3 stars, Cute Story

MIDNIGHT AT THE CHRISTMAS BOOKSHOP
by Jenny Colgan

Carmen Hogan, the thirty-year-old woman with a Brazillian Quaker boyfriend named Oke managed McCredie's Bookshop at the foot of the castle in Edinburgh. McCredie is getting wooed by shyster Jackson McClockerty who wants to turn all of the quaint little shops into a mockery of cheap souvenirs. Carmen doesn't want to see that happen, so it falls to her to get McCredie's Bookshop in the black again.

She gives the okay for a kooky Christmas movie to be filmed there. She wants to reorganize the shop to encourage shoppers once they have entered.

The story would have been great for me if it were simply a story without the woke elements. I'll be happy when books go back to telling a story without all of that added in. You should be able to find books about it if you want it, but you should be able to find books without it if you want that as well.


..."His fat bum sticking out in the plaid"... That one is hilarious! So easy to picture.

..."She was short of leg and fat of tum"... The English put their words so eloquently. I like reading them.

..." When she was small, the idea of living in a bookshop would have been a dream come true"... This rings true with me. When I was a child, or even now at age 50!

I received a complimentary copy of #MidnightattheChristmasBookshop from #Avon #NetGalley #HarperVoyager #HarperCollinsPublishers I was under no obligation to post a review.

#Contemporary #Christmas #ReligiousExclamations #Woke #Diverse #JennyColgan #Edinburgh #Brazil

The city of Edinburgh is the star of this book. I was transported to that charming city at Christmastime, and it was fabulous. However, the characters and the storyline weren’t as strong. I didn’t have any vested interest in whether Carmen and Oke got together; I didn’t feel any chemistry and that storyline seemed to drag. I also didn’t feel a sense of urgency about what was going to happen to the bookstore or really anything. I was honestly disappointed in this sequel and it was difficult at times not to skim through.

This is a sequel, and I read the first book, which I enjoyed. I believe that this one should not be read as a stand-alone because so much is related to characters and situations from the first book. I don’t think enough recap was given, and even having read the previous book I had some difficulty connecting to characters and remembering what had happened before.

I do love Christmas stories and I know that this one is going to really hit the spot for a lot of readers. There is some beautiful and funny prose, and who can resist a bookstore?

Lovely book, with a beautiful cover!
It was slow at times, but enjoyable nonetheless!! I do think that a bookshop/Christmas themed book will always be a good choice to read:)

Thank you to the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

This delightful Christmas book is the sequel to The Christmas Book Shop, a New York Times bestseller from Jenny Cogan. If you know us, you know that we love anything she has written, and you can find a complete list of all of her books in our post The Best Jenny Colgan Books Ranked.

This particular sequel wasn’t my favorite though. It had all the same characters as the first story, but while the setting was still just as enchanting, I didn’t love the characters as much this time around. Oke was barely in it, Carmen was infantile, but the new “stacks” of the bookstore and Carmen’s new living situation were wonderfully described. Plus I loved the quest to save the bookstore once again.

Jenny Colgan has delivered another wonderful holiday novel with Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop. Carmen is at loose ends with her home, her love life, and her job. But bit by bit, over the course of a year, and with the help of family and friends both new and old, the scattered puzzle of her life gets reassembled. Although the lack of communication at the heart of the story was a bit frustrating, I loved the setting, the characters, and just about everything else about the novel. The Edinburgh of the novel may lack winter sunlight, but it is bright with the joy and warmth of both the holiday lights and the hearts of its residents. Sappy I know, but this is a Christmas romance after all.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

I wanted to love this book so much, because I adored the Christmas Bookshop. But to me, this sequel missed the mark and lacked the magic of the first book. Oke was like a completely diferent person in this book. Actually, so was Carmen. I wasn't invested in the story and, while I did enjoy the setting and the banter in places, this one overall fell flat for me.
I still love this author's books and will eagerly wait for her next one.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my complimentary digital copy. All opinions are my own.

Welcome back to McCredie’s Bookshop in Edinburgh. Carmen is back still trying to save the bookshop with her family and romantic drama in tow.

You will reunite with the cast of characters and be introduced to a few new ones as the shopkeepers celebrate another Christmas.

