This was such an enjoyable book, I couldn't put it down. Thea, the middle-aged "heroine" is so well defined as well as the other eccentric characters. The dialog between Thea and Edward is hilarious. In the end, a poignant telling of second chances and romance.

This was a lovely story. The protagonist is an outspoken emotionally wounded woman and her employer is equally wounded but emotionally unavailable Scot. She has inherited a home from a distant relative who met her only a few times, when she was more interested in reading her books than on any other activity. That was recommendation enough. I enjoyed the developing relationship as well as her inability to pull any punches.

'The Bookshop of Second Chances' by Jackie Fraser was just the warm-up I didn't know I needed on a cold & wintry day.

As a woman happily hanging out in her early 40s, I was pleasantly surprised to read a book about someone my own age finding herself again, as well as finding love & friendship. Back in the late '90s and early aughts, I was an avid reader of the Bridget Joneses and Rebecca Brandons (nee Bloomwood) - annoyingly labeled Chick Lit. I loved the drama and the sweeping off of feet. But, at some point, it became slightly less appealing to me. It wasn't my life anymore. It wasn't even a possibility of being my life anymore.

Now, don't get me wrong, I still enjoy reading these stories. (Which are now labeled Women's Fiction. *eye roll*) But Thea's love affair with a small Scottish town, a well-loved cottage, and a bookshop and its proprietor was a slow, cozy read. It was never boring. It had its moments of drama. But in the end it just felt REAL. I was pulled in by Fraser's accurate depiction of love & friendship in midlife. I fell right into the story and watched it all unfold as if I were one of the nosy townspeople gossiping about the will they/won't they - and I loved every second.

... ... ...well almost. There were moments when Thea spoke a little too British. [Spoiler Alert] One particular scene where Thea had just been intimate with someone, she sounded so proper that I giggled and took a screen shot of the page because it was so entertaining. While it may have very briefly pulled me out of the story, it didn't put me off it.

This book was a solid 4.5 stars for me. (Can I give it 4.75 stars? Is that a thing? I want it to be a thing.) A Huge THANK YOU to NetGalley & Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read and review this adorable book.

Thea goes North, and discovers that sometimes, a book CAN be judged by its cover in Jackie Fraser's "The Bookshop of Second Chances."

Thea's marriage has dissolved after she discovers her husband has been cheating on her with a family friend. Luckily, she has just inherited her Scottish uncle's property. She goes up to sort the estate, and decides to stay for a bit and figure out what she wants next. She meets the local curmudgeon, who also owns a secondhand bookshop, when he comes to purchase some books and revalue her uncle's collection. Thea applies for a job with him, and we see Thea building a new life in the North.

Thea has a good voice, and it's refreshing to see a middle-aged heroine who isn't completely hapless and hopeless. Her reactions are what you'd expect from someone in her situation, and she doesn't wall herself off from others while she grieves her dead marriage.

Now, her love interest and boss, Edward, is a bit lacking in several areas. He and his brother seem to be stuck in adolescence, and I struggled to see what Thea saw in him. He's rude and the fact that he kept sleeping with his brother's exes just to get at him would have been enough to put me off.

Somehow, though, I was rooting for Thea and if Edward is her choice, well, at least she's moving forward. Moderately recommended for lovers of tatty bookshops, irascible Scots, and second chances.

2.75 out of 5 stars.

I received an advance copy from NetGalley and Ballantine in exchange for my honest review.

Considering that I'd give anything to travel, the idea of being able to visit Scotland through this book's pages was one I couldn't resist. Add some romance and a bookshop, and I couldn't start reading fast enough.

The main characters, Thea and Edward, are enjoyable on their own and even more so when interacting with one another. I also enjoyed the town characters. One of the things I found refreshing was that Thea wasn't a 20-year-old figuring life out. She was a mature woman experiencing a significant plot twist she never saw coming, but she took control as best as possible. It felt more relatable. Then, as many know about me, Pride & Prejudice is one of my favorite novels, so the Elizabeth-Darcy vibes were right up my alley!

