A Bookshop Christmas is an adorable holiday story set primarily in a book store! I loved the book club, the Regency romance focus and the relationship between Megan and her mother. There was a little bit during the middle of where I felt like things were getting repetitive and dragging on, but towards the end it picked back up and I enjoyed the story overall. It is a perfect book to read in the winter, curled up in a cozy reading nook. A lot Christmas spirit in this holiday romance novel!

Thanks so much to the publisher and NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

3.5 stars
Honestly, this probably would be a four star read if it wasn't for one tiny thing that really bothered me in this. But I'll come to that later. This was a quick, sweet romance which I really enjoyed. I loved all of the discussions about the romance genre and books and the publishing industry. Megan was a really likeable character and this book was so sad at parts but I'm so glad I read it.

The romance was sweet for the most part and I did love reading about the book club in this! That was great fun.

Overall, though predictable, I really did enjoy this romance and if you're looking for a Christmas romance to pick up, I probably would recommend this.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a great storyline with excellent characters. I would highly recommend this book as it was a great read.

A Bookshop Christmas by Rachel Burton.

With thanks to #Netgalley and #Aria&Aries for an ARC of #ABookshopChristmas by #RachelBurton.
It’s Christmas in the city of York. Megan has come home after a tragic loss, and is now helping her mother to run the family bookshop.
When the shop hosts a book launch party for author Xander Stone’s new release, Megan finds herself drawn to this arrogant and opinionated man. But could he be exactly what she needs?
Megan and Xander’s story isn’t straight forward, and there are many twists and turns along the way.

This is a wonderful read. Full of christmas cheer, fun and some difficult emotions.

The Die-Hard-Romantics book club, is brilliant, and I desperately want to be a part of it.

All in all, a well written, thoroughly enjoyable, treat of a book, with christmas cheer thrown in for good measure.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A charming love letter to romance novels.

Megan Taylor moved back to York after losing her husband, figuring it was a good place to work on the moving on. Instead, she got a chance to hide herself away from the world by working at her parents' bookstore. The arrival of Xander Stone, bestselling author launching his book from the bookshop and a rude, arrogant person, changes things though. Xander trashing romance novels did not go over well and Megan finds herself pushing back. As they spend more time together, it turns out Megan might be making some changes, but that's pretty scary to deal with.

Through the lens of dealing with grief and moving on, this story is really about embracing the wonderful world of romance novels. The book is full of tropes, which is outright acknowledged by the characters. This peek into the creation of romance stories was lots of fun. Obviously, parts of the book were a bit hard to read because it was really sad, but I also appreciated getting to see Megan work on coming out of her fog of grief and interacting with those around her again. Xander was not the most loveable character, but you could still cheer for him and them throughout the story.

Overall, I would definitely recommend giving this book a try, especially around Christmas. The Yorkshire setting in winter felt magical. Plus, reading about other readers and books is always fun!

I found the characters in this book underdeveloped and the storyline hard to believe. There are plenty of other Christmas romances to spend your money on.

🎄 A Bookshop Christmas 🎄
By Rachel Burton
Publisher: Aria (Sept 2. 2021)

“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”.

I actually LOL when I read that part as it’s Always coming up in discussion on bookstagram and I’m gonna say, a book is anything that has words that you read. So if a graphic novel is your style: you’re a reader. If you only read a certain genre: you’re a reader. And if you want to listen to audiobooks as you go about your busy life, then you’re also a reader.

A Bookshop Christmas was a perfect palate cleanser and made me excited to start blaring the Christmas tunes after thanksgiving… who am I kidding, my youngest two (both Holiday babies) sing Christmas music year round 😆

Put simply: if you enjoy books surrounding bookstores; if you enjoy second-love romance; If you enjoy light reads; then you’ll enjoy this.

Thanks @ariafiction for the gifted copy in return for an honest review. 3.5 ⭐️

This was a really sweet story. I enjoyed the characters and getting to know them throughout. You were definitely wondering how the story will end and in your mind you’re automatically assuming that you know. Definitely do not assume! It has many twists and turns and you will enjoy every last page!

A Bookshop Christmas - Rachel Burton

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Aria & Aries and I am leaving this review voluntarily

A snowstorm. A stranger. A spark. And it's Christmas!
It should be the perfect start to the perfect love story.

But real life is far messier and more complicated than in the pages of the books in Megan Taylor's family bookshop – the last few years have left this young widow in no doubt of that. Moving back home to York should have been a fresh start, but all it did was allow her to retreat from the world.

This book is the perfect mix of emotions, with tender and heart-breaking moments. This book attracted me with the cover and title - I mean Christmas and Bookshop this was destined to be a great book.

