This was a really sweet Christmas romance with a fun premise. I absolutely adored the main couple, the fireworks were exploding and the chemistry was great to read.

Often when I reach for a Christmas romance, I'm ready for something light and festive—a seasonal romp with plenty of snow, twinkling lights, and big emotions. That's what I was prepared for with A Bookshop Christmas by Rachel Burton. Take a look at the dachshund and sugar cookies on the cover. Cute, right?

However, the first pages had me sitting up a little straighter. In the prologue, Megan Taylor steps away from her husband's hospital bedside for a cup of coffee. It's only a moment, but on her return, she discovers he's passed without her there. It's a brief scene with minimal dialogue, and yet Burton's almost understated style had me feeling devastated for a character I had only been with for less than two pages. A Bookshop Christmas, adorable cover aside, was already tugging at my heart.

All of this isn't to suggest it's a book without fun, humor, or, indeed, cuteness. In fact, the very next scene had me almost snorting with laughter. By this point, three years on, Megan has returned to her hometown of York to work in her family's bookshop. When she's approached by a literary agent seeking the shop for Xander Stone's newest book launch, she jumps at the chance. The famous author might just be the kind of publicity she needs to keep the struggling store running. However, the last thing she expects is for him to be so frustrating, grating, and so ... strangely attractive.

A grieving bookseller. A prickly writer. It's a tale as old as time, and it works so well because Burton understands how to craft completely believable characters. While I felt a strong connection to Megan just from the prologue, she makes an equally compelling go of Xander. Struggling with his own past and insecurities, he tumbles into the story with an abrasive attitude that borders more on awkward rather than mean. Megan, in turn, senses a challenge. While those closest to her, including her mother and an amusing group of book club members always hanging about the store, tiptoe around her feelings, Xander strolls in with no such inclination. Instead, his insulting view of romance novels lights a fire under Megan that forces the two of them into a whirlwind few weeks.

A snowed-in evening. The worst pantomime performance imaginable. A Regency Era Christmas party complete with quadrille. Burton pushes Megan and Xander into amusing situation after amusing situation with plenty of seasonal festivities to keep the action fairly lighthearted. While they're highly entertaining, they land even better because Burton takes the time to so thoroughly explore the emotional pain both of these characters have previously experienced in their lives. For the characters, and the reader, these moments become little cathartic payoffs as their feelings for each other grow and evolve.

Yes, it's cute. Yes, it's cozy. But A Bookshop Christmas is also a highly emotional, heartwarming even. It's a beautiful read.

Any story about a bookshop gets my attention, and this didn't disappoint. A lovely story.

Many thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

A good festive read featuring a dark brooding writer, a bookshop and a dog. What more could you want! Megan is a widow and closes herself off from the world. She goes back to her childhood home and helps her mum run the family bookshop. When a renowned author launches his new book at the store, sparks fly. Friends and family encourage Megan to come out from the shadows and to start living again. A slow burn romance that leads to great things 4🌟

I breezed through A Bookshop for Christmas in basically one afternoon. It made me smile, it made me tear up and it brought me all the feels of Christmas.

After years of grief, Megan is stuck in her life, and the walls she has built to keep any emotion away. She never expected someone to come in, stet those stones aside and help her wade out of grief. But she found the most unlikely of people that did just that.

Although a Christmas/holiday book the big theme of the story was grief. Being in it, coming out of it, feeling like it will never leave you and how to adapt in this new life after loss. I think that Rachel Burton did a great job of navigating that through two different scenarios, a sides, showing that no one persons experience is the same.

A rom com in a bookshop at Christmas? This book had me from the title!
Definitely one for the slow burn lovers to enjoy.

A delightful festive read , that drew me in and kept me page turning until I realised I’d read it one sitting,
Perfect read for cold chilly nights, with a warm drink and your feet up, perfect festive cheer

Rachel Burton's A Bookshop Christmas is an uplifting, heartwarming festive read perfect for snuggling up on a chilly winter's night. Set in the quaint streets of York, this book combines the quaint setting of a family bookshop with a sizzling love story that leaves the reader feeling incredibly satisfied.

