This is the sixth book in this Scottish series and it didn’t disappoint. It’s a cozy read that will leave you with a fuzzy feeling.

Lexie doesn’t get her promotion at work so decides to go home to her childhood town by the lake. The book shop has been put up for sale and she wants to revamp it instead. The book shop means so much to her that’s she willing to leave her job as an editor and fully commit.

It’s a beautiful book, Lexie is a lovely character to read about and it’s good to read about the in and outs of publishing a book. The location can’t be faulted and the author really brought it to life.

A great installment to this series.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy,

After Lexie is passed over for a promotion at the publishers where she works she decides to take an extended break and move back to her home town. There she takes the opportunity of running the local bookshop, only to find that she has to share it with Tobias who plans to open it as an art gallery.
This is the latest episode in this series that I have read and enjoyed. In this episode both Lexie and Tobias have relationship issues and it's interesting to see how this pans out. There are also family issues for both of them, but counterbalanced against this is the marvellous Celeste, a glamorous local care home resident with a secret of her own. I really must visit Scotland again as this book has reminded me of the wonderful scenery there. Definitely recommended.

I loved it! I’m sitting here with a big smile on my face!… I laughed out loud lots of times… I’m still chuckling. What a wonderfully delightful book this was!… Jam packed full of fun and laughs… Lots of light-hearted moments, emotional scenes and parts which will have you laughing out loud!…

After Lexie doesn't get the promotion she's been promised, she takes all her leave to go back home and think about her future. Her beloved bookshop is closing but she suggests lots of ideas to revive it. She immediately gets offered a job as a book shop manager.
But the owner's grumpy but handsome nephew turns up wanting space for his gallery.

Sounds like the start of a typical romance book. Except these poor characters get more and more thrown at them.

Lexie's dad returns after 23 years with a dramatic announcement.
Tobias finds some old love letters that lead to dramatic revelations about his family.

Again, that's fair - no one's life runs smoothly and romances need some complications to be the source of miscommunications for the dramatic reveal.

Then Maeve visits the bookshop needing a book editor and a portrait artist (convenient!) - which then adds her dying mother, local gossip, more family revelations, shouting at strangers in shops and a road trip to the story. Lexie and Tobias get extremely involved and emotionally invested in Celeste very quickly given that the main stories take place over about 4/6 weeks.

I really wanted to love this book. It's well written but it's not a romance. There are some near kisses and then they get together, after a lot of inner monologue turmoil.

The book would be better with 1 of the complications instead of all of them. The romance takes a back seat to Celeste's story, which could be a book in itself.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced ebook copy in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. Lexi is a book editor for Literati in Glasgow. She, along with the rest of the staff of Literati believe that she is guaranteed a well deserved promotion. However the firm bring in someone from America to fill the spot. Devastated, Lexi takes an extended break and returns to her family home in Bracken Way. Lexi finds the local book shop Book Ends is going to close. The bookshop she visited every weekend with her grandma and developed her love of books. After speaking to Trevor the owner, he unexpectedly offers her the job of manager and gives her 12 months to turn the shop around. We follow the twists and turns of Lexi’s time at the book shop. We meet Lexi’s Mum and Grandad, the nephew of the shop owner, some lovely customers and an unwelcome face from the past. I enjoyed spending time in Bracken Way and look forward to reading more from the author. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the chance to read the ARC.

This was a good read, entirely predictable but sometimes thats all you really want in a feel good book.

Lexie gives up her job as a book editor after she is passed over for promotion and goes home to live with her mum and grandad. The local bookshop is closing down and Lexie convinced the owner to let her run it for a year and turn its fortunes around.

The owners nephew turns up and demands a space in the shop for himself which causes a lot of friction, but not everything is as it seems and secrets become unearthed and lost family members arrive to chuck a cat amongst the pigeons.

I enjoyed it.

Overall a good read. I do feel the author crammed a lot in though, and that more time needed to be spent on some issues. Less is more, a few plot points could be removed. Loved the setting. With thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A very sweet and cozy read set in an idyllic Scottish town by a loch. Ultimately, this was a little too slow-paced for me and I had trouble staying engaged with the story for this reason. However, I can definitely see the appeal of this book. For readers who want to vicariously inhabit an adorable small town with all its accompanying dramas and squabbles, and an enemies-to-lovers romance arc, as well as it being a book-about-books -- this one is a great time! I don't really have anything negative to say; this was just not quite fast-paced enough to keep me reading. I also see that this is part of a series but I didn't have trouble following any of the plot points so I don't think you need to read the others to enjoy this one.

DNF @ 30%

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Bookshop by the Loch.

I loved all the characters and the story kept me turning the pages from beginning to end.

We meet Lexie, after a promotion is passed to someone else, she’s now not sure whether she still wants to be employed doing that job. Lexie takes the leave due to her and comes home to Bracken Way to thing about what she wants to do.

Back home, she’s remembers a book shop that she used to frequently visit and goes in search of it. The shop, she finds is closing down after the owner isn’t sure if he wants to keep it running. Lexie, after a discussion with the owner is offered a job, to do what she can to keep it open.

She accepts, not knowing it’ll change her life.

There’s so much happening throughout the story and everything is linked.

I highly recommend this book.

