This was a quick, fairly light book to read. Thea, after discovering her husband of 15 years is having a affair with her best friend and she has recently lost her job has a chance to start over again in rural Scotland. Her great uncle has left her his home and a wonderful library full of classic books. On the plus side I really enjoyed the author's description of the Scottish countryside, the small town and, of course, the bookshop. The premise sounded like something I would love. I wanted to love this book but...didn't. I didn’t feel any chemistry between the love interests and I couldn’t get excited about the story line. I will certainly read the next book by Jackie Fraser and while I can see this book appealing to many readers it just didn’t work for me.

I love romances, but a lot of times they are young twentysomethings finding love. This story from the beginning had me with Thea being older. And the bookshop being featured added to my love instantly. This story was easy to read and the setting was amazing! I hope there is a sequel.

Bookshop ☑️ 40 + romance ☑️ Atmospheric setting (rural Scotland) ☑️ This book was perfect for me! One of the main characters is pretty gruff, which can put some readers off, but I fell in love with him too. I also loved that the bookshop was a HUGE part of the story, not just a side thing that allowed the author to use “Bookshop” in the title to trick people like me (ahem, Bookshop of the Broken Hearted 😡). I adored the Scottish town and cast of locals as well!

Thanks to Random House, NetGalley & Jackie Fraser for the chance to preread "The Bookshop of Second Chances" in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the story very much. Poor Thea--having a horrible time of it being let go from her job & finding out her husband has been cheating on her with her friend. She is notified that a distant uncle has passed, leaving her his house in Scotland. Off she goes & starts her new life. The story moves along, characters are introduced & it's a story that is an easy read & ends well. Hoping that there may possibly be a sequel!

Thea Mottram is having a bad month. She’s been laid off (made redundant) at work for no reason; and at home… well, she’s been made redundant there too. Chris, her husband of nearly twenty years, has decided to separate so he can live in their house with his new lover (her old pal) and her family. She can’t sit in her new flat and cry all day (though that did work for a bit), so when she gets a notice of inheritance she decides it’s time to turn a new page in Scotland. Great Uncle Andrew left a house and what sounds like some interesting books for her. At least it’ll be a distraction.

Her little corner of Scotland includes a very small town where everyone knows everyone else’s business. There’s the honest-to-God- lord down the road from her who wants to buy the house; and the grumpy bookshop owner who wants to buy her books. As she begins a battle of wits with the bookseller, life gets more and more interesting. The more time she spends here, the more she can see herself starting a new life… maybe with a new leading man. But the past is never really laid to rest in small towns, and she finds herself caught in the middle of a brotherly feud. Can she find a way to claim the life she wants here, or will she be moving on to reinvent herself once again?


I loved Thea. She was pretty real with her feelings, honest but really funny. It was easy to ease into her narrative, like talking to an old friend. I liked that, while she was obviously hurt she wasn’t vengeful or bitter. I didn’t like how she saw herself, but then losing her husband to another woman might make someone feel a bit insecure. I like that she was honest with everyone about how she felt or thought about them even if she tried to hide her private life for a bit. As far as the men around her… I hated Chris. He just seemed so weak, not wanting to “be the bad guy”, wanting to wait on the divorce so they don’t have to go to court, having her wait for her half of the house and furniture…. not a super mature way of going about this. Edward, the grumpy bookseller, was one that I loved and hated. There were moments of redemption, where I thought he was sweet and charming but his background is a mess. He has systematically slept with all of his brother’s wives/girlfriends as a weird act of vengeance. So, his take on relationships is obviously screwed. It made for an interesting plot device, but not exactly what I would call bookish-crush material. Once he does decide to go for Thea, he moves very quickly- maybe too quickly? It’s like he’s a completely different person. Long story short… I felt the chemistry there, but I have to say that I didn’t feel like any of these men deserved her. Still, it was a great story, fast paced with a great deal of humor to round out the sad bits. I really enjoyed it. For me, this was a four star book.

⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
On the adult content page, well there’s a lot. Language, more than anything, but also sexual content and drinking. It’s definitely geared toward a more mature audience- 18+.

The Bookshop of Second Chances was exactly what it advertised. That's actually refreshing, lately. When Thea's husband is found out as a cheater, she fairly calmly just gives her home to her former husband and former friend and plops herself down in a tiny flat. In the way of all such romances, she inherits a place just when she needs it most. Unemployed and unattached, she heads to the tiny town in order to go through her inheritance and decide what to do. So, like the title says, there is a bookshop and a bookshop owner. Really, the plot is in the title.