The book follows Megan Taylor, a young widow who is desperately trying to pick up the pieces after a disastrous few years. When Megan meets the prize-winning author, Xander Stone, she is determined to put him in his place and, surprisingly, it sparks a passionate flame between the two. As their love story develops, we witness the two of them embark on a romantic journey and eventually learn how to love again, no matter the difficulties and obstacles that are in their way.

A Bookshop Christmas is the perfect feel-good book for anyone who is looking for a light and enjoyable festive read. Filled with charming moments, Rachel Burton has truly crafted a romantic story that you won't be able to put down!

This really was a lovely book.
Megan's family is running a bookshop and after her husband's death she moves back to York to help them out with it. It's been in her family since before her birth and because it's now failing, she is sad to see an old standby will be going away when her parents sell it.
A Regency Christmas party is being planned along with Regency costumes, whatever types of foods they ate in the time period and lots of Jane Austen talks. Sounds like the place to be.
Popular author, Xander Stone is planning a book launch at her bookshop. His assistant is so overbearing. I'll confess she is the only character I didn't like. She needs to be the center of attention, talks loudly and knows everyone's business. Grabbing snacks at the grocers the night before the book launch, she is run into with a trolly by a rude and grumpy guy. Heaven forbids, it turns out this is the famous author that shows up for the book launch. Makes you kind of gulp and laugh at the same time. After their rocky meeting things do settle down a bit and they get to talking. He's lost his mother; she's lost a spouse and he's also divorced.
Neither quite ready to jump out of their sorrow they're feeling for themselves yet, they do find out they have a lot in common. She was an assistant to author's but gave it up to care for her ailing husband. She hasn't realized how much she's missed it until now when she starts working with Xander. In this enemies to lover's trope, I enjoyed seeing how they encourage each other to come alive after grief. With a bit of drama added, because after all no relationship is smooth sailing with no misunderstandings. I devoured this book in one day and loved following along with Xander and Megan's relationship.

Pub Date 02 Sep 2021
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

Loved this one that ticked all the boxes for a cosy festive read for me this year, including romance and how to move on and deal with grief. Loved all the characters, and made me ache to live there.

A very nice cosy festive read. A little predictable but with lots of side characters to keep the story interesting. I really enjoyed it and it gave me the Christmasy feeling I was hoping for!

A Bookshop Christmas

by Rachel Burton

Although Christmas is an important part of the setting for A Bookshop Christmas, the story focuses on Megan, a young widow. When she loses her husband Joe to cancer, she retreats back to the bookshop where she grew up. She’s been hanging on emotionally for over three years with support from her mom and two friends, but the bookshop is floundering and her heart is just not in it. Is it time to reenter the world of publishing, to leave behind the security of York and her bookshop?

Xander, a swoon-worthy author, as emotionally damaged as Megan, is scheduled to introduce his newest book at her bookshop. He is rude and arrogant, but maybe those characteristics are just a coverup for his pain and shyness.

One of my favorite characters is Philomena Bloom, Xander’s agent. She is bigger than life and seems to have connections with everyone in the publishing world. My other favorite character is Gus, a dachshund, whose sweetness is woven all through the book.

Megan and Xander have deep, painful secrets that make it difficult for them to open up to others. All is not sweetness and light in this romance. Although you will want a happily ever after for these two, the road is rocky and there is sadness and misunderstanding as they struggle to get over the past and find a hopeful future.

I enjoyed A Bookshop Christmas for the way the characters support each other. They make mistakes but learn to recognize and admit their mistakes and apologize for them. There is humor sprinkled in the book that helps lighten the tough times Megan and Xander go through. It is a thought provoking book and I recommend it.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Rating: 5/5

Category: Romance, Women’s Fiction

Publication: September 2, 2021—Aria

Memorable Lines:

“Reading is completely subjective and most readers read all kinds of different books. Being a snob about genre is like pretending that reading on e-readers or listening to audiobooks is somehow not proper reading. It’s ridiculous.”

