew what she wanted and was very upfront and honest with both Charles and Edward. I died laughing at her dinner with Charles, because seriously, how amazing would it be to just say all those things to a man you know it playing some shady games? Absolute perfection! Overall I really enjoyed this book, I mean how can you not love a love story taking place in a bookstore?

Thea Mottram has been let go from her office job with no notice—and to make matters even worse, her husband of nearly twenty years has decided to leave her for one of her friends. Thea doesn’t know what to do. But when she learns that a distant great uncle in Scotland has passed away, leaving her his home and a hefty antique book collection, she decides to leave Sussex for a few weeks and go to a small coastal town where no one knows her.
Almost instantly, Thea becomes enamored with the quaint cottage and its cozy rooms and lovely but neglected garden. The locals in nearby Baldochrie are just as warm, quirky, and inviting. The only person she can’t seem to win over is bookshop owner Edward Maltravers, to whom she hopes to sell her uncle’s book collection. She ends up going to to apply for a job even though he is quick to tell her he does not hire women. His gruff attitude—fueled by an infamous, long-standing feud with his brother, a local lord—tests Thea’s patience. But bickering with Edward proves oddly refreshing and exciting, leading Thea to develop feelings she hasn’t experienced in a long time. As she follows a thrilling yet terrifying impulse to stay in Scotland indefinitely, Thea realizes that her new life may quickly become just as complicated as the one she was running from.

Even though I did not know this author, I was intrigued by the title of the book as I am drawn to books about
bookshops. I thought the author did a very good job describing Thea and Edward and the other characters as well as the town. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this first novel by this author.

This is an utterly charming story that was a delightful read. The main characters were fully drawn, and the setting descriptions made me want to chuck it all and move to Scotland to work in a bookshop!

It's inevitable that if a novel's title includes "library", "librarian", "bookshop", "codex", or other bookish related words that I will at least see what it's about. This book in particular also lined up with my wanting to try and find more good stand-alone contemporary romances that weren't overly dramatic or overly sweet. Not exactly an easy thing to find.

In here Thea finds herself surprisingly both at the end of a twenty year marriage, and inheriting a new cottage in the wilds of Scotland. Seeing an opportunity to put a little distance between herself and her troubles she up sticks to Baldochrie to check out the new property. What follows is fairly typical plot-wise, she falls in love with the town and townsfolk, she gets a job at a local shop and falls for the owner, etc.

The slight difference is that it's not crazy romantic. There's a grudgingly respect, then friendship, and eventually a physical relationship but Thea is obviously leery of having a new man in here life having just been betrayed by the last one, plus Edward (the bookshop owner who's her boss) is younger and generally seems to hate everything. Edward carries his own family baggage and has a horrible track record of sleeping with other men's women, and is really not keen on having a female employee.

Neither person is perfect, neither one makes all the right choices, and neither one is remotely looking for the other. With a healthy dash of swearing, and more than a dollop of sarcasm, this was a nice way to escape the everyday.

Set to hit shelves in May, you'd do well to pick this up and wile away a few pleasant hours.

This should be a movie; I can already picture it all in a lovely little town in Scotland. Thea (from Sussex) inherited a house there from her great uncle who she didn’t know well, but the timing was good because her stupid husband went and ruined their marriage after like 20 years AND she had become redundant at work, so she went there to check it out and figure out what to do with her life. After deciding to stay for the summer, she got a job in the used book shop working for a curmudgeonly fellow, but only after she managed to talk him out of his “no girls” policy. She thrived there and made lots of friends and the characters were lovely.