For a light and fun read, I highly recommend The Bookshop of Second Chances. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the advanced copy!

Enjoyable women's fiction. Pros: unique setting (a bookshop! in Scotland!), mid-life romance. Cons: too much swearing for my taste, our hero's smutty past.

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

I couldn't really feel the soul of this book. I really really wanted to like it because it has all the things I love (Scotland, bookstores, brooding fellows) but it just didn't grab me. I think it would make a fabulous movie and kudos for depicting how life goes on after heartbreak. I also didn't really care for how the romance unfolded. It's not really great to be abusive toward someone because you are mad that you like them. 3 stars for setting, bookstore, and dry humor.

I've spent the afternoon debating between 3 & 4 stars for this book. The premise of this title and the title itself pulled me in, and combined with the possibility of the Scottish setting, I was super excited to be approved on NetGalley to read this title. It also was a really fast read, and the perfect read to have during a major snow storm when I wasn't going to leave the house!

The pros: I loved that this was about a woman in her 40s. So often romances hinge on characters that are much younger, and yet, a woman in her 40s, getting to live a fantasy I frequently had of a teen of inheriting an awesome house in England from a distant releative, made for a really enjoyable story. I loved the setting, and I enjoyed Thea as a character. The romance is a slow burn, with the friendship being as important to the ultimate romance as sex or flirty aspects which I loved.

The cons: All of the cheating and lying that is in the background of many of the characters is not really my cup of tea. At times it felt as if Thea were overanalyizing her actions, and/or trying to convince herself of certain actions, which is maybe somewhat understandable considering the circumstances, but I wasn't always convinced was the most healthy.

I've been reading a lot of romcom-y types of titles recently, and this one definitely settles more into women's fiction with the romance being a portion of it, but Thea building a new life being the largest piece, in my opinion. I loved the premise and enjoyed many aspects of the story. Ultimately it's a good book that I enjoyed spending my afternoon with, but probably not a great book that I will return to, so I'm going to go with the three star review, but anyone who enjoys women's fiction, who is looking for an enjoyable story with characters that are older, have some history, and still sorting out new lives, or who just wants to enjoy an afternoon in a Scottish village, would probably find this title worth picking up.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me the opportunity to read and review this book.

This was so cute and sweet! I loved Thea and Edward. I loved that it was a middle aged romance too. A nice departure from reading about 23 year olds finding love. The book felt a smidge too long but I overall really enjoyed it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 The Bookshop Of Second Chances by Jackie Fraser is an interesting book about a middle-aged woman, Thea, whose 20-year marriage heads for divorce after catching the hubs cheating. At the same time, Thea has the good fortune of inheriting a house from a relative, allowing her to move to the Scottish countryside. Thea uses this time to check on her inheritance and to get away from city life and think about what her future holds. I love the character of Thea because although she is disappointed at the end of her marriage, she doesn’t let it consume her. Thea finds the good in so many things and enjoys her time living in Scotland and her new home while simultaneously working in the small village book shop. That’s when she meets the cantankerous owner Edward, and we see her life change as she develops a relationship with him when she didn’t expect to find romance again. But first, she resolves to help Edward settle an old family feud with his brother Charles and make some hard decisions about her ex. The men in this story are not especially swoon-worthy with their past bad-boy behavior. My main point of contention is that the book reads like a diary, and there’s not a lot of plot. I think I will re-read this in about a month and just see if I feel the same; it’s an engaging writing style—lots of words but a somewhat minimal plot. Thank you to NetGalley for the free ARC, but the review and opinions are my own and without bias. @netgalley #thebookshopofsecondchances #jackiefraser #frenemies #chicklit #love #supercutecover #debutauthor #partner

The Bookshop of Second Chances is a sweet cozy story set in a coastal Scottish village where Thea Motttam escapes to after losing her job and her husband to one of her closest friends. Her great uncle leaves her his home and extensive book collection which proves to be the change she needs. She finds a job at the local bookshop, makes some friends, and finds a new relationship.
Thea is a likable character and although the story was predictable, I enjoyed it.
3.5 stars
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

There are many things I love about this book: it revolves around a bookshop, there is an unlikely love story, it's about an older woman instead of a twenty-something. It's a great read. My only complaint is that the dialogue seems a bit unrealistic at times, but I'm sure that's just my personal opinion. All in all, a great read.