It was a real treat to return to the Scottish Highlands and meet Lexie and Tobias. They both arrive in Bracken Way after their lives have been hit by challenges that caused them to rethink their positions. Having been brought together in the reimagining of the local bookstore, Book Ends, there is a significant amount of animosity between the pair and working together looks pretty hopeless.
I just love the manner in which Julie Shackman creates and presents her characters. Lexie is down but not out when she arrives at her family home and only intends to stay for 3 months as she licks her professional wounds. Lexie used to see her own worth but having been repeatedly overlooked and then passed over, enough is enough.
Tobias is perfect as the new resident, a portrait artist with a seemingly high opinion of himself. He is the polar opposite of Lexie as he dresses well and carries an air of success. However, he does wear a tee for an obscure rock band from Germany. Lexie also loves the same band, maybe they do have something in common with each other.
On the surface, you could be forgiven for thinking that this would be a simple boy meets girl love story, but you would be mistaken as Julie is skilled at bringing real stories to life and weaving them into the threads of gentler tales. No spoilers here but be prepared for some surprising bumps in the road.
My favourite character, apart from Lexie and Tobias, was Celeste. Despite her impressive age, she had a real lust for life and a wonderful backstory. I felt a real warmth as I learned more about her life and also about her past.
Bracken Way sounded like a picturesque setting, with a castle overlooking the loch and a parade of independent shops, it is somewhere that I would love to visit. This is a gorgeous book, and I can highly recommend it.

The Bookshop by the Loch will appeal to readers of sweet/clean romance, where a happy ending is assured, and to those who love books about books. This is an entertaining and charming tale of family bonds, love and forgiveness.

For me, the more enjoyable parts were related to the book store, and how Lexie helped to spruce it up. The scenic Scottish location creates a lovely setting for the story.

Lexie suffered crushing career disappointment, so she took three months leave to go home. While home, she decides to take a job offer to manage the local bookstore, and she also places ads for freelance editing work.

While the owner and Lexie are remodeling the bookstore, the owner’s nephew shows up. Tobias is a jerk, but the owner agrees to share store space with Tobias for an art gallery.

There is so much more exposition I could add, but I’m leaving it out. I wish the author had left it out, too. This book was a meandering, rambling story that suffered from “throw in the kitchen sink” syndrome. That is the dread illness authors contract when they overplot the story and add too many plot elements in an attempt to be interesting or tricky. This author seemed to write part of the story and think “Oooh now I could throw in this story line”… over and over.

This is a gentle story. It wanders from one thing to another with lots of wordiness. If you enjoy a quiet book, this is for you.

The Bookshop by the Loch by Julie Shackman the 6th instalment in the Scottish Escape series. What can I say other than I loved it and read in one day.

The setting of a tiny town called Bracken Way in the Scottish Highlands sounded enchanting and the Bookstore (one of my favorite places too), I could picture myself spending an afternoon walking along the Loch or up to the castle.

As with the other books in this series, it had everything you could want in a story love, loss, regret, laughter, sadness, forgiveness, friendships and families.

I found the characters to be well developed, and multi-dimensional. There were multiple sub-plots to keep you engaged and interested in the outcome.

I will definitely read other books by this author.

I requested and received an advance reader copy of this book from Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter and Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Lexie goes home after taking a much needed vacation. She is unsure about hr life and is taking a few months off. While home she meets new people and her life changes in ways she never saw coming. A quick read.

The Bookshop by the Loch, this one had such fun, emotional and drama filed moments. I enjoyed the can do and keep going spirit of the characters in this story.

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for a review.

I do enjoy books about books and this is no exception as it was a lovely read. I'd love to visit the Bookshop by the Loch!

This book appealed to me, as I typically feel drawn to any book with a bookish setting, such as a bookshop or library. This book was also part of the Scottish Escapes series, and I've read and enjoyed some of the previous books in the series.

I felt a connection with the protagonist, Lexie, and identified with her in some ways. This was a lovely, comfortable read, and as is usually the case with this book, it provided me with an ideal escape, forming images in my mind of a place that I might like to escape to. It was very comforting, and although I found myself a little bit emotional towards the end, it was a lovely heartwarming read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free copy to review.

This cozy and sweet romance gave me exactly what I wanted from it. Lexie moves from a busy publishing career in Glasgow to managing a small bookshop in her Scottish Highlands hometown. Complicated family dynamics and long-silenced drama with both the main and side characters adds intrigue. Romance is provided by the initially-portrayed-as-a-jerk Tobias, who becomes Lexie's work mate and eventual love interest. A feel-good clean romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for sending me an eARC of this book.
The Bookshop by the Loch is a cozy fantasy featuring a publicist who quits her job when she is looked over for an impressive job promotion and a realism artist with some family skeletons in the closet.
I’ll be honest I wanted to like this book so <i> badly </i>, but I just couldn’t get into it. This was hardly a romance story, but it felt like a slice of life with a dash of romance. The amount of other people’s family drama that the FMC is caught up in is insane. She’s just the new book manager why is she privy to all this stuff? Like her father getting dementia and then this lady comes in with her mom’s bucket list of things to do before she dies. I rolled my eyes at this, the author tried too hard to add some plot to this story when it didn’t need it.
The drama watered down the entire book and was overlong. It felt like half the book surrounded Celeste and her family issues. Where are the FMC and MMC interactions? The romance we get is the MMC being nice and supporting the FMC, like what??
Furthermore, the writing feels…juvenile. The dialogue and monologue felt like something I read in Wattpad. What is with the author using! after! every! internal! monologue! Lexie! has!
I just could not do this book at all and was really disappointed — for me this book held so much promise, a super cute cover, I liked the plot, and it just fell f l a t.

This was a lovely book to read. The characters were interesting and the description of the scenery made we want to go there. Heartwarming story that was very easy to read. I didn't know it was part of a series, reads fine as a stand alone book.