The book was brilliant. It’s fairly obvious from the beginning how Thea’s love life is going to turn out, but it’s a fun ride, and then there’s more afterwards, which was unexpectedly heartwarming. Big thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Ive had this book in my library for quite awhile and set it down for a few weeks.. .I returned to review my books and found I hadnt fiinished reading this one.
I went back to the book and started chapter one again.This time, because some of the chapters were familiar, I was able to grasp more attention to the story lines.I actually found this woman's romance novel somewhat interesting. I wouldnt say it was a romance book, more of a woman's discovery in her capabillites on what she can do after being betrayed. She is married and loyal almost twenty years i, or she thought,.
Her husband has been cheating on her with her best freind.They never had children so this made it easy for Thea to run off temporarily to a small village in Scotland. This place chosen because her great uncle, who she didnt really know, has now died and left her a big manor house and all his valuable books. He perhaps knowing she too has a love of books.Thea lost her job also and is now going to work in her uncle's solicitor Edward, bookshop . He helps her sell some of the valuable books ,and he knows every inch and everything about the library in this house..She decides to work in his shop.The moment they start sharing freindship and stories of books, and more time away from the manor, we rarely hear more about the manor she has inherited.
We do find out Edwards resentment towards his brother Charles, who became a Lord(and Edwards turned down the title),they have  a disliking towards each other.Its obvious Charles is going to try and buy this manor .After all,he owns most of the village's houses. Is his kindness genuine or only to win her kindness and talk her into selling him the manor. to him.
Charles is the kinder brother who has a fondness to Thea, However, there is an obvious competition between him and his older grumpy brother .
Edwards arrogant behavior at times towards Thea has her confused of their relationship. She has always stood up for herself,so maybe this is what is the attraction to Edward.
I was surprised on who wins her heart. The woman character has alot to be desired for, she starts off strong , independent and her choices at times had me nodding my head.I didnt like Edwards behaviors of resentment.A grown man like him shouldve been past his feelings from thirty years ago towards some people, and these feelings makes Thea weak when she is around him.Still, its a charming book that this time kept me hanging on.Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this preview book and in return, my book review and only my opinion.

The Bookshop of Second Chances is a wonderful story of how good your life can become after you think that you have lost everything. When Thea's world suddenly falls apart she receives an unexpected inheritance that brings her to a lovely cottage in Scotland where she finds a second chance at happiness waiting for her. She finds a new home, new friends, a job she loves, and love itself.

Unlike many stories that you read where the hero and heroine fall in love immediately or in an extremely short time, this story seemed more realistic. It was very natural the way that the hero and heroine interacted and how they went from being friendly to eventually being more than friends.

I loved the relationship between the hero and heroine, but also their relationships with the other characters in the story. I loved that multiple characters got second chances by the end. I also really liked that the characters were real and had flaws. Neither of them was perfect, but they were perfect for each other.

Perhaps one of the best stories that I have read recently! It made me laugh. Made me cry. It really hit on so many feelings that I wish it hadn't ended. It was an amazing and touching story and I highly recommend it to others!

Charming, light hearted read. Friends to lovers trope that is relatable. The book takes time to develop struggles of starting over and finding love again.

Loved this book! I'm always on board for a romance featuring mature (or least not 20 something) characters and this did not disappoint. Thea and Edward were believable & relatable and I also appreciated Thea's development over the course of the book.

I loved this book! It was such a good time and I missed the characters when it was over. Of course, Fraser had an advantage by situating her tale in a bookstore, as well as in a small town in Scotland. Her settings drew me in and the characters kept me reading. I put this book in the top ten that I read in 2020. I hope this becomes a series as I crave an update on the lives and relationships of the characters involved.

Thanks Netgalley for this ARC for an honest review.

Oh wow, I really enjoyed this book. Hard to stop reading, I finished it very quickly. Highly recommended.

The Bookshop of Second Chances by Jackie Fraser
Rated: PG
Sub-genre: Contemporary
4 out of 5 stars
Tags: Scotland, Finding love again, Middle-aged, Divorce, Adultery
Trope: Friends to Lovers
Pro: Realistic storyline, Well-written, Interesting characters
Con: Too PG for my tastes
Verdict: A book that can be enjoyed by many different types of readers

The Bookshop of Second Chances is about a woman, Thea, who has been left by her husband for one of her friends. She has also recently lost her job and is just feeling like her life is slowly slipping away. That is until her great uncle has passed and left her his home and his fantastic, antique book collection.

Jackie Fraser takes you through a journey where Thea meets new, interesting people. Thea has a unique personality, and it is enjoyable to see her evolve into a brand new woman when given a second chance. If it weren't for her great uncle's inheritance, you will wonder what Thea's life would have ended up like throughout the story. I would recommend this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an advanced electronic copy in exchange for an honest review.