If my husband cheated on me, I would love to have an uncle leave me a house in a remote area of Scotland to escape to. Even better if that house was near a village with a bookshop, was on property adjacent to a handsome (currently unmarried) lord, and included people I could become friends with. Sadly, I doubt that will ever be my life. Oh, did I mention the love/hate/love relationship I could develop with the good-looking owner of that bookshop? Sigh. At least I got to live vicariously through Thea.

The perfect long weekend/vacation read.

eARC provided by publisher via Netgalley.

I started this and while I initially enjoyed the first couple pages, I just couldn't get into it. I think I will give it another chance someday, but it just seemed sort of over-the-top and juvenile. Like a screenplay that's meant to be acted out, but all we see is what's on the page and it's just a bit much.

Books that take place in bookshops are always iffy to dive into. You just never know what you’re getting and when they fall flat, it’s just disappointing. Unfortunately, this book fell a little flat for me. The plot moved a little too slow and I wanted so much more from the side characters. The bookshop however did seem pretty cool and if it was real, I would love to visit it.

The Bookshop of Second Chances by Jackie Fraser seemed to be more of a chic lit type of book rather than a romance. Ms. Fraser's writing brought the small Scottish community and some of the residents to life.

I confess that I didn't connect well to Thea or Edward. I often thought Thea to be "wishy washy" about her life. She seemed to be running away from her old life after losing her job and her husband's betrayal rather than running toward a new life in Scotland as she kept telling everyone that she was only staying for a short time but then she stayed longer. The characters were well developed and I admired Thea's blunt forthright manner in dealing with both Edward and Charles. Unfortunately, I found both Edward and Charles to be extremely immature in their behavior towards each other so their appearances on the pages made for slow reading for me. The book seemed to slow down toward the middle and never really picked up momentum again. All in all, it's an interesting read about people who are offered second chances in life and what they make of them.

Okay wow I really loved this! It was pretty slow to start but then it got going and got really good. I absolutely loved Edward and how he was just all in from the moment they decided to give it a go. I was gutted when Chris came to visit and they had coffee, reading it made me so anxious, knowing what was coming.

After losing her job and husband, Thea finds out her great uncle has passed away and left her his house in Ireland. Thea goes to Ireland in order to sorry through her uncle's house and sell some of his first edition books. What Thea wasn't planning on was falling in love with the handsome bookshop owner or Ireland.

This was a fun fast read. I will admit I sometimes thought Thea talked too much but the Bookshop and Ireland made up for that.

3.5 stars. I really enjoyed this book. It’s a sweet and fun romance. Set in Scotland and set in a bookshop, yes please! The main character goes through some tough situations and moves out to Scotland for a fresh start. She meets a bookshop owner who is described as tall with curly hair and Colin Firth immediately came to mind...so thanks for that! The romance is a slow burn and completely adorable.

I struggle with a couple of things. First, there was a love scene. It was a closed door scene, but leading up to it was really awkward. The main character wouldn’t stop talking and I wanted her to shut up and let things happen already. Another struggle was some of the dialogue. There were a ton of open ended sentences that included (...) or (-) indicating that their sentence had paused or run off. It was a big difficult to keep a good flow while reading. I felt that their conversations were stilted.

Overall I really enjoyed reading this and I really liked all of the characters.

Content Warnings: adultery, miscarriage

*Huge thanks to the publisher and Netgally for an early eArc of this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is an incredibly sweet story about Thea, a middle aged woman who finds herself without a job, without a husband, and without a place to life. She deals with her husband’s infidelity with both strength and grace, beginning a new life in a small Scottish village in a home she inherited from her great uncle.
I enjoyed the enemies to lovers story between Thea and Edward. Parts of the story were quite slow to me, making it a more difficult read than I imagined, but overall it is a feel good, light read.