Thea and Edwards relationship follows a predictable arc but the surrounding characters in town make the story well worth it. I wish we had more of them and a little less of the minutia of Thea's thoughts.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley.

This was a simple, predictable read. A bit too slow and choppy for me.

I am guilty of judging books by their cover and I went into this book thinking it was going to be a cute, light, palate cleanser. I read it electronically and was shocked it was over 400 pages, oddly long for the type of book I thought this was going to be. Instead of light and sweet, I found it dry and dull. The premise was promising: a down on her luck adult (40ish!) woman was recently fired from her job and discovered her husband was having an affair with her friend. But don’t despair, a long lost uncle has bequeathed her his Scottish estate, filled with rare books. Enter squabbling brothers, a rare bookshop and romance! However, it just never really pans out. Most of the characters were flat, bordering on unlikeable. Overall, this book didn’t deliver

I want to thank the author and Netgalley for gifting me the ebook. I was very excited to read this book. The book cover is cute and the synopsis sounded like it would be a cute book. I have issues with this book due to the language.. this is suppose to be a romance and the language is just terrible. Is it really necessary to use the Lord's name in vain that much? I felt like I was reading a college students diary. The characters are just not likeable and immature for the age they are suppose to be. There was unnecessary liberal propaganda put in here like her friend being african american, so the locals have probably never seen a women of color before and that they are probably racist. The male bookstore owner saying he won't hire "women" due to they "always fall in love with him and him vis versa". I really wanted to like this book so much. I don't think I would read another book by this author again.

I DNF this book at the 30% mark. The description sounded absolutely delightfully but the book did not deliver. The writing style was very abrupt. Short little sections, skipping segues, preferring to cut and mark a new scene with lines. Sort of like an outline, rather than finished novel.
It started ok, but then the whole thing with Edward was odd. I know he's meant to be the new love interest, but I gave up the book while they're sitting on the beach together talking about their deepest secrets and I realized, had they even had a proper conversation the page yet? Not really. Just a few impersonal lines traded back and forth. He's built up as this gruff, selfish, man who doesn't like people so I couldn't see a reason why he'd invite Thea to go to his beach house with him in the first place, let alone to talk about his past sexual indiscretions out of the blue. It was just an odd set up and I realized I didn't want to read about the two of them becoming a couple. It also seemed odd considering she was only just separated from her husband. Didn't seem like she would be over that betrayal and ready to move into a new relationship a couple months later anyway.
Overall, it just didn't work for me, despite the allure of a inheritance from a Scottish uncle with an incredible library of antiquarian books.

This book was a fun read and a fairly fast read. We follow Thea on a journey to Scotland after her marriage of nearly twenty years falls apart. She inherits a house in a small town, goes to check it out and ends up staying and getting a job in a used bookstore owned by a cranky, yet handsome, local. The two become friends and then more. I enjoyed this book and recommend it to fans of Jenny Colgan.

Thank you Ballantine Books and Netgalley for the gifted copy.

Ugh, I wanted to love this book so much. I mean, how cute is this cover? And a story that takes place in a bookstore in Scotland? It sounds perfect for me!

We have Thea - a 40 something year old woman, who found out her husband was sleeping with one of her friends. Then Thea finds out that she inherited a house in Scotland (and a library of first edition books) from her great uncle. So she moves up there for a while and meets Edward - the owner of the local bookshop. Edward is supposedly grumpy (but hilarious and super nice to Thea??) and has some really bad past behavior towards his brothers girlfriends/wives. Thea gets a job at the bookshop, becomes friends with Edward, and guess what happens next.

And that's pretty much the book.

It was predictable and slow, and the dialogue got tiring. But the plot was cute, and it might be a good book for a day at the beach.

A premise and plot I wanted to be enthralled with yet is was just an okay read for me. The chemistry was lacking and the story was slow.

This book has everything that I love. Books, a book store, sarcasm, love, and a little bit of tension. Thea's life has been thrown upside down when she learns that she has inherited her great uncle's home in Scotland. What a better way to run away and start over than to up and leave her destroyed life and move into the house in Scottland. Thea finds everything wonderful other than the cantankerous bookseller Edward. What follows is the ups and downs of a new life. I really enjoyed following Thea on her adventure into a new life that at times is no easier than her old life she is trying to escape. Thank you, NetGalley for the eARC. 4 stars.

lovely romance novel. Fast read and likeable characters. A bit easy to guess the plot and I'm not sure the chemistry really was there for the couple that ended up together. I did enjoy the descriptions of the scenery and beautiful landscape. I mean who wouldn't want a relative to leave a beautiful home full of antiques and collectible books. Sign me up.