While still very enjoyable, the story line was a bit too repetitive of the original novel for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a very generous 3 star for me.

Starting out with the positives -
Christmas? Bookshop? DONE. I LOVED LOVED LOVED all the descriptions. Everything sounded so magical and festive and cozy. The side characters - so many amazing people (my favorite being Rudi). I felt like the last 10% of the book was fantastic!

The not so greats -
First, I didn't realize this was a sequel until quite a ways in. Goodreads and Amazon will usually tag the series, but that was not the case for this book. That said, I was able to pick up on characters and things quickly. I was not a fan of Carmen at all. Maybe the love other readers had spilled over from book 1. But I felt she was soooo negative all the time. I think what was meant to be witty snark, came out as mean girl energy for me. Not the vibes. I also felt, the Oke storyline was lacking. the storyline also felt a bit all over the place and not focused.

This book was definitely a miss for me however, I loved the descriptions so much that I will still be picking up the first book and possibly some others from this author.

We return to Edinburgh and the bookshop is still struggling along. An American film company is filming a Christmas movie and they want to use the bookshop for some of the scenes. The money makes it worthwhile. The rich guy still wants to buy the bookshop and transform it into a kitschy gift shop and Carmen's boss is starting to look favorably on this solution. Carmen, bookshop manager, has moved out of her sister's house and is living in the unheated upstairs of the bookshop. The sort of love of her life, Oke, has gone back to his home in South America. Carmen works at the bookshop, grabs a meal and goes to her dark quarters to brood and feel sorry for herself. But, hey, it's Christmas! Exciting things can happen around Christmas, can't they?

The story felt like it lacked any substance and the characters were not as endearing in this book as they were in the Christmas Bookshop. It made it a bit difficult to feel to invested in their lives.

3.5 stars. I really loved The Christmas Bookshop last year (although I need to go back and read my review of that one after finishing this one), and I was super excited to get approved for an advance copy of this one. This newest novel just does not capture the same warm feelings and character development as the last one. I still love all of the characters, but I felt that the plot dragged a bit more, and I just was not as invested in the journeys that all of the characters were on. I would still pick up more books featuring these characters, but I hope they would be a bit better developed in the future.

Book Review

Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop

By: Jenny Colgan

Pub Date: October 10, 2023

Thank you to @NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

It is summer in Edinburgh and an American production company is filming a Christmas movie in Mr. McCredie’s bookstore. They couldn’t turn down the money because the bookstore needed a little TLC. With the money from the movie, they were able to make more room in the shop so they could display more books and make it more browser friendly. In addition, Carmen, Mr. McCredie’s only employee, was always figuring out ways to make more money to keep the millionaire away. This millionaire had already taken over a shop and ruined it. Now he had his eyes on the bookstore. Mr. McCredie wanted to accept the deal, but Carmen would not let the sale happen.

My thoughts: I felt like so many things were happening at once. There was Carmen living with her sister and all the drama of sisterhood. Then there was her sister’s new nanny then Carmen’s relationship with Oke. Then the millionaire comes to town.

What I did enjoy is the setting. I love an international setting in a bookstore on a charming street. I loved Carmen’s take-charge attitude and her love for her job and books in general. I also liked the friendship between Mr. McCredie and Carmen.

You will enjoy this if you love stories involving bookstores, strong women figure, and a clean ending, no cliffhangers.










To

This follow-up to the 2021 The Christmas Bookshop finds Carmen still working at the used bookshop in central Edinburgh. With sales struggling and a falling out with her sister, Carmen finds herself living above the bookshop she is trying to save. Another delightful Christmas read by Jenny Colgan. I'm ready to book my plane ticket to Scotland!

I received an advanced reader copy via NetGalley.

Sometimes one just needs a light and uplifting story to get through a rough patch, and I can usually rely on Jenny Colgan to fit that bill. Her latest (to be published this October) certainly ticked off those boxes for me. This sequel to The Christmas Bookshop, which I read in 2022, is a charming light romance that continues to follow the life of Carmen Hogan, who manages McCredie’s Old Town Edinburgh bookshop, in the year following the action in the first book. Ms. Colgan’s characters are lively and endearing, even the ones who need some help getting there, and at various times, I was thinking Carmen was something of a Scots Bridget Jones, particularly during an amusing conversation about underwear. In all, after a slow start, I was hooked, and I liked it even better than its predecessor. Thanks to Avon Books and NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. [Already posted on Goodreads]

Carmen is living in her sister's basement in beautiful, expensive Edinburgh. Her shy Quaker boyfriend has dumped her and gone back to his native Brazil, the wondrous bookshop in which she works is going under, and the arrival of the new manny means she'll have to move out. This is a charming failure-to-launch story with the lush descriptions of Scotland we've come to love from this author.

Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan is a heartwarming holiday novel that delves into the lives of a diverse group of individuals. Some are connected by blood, while others are brought together by chance. Through their journey, they discover the true essence of family, unlock their hidden potential, and experience the enchantment of Christmas.

As the story unfolds, readers will be captivated by the way each character comes together in a time of crisis. Colgan's masterful storytelling skillfully portrays the immense joy and love that permeates every page. By the time readers reach the final chapter, they will be filled with a sense of contentment, witnessing the remarkable unity and resilience displayed by the characters.

Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop is not just a tale of holiday cheer; it is a testament to the power of human connection and the magic that can be found during the Christmas season. Jenny Colgan's compelling narrative will leave readers feeling uplifted, inspired, and reminded of the true meaning of this special time of year.

The sequel to Jenny Colgan’s The Christmas Bookshop is finally here! Midnight At The Christmas Bookshop picks up right where The Christmas Bookshop left off. Once again, Carmen is doing everything she can think of to keep the bookshop afloat while at the same time struggling with problems in her personal life and love life.

This lively quick easy read is humorous, touching and all rounds delightful. The Christmas Bookshop is one of my all-time favorite Christmas books and one that I re-read each year. I think this new sequel is going to need to be added to my annual re-read Christmas list. Both The Christmas Bookshop and Midnight At The Christmas Bookshop are perfect for curling up by the fire on a cold winter night for a cozy Christmas read. You don’t want to miss this one.

To be honest, I didn’t realize this was a sequel when I requested it or remember that I read the first one. I had to go back and read about it to refresh my memory. In that book, as well as this one, Carmen is insufferable. She is extremely immature and annoying. The moping over Oke seemed more like an excuse to stay miserable because that does seem to be how she enjoys living life. She is also extremely ungrateful and even says she is purposefully annoying to her sister who has given her a place to live, food, etc. I feel like I’m reading about someone much younger. What 31 year old behaves this way?! As the story goes on I thought I saw a little growth and I did enjoy reading about her efforts to save the bookshop and help Mr. McCredie. I also enjoyed reading the descriptions of his house. Towards the end, I didn’t understand her treating her sister horribly and then expecting an apology from her. There’s just no other word than immature for her reactions to everything throughout the story and it’s disappointing. As far as her and Oke go, maybe it’s been too long since I read the first but I couldn’t really get behind rooting for them to be together. I kind of hoped a new love interest would have been introduced and Oke could have married Mary. They were kept apart too long and their chemistry is just meh. On a positive note, I liked the way the book ended and her good deed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books for the ARC!

I read this ARC for honest feedback.

Jenny Colgan has sucked me into her Christmas Bookshop again. When I finished the first book a while back, I was hoping that story would be continued. Oke and Carmen deserved more of a story, along with bookshop owner, Mr. McCreadie, and Carmen's family.

These books bring Christmas to you, no matter the time of year you read them. You'll absolutely want to get cozy, drink a cup of tea, and lose yourself in this Scottish Christmas.

A moody sister and a snooty sister is just too much like a couple of my sisters. That is just too real. But the bookshop is pretty wonderful. I like all the revising to make it more profitable. And the building is fabulous. This book just didn't make by heart warm and fuzzy. I like the cover.

What a wonderful trip trip back to the Christmas bookshop in Edinburgh! I love Jenny Colgan’s writing style. I really like these characters and it was fun to visit with them again. There is lots going on at the bookshop with an American movie crew filming there and Mr. McCredie is up to his usual antics. Carmen and Oke are just a great couple and I would have liked Oke to have a bigger role in the story. I think he was missing a bit too much. Thankfully romance won once again and overall it was a heartwarming Christmas story.
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an early readers copy in exchange for my honest review.