Philomena Bloom burst into the bookshop at exactly three o’clock the next afternoon, leaving a wave of expensive perfume in her wake. The handful of customers browsing the shelves all looked up at the same time like meerkats.

The five stages of grief aren’t linear either—they all seem to exist together in one fiery hell ball of emotion that feels as though it will last forever. People will tell you that time heals but, in my experience, time just takes away the intensity.

4.5 stars rounded up: Megan Taylor's husband died a couple of years ago, and she returned home to help her mother run the family bookshop. The store was opened by her father's parents and although her parents no longer live together, they still have a friendly relationship. Her father is a famous poet, and her mother published stories in a serial magazine. Megan runs the store, but unfortunately, small bookstores struggle to remain open. Megan has prize-winning author Xander Stone coming to do a reading of his new book at her store and even though they do not hit it off when they first meet, they gradually begin to like one another. Megan and her bookclub invite Xander to attend their meeting where they will be talking about romance books, and he seems to have no use for the genre. It turns out the one of the members, and a friend of Megan's actually knows Xander and was a sort of muse for him when he began his writing career. As Megan and Xander spend more time together, they learn more about one another and secrets about Xander's writing are shared. When the secret gets out, will their relationship end before it really begins?

A Bookshop Christmas was such a fun story. It had all the things I love about Christmas romances. We had a meet cute, some animosity, great secondary characters, secrets, struggles, fun Christmas festivities and eventually, recognition and acceptance of feelings. The issue of whether or not they can save the shop was a thread that ran through the story, but if wasn't front and center. It was almost as if they knew it wouldn't work, so wanted to have that one last hurrah and it was fun planning and preparing for it. Megan and Xander were great main characters. They had both lost someone and grief had derailed them for awhile. They also had issues with trust and weren't sure if they wanted to take a chance on love. With the great secondary characters pushing them, I was also rooting for a happily ever after. I have to comment on Xander's agent. She was the comic relief in the story with her big, boisterous, somewhat nosy personality, but was also someone who wanted the best for both characters. If you are looking for a fun, festive Christmas romance, then I recommend A Bookshop Christmas.

What more could you want from a holiday story besides festive spirit and a book shop!? This is a gorgeous little story, you will fall in love with the characters and the setting, and the ending will leave you with a very cozy and happy feeling. The cover is very bright and pulls you in and matches the story perfectly. I had a lot of fun reading this book!

Thank you so much to NetGalley andAria and Aries for my copy of A Bookshop Christmas by Rachel Burton in exchange for an honest review. It published September 2, 2021.
This book was just really cute, and really sweet. I loved that although it took place during Christmas, it wasn't completely Christmas-focused, meaning that really, you could read it any time of the year! I really enjoyed Megan's relationship with her friends, co-workers, book club, and family. I thought there was a pretty decent character arc and development. I appreciated how quickly things moved, and I also enjoyed the peek into how life works in the publishing and book world.
This was a "closed-door" romance, so you don't have to worry about blushing and needing to worry about reading in public, (this is in reference to something a character said in the book!)

This was such a lovely Christmassy read. York, and especially Taylor's the bookshop is such a perfect setting to get lost in the build up to Christmas, new beginnings and a bit of romance with Jane Austen dancing thrown in! The mix of characters is great and gives you a real sense of the community cheering Megan and Xander on. Definitely one to warm you up this winter.

I really loved this festive book from Rachel Burton. The bookshop really evoked that frosted-window, festive feeling and the romance was spot-on.

Books, a dachshund and only one bed - what more could you want in a book?! Another great read by Rachel Burton.

Lovely feel good book to read. It was a joy to read. Lovely characters. Great plot. The book was charming. Very well written. I’d definitely recommend this book. Idyllic location that set the tone of the book to perfection. Perfect seasonal book to get you in the mood for the festive season.

This was such a great Christmas romance! I love reading Christmas books all year long and it was just what I needed for Christmas in July! Highly recommend!