Tag Archives: bookstore

Nov28

The Bookshop of Second Chances by Jackie Fraser

Posted on by
Standard

This was another book I read quickly like the last one I reviewed. The main character’s (Thea) life implodes when she loses her job in the same week she finds out her husband has been having an affair with one of her friends. As she’s in the process of moving out of the home she’s lived in with him for fifteen years, she receives a letter from a lawyer in Scotland informing her that she has inherited her great-uncle’s house and contents along with a sum of money.

Taking this chance to leave Sussex where the shattered pieces of her life are causing her to continue to grieve and work herself into a stupor of not moving from her bed, she and her best friend decide to head to Scotland for two weeks to check out the house she inherited.

They arrive and find the cottage to be charming and filled with antique books, many first editions. She thinks she should sell some of them.

Thea gets the name of the owner of the local antiquarian bookstore who is the brother of the local lord. The store owner is the elder of the two but relinquished the title. The brothers are sworn enemies.

As the book moves along, Thea finds that she likes both brothers as people. The bookstore owner is a bit of a curmudgeon, but she finds ways to make him laugh. The lord is unfailingly polite and, even though he’d like to buy the cottage from her, he’s cordial and even invites her to a party at his home.

When it’s time for her friend to return home, Thea decides to stay a bit longer and takes a job in the bookstore when the young man who works there leaves for university.

The story is excellent. It felt like I knew this woman and the brothers. They were so realistically drawn and fully fleshed out. They all seemed like someone I’d like to have a drink or meal with. Like they could be my friends.

The banter between Thea and the bookstore owner was fun. Both were witty and smart. Once in a while, some of their dialogue was a bit too much, but overall, I really liked their scenes. Thea was a clever lady, but sometimes she spoke in a stream of consciousness way that made me wonder about her. LOL

Thea learns and grows over the course of the book. She becomes stronger and has more insight into herself.

The bookstore owner brother has a journey of his own and Thea is the catalyst for that growth. Even the lord brother has a mini character arc which was nicely done.

I enjoyed this one. Another 5 stars from me.

Jun8

The Bloomsbury Girls- Natalie Jenner- a review

Posted on by
Standard

A one-hundred-year old bookstore.

Post WWII era.

Three very different women with something in common.

One a wife and mother, one a career girl and one a recent graduate of Cambridge University. They all work at the bookstore and share common issues even though that’s not readily apparent at the beginning of the story.

The author takes us on three distinct yet interwoven journeys with these women. Real literary figures appear in the tale and interact with the fictional characters which gives the setting, as well as the prose, a realism that was well done.

The social issues at play here are the end of WWII return of the men from fighting and how that affected the workforce that had been relying on women while the men were gone, the societal expectations of wives and mothers, privilege in society and how that affects behavior, and racism. The author gave us a compelling story for each of the women while weaving in these issues in a finely crafted way.

The path each of the three protagonists took and where they ended up was obvious pretty early on to this reader, but the journey of each was fulfilling and interesting.

Overall, I liked the story and the way the author interwove the various narratives. The setting was perfect as it moved the plot along at a nice pace and contributed to the issues facing the main characters. The bookstore was a little microcosm of society contained in four walls. The time period chosen for the story emphasized the issues as well. Sadly, some of the themes covered in the book are still problematic to this day. Some things seem slow to change in society and this book shows that in many ways.

An enjoyable, thought provoking read that was entertaining as well. Not at all preachy, but the author has a lot to say.