I chose to read this book because it had "Bookshop"in the title and I couldn't resist. Also, it had a cute cover. I enjoyed this debut novel by Jackie Fraser. This novel was a quick read. It's set in a small town in Scotland.

Thea, after splitting up with her husband, receives a letter saying she has inherited a large house in Scotland from an elderly uncle. Thea travels to Scotland with the intent of staying awhile and sorting out this house, but ends up liking the town and the people. The house contains a library filled with some very rare books, that Thea could possibly sell. Thea needs a fresh start and thinks that maybe she could live there. She gets a part-time job at a bookshop owned by a really grumpy guy. The romance in the book is atypical, and the characters are interesting. The book focuses on relationships.

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine through Netgalley for an advance copy.

I honestly wanted more from this book. I felt that there was not enough character development and parts of the story were slow and awkward. It was a cute idea, just fell flat for me.

Thea Mattram discovers that she is let go at work and that her husband of almost 20 years is leaving her for one of her friends. She is lost, until she learns that her great uncle in Scotland passed away and left her his home and antique book collection, allowing her to escape to a small coastal town which she falls in love with. Deciding not to leave, she gets a job at a bookshop, with cranky Edward Matravers. They test one another - and eventually their feelings turn. Thea is unsure how to move forward - she is afraid to feel for others and still running from the past.

I wish we saw more growth in the characters - they went from childish towards one another to a full-fledged relationship very quickly. It just felt forced to me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for my advanced reader copy

Recently separated Thea inherits a great uncle's cottage; the nearby property owner would love to purchase this property. Said property owner is at odds with his brother. Thea decides to stay in the cottage a bit longer than intended (why go home to the small town where her best friend is now living with her husband?). Thea finds a job at the brothers bookshop. You can probably see where all this is going ...

I was looking for a nice little romance and this was perfect; although at 448 pages its a little long for a "little" romance.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher (Ballantine Books) and the author Jackie Fraser for the opportunity to read The Bookshop of Second Chances in exchange for an honest review. Publication date is 4 May 2021.

Thanks to #NetGalley @RandomHouse Publishing for a complimentary eARC upon my request. All opinions are my own. Pub Date: 4/4/2021.

What worked:
* a Scottish bookshop setting
* coastal Scotland
* older characters (40s) romance
* a quirky, curmudgeonly character
* rebuilding your life theme
* slow burn romance
* friendship theme

What I wished:
* I wished for less profanity (using Christ, Jesus Christ as swear words is especially offensive and affected my rating)
* I wished the story hadn't included casual drug use
* I wished for snappier writing and wittier banter
* I wished for a more admirable male character (carrying a teenage grudge into your 40s seemed immature; the revenge sex was cringy; curmudgeonly is not a deal killer but we need to see more of his potential underneath his gruff exterior)
* I wished for more chemistry between the main characters (this puts "fun" into the romance trope)
* I needed to understand why Thea would be attracted to Edward given his many issues/behaviors and her past experience with her husband's infidelity...the love story was less than believable...can she really trust him? I wasn't sold on the success of their relationship.

I think I expected something lighter (based on the blurb). I'm somewhat of an outlier in my opinions....please check other reviews.

Review published to Goodreads and will be published on Instagram on or near pub day.

Thanks to @netgalley and @randomhouse for providing me with a eARC. Ugh, I so into my thoughts. I had high hopes for this one since it was also about books but it was sadly a huge let down. I found myself skimming the last part of the book. I was hoping for a fun and feel good book about books but instead I found myself constantly frustrated.
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Based in the UK Thea finds herself lost. Her husband not only leaves her but cheated on her with her own friend (not a spoiler since it’s in the synopsis). Jerk face. But then she finds out that a distant uncle has left her his house and some money in Scotland. So of course she goes! There she meets Edward who also owns a bookstore.
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Things I liked: that the main characters are older (over 40), books books books, bookshop, how Thea was going through her emotions. I felt they were real, grumpy hero
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Things I didn’t like: how slow it was, the hero (I liked his grumpiness but couldn’t get over his crappy past actions)
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I ultimately couldn’t get over some of the actions that some of the characters did in the past. It overshadowed everything else for me. Obviously characters have flaws and I’m ok with that, but in this case it was something I couldn’t really get over and made it hard to even be invested. With that being said I would definitely want to go to Scotland and visit the bookshop. This is one book I would have preferred to have no romance and just should have focused on Thea and her journey in her new life in Scotland. It didn’t work for me but it might work for you!