I am definitely putting this on the list of books I am recommending for the holiday season. A thoroughly enjoyable festive read with great, well-written characters in a beautiful setting.

Rating 4/5

Trigger/content warnings: cancer and death if loved ones are an integral part of the plot and mentioned throughout the book.

I went into this expecting a light, Christmas book, but got a heavier, more thought provoking story. I was not disappointed!! It’s a low steam, clean romance that shows the evolution of two broken souls working on finding themselves again,

Megan has immersed herself in the family bookstore the past 3 1/2 years trying to move on from heartache and guilt. She’s used it as an excuse to cut herself off from all but a few close friends and her mother. In the hopes of saving the bookshop, she’s able to book Xander Stone, a bestselling author, for a Christmas time book signing, hoping to bolster earnings.

Xander has his own personal issues to work through and is not expecting what he finds in Megan. He has a secret his keeping from everyone, including his best friend, the Megan stumbles on. As his insecurities come roaring back, he has to decide what’s worth fighting for.

Since they both work in the literary world, there’s numerous reference to popular romance tropes. My favorite is the forced proximity trope and a few others that Megan and Xander encounter throughout the story.

I loved how real the characters are and how they grow throughout the story. There’s some pretty heavy issues they have to work through, together and separately. As they rediscover themselves, they discover each other and get the HEA they deserve, both professionally and personally.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

A wonderful read. I was originally drawn to this book because it featured a bookshop but I was very quickly caught up in the story line of Megan and Xander. There was so many raw and real emotions in this book and the whole thing just flowed along so well. I liked how it was Meg who saw the pan Xander was in, how his rudeness was a front and she knew there was more to him, and like wise I loved his patience with her over Joe and his complete understanding. They both had a past that had broken part of them, but together they saw the best of each other and help put each other back together.

The descriptions that Meg gives of coming out of her self involvement were very real. When some one is lost in their darkness it’s so hard to see what’s going on around you. It’s so easy to plod along and try protect yourself. It’s not brilliant you come out the other side you notice the impact it had on you and others. Meg navigates this do well and she was so lucky to have some good friends to support her through it all.

The introduction to the book, and ours to Megan, was very moving and written in a way that instantly meant I was invested in her and her story.
As Megan's life retreats back to her family home in York and the bookstore her family own, you see how those 4 walls become more than just a sanctuary for her. The Die Hard Romantics Bookclub, made from friends, customers & staff of the bookshop, brings more than Megan bargains for and as they plan their Regency Christmas party it sets off a butterfly effect of changing all their lives.
This book is a book lovers dream, so many Have Austen references and some "punch the air" defences to the way romances are snubbed & general book snobbery! It packs a punch of feel good, festive fun aswell as heartwarming, tender care to keep you warm& cosy inside & out
One to read this Winter

Megan's family have run a bookshop in York for many years. When she was suddenly widowed she retreated back to her bookshop and her Mum and hid away from everything else.
Three years later and she has secured a celebrity book launch to help revive the book shop.
Xander Stone is the said author but he gets off to a bad start when he rams a supermarket trolley into Megan and then turns up at the bookshop at 10pm.
However, there is something about him, despite his arrogance and rudeness, that makes Megan feel human again.
Just as she is beginning to feel that her life is moving on it all falls apart again.
Can she find love under the mistletoe?

If you are a lover of Christmas and books like me then this is the book for you!

This is a heartwarming romance set in a bookshop with an author who comes to do a signing there and gets more than he bargained for. Grief and divorce are both issues that come up and are dealt with really well and the characters are well developed and easy to like.

I read this book in a day and I loved it - I hope this becomes a series as there is the potential there to see the lives of the characters develop further.

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

“A Christmassy read, featuring Christmas, books and a dog, what more could you want”.

Megan and her mother run Taylor’s, the family bookshop in York. After living in London, she came home to help her and overcome the loss of her husband. With a bookshop to run, she’s avoided thinking about her life and how to start living again.

With her friends Missy and Bella to help her and her ladies from their book group - the Die-Hard Romance.

To help boost the business, she agrees to hold a book launch party, for an author called Xander Stone, who has his own opinions on romance books and is rude.

As they begin to get to know one another, will he make Megan realise that it’s time to start living again…..

But just as she’s starting to think about her future, something happens, that she’s not at fault for, and she’s left thinking, was it worth thinking it, or had she been better hiding?

Recommend It.

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley #netgalley

Books, christmas, and puppies what more could a book possibly have to give? Utterly perfect from start to finish.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #ariabooks for allowing me to read #ABookshopChristmas in return for a honest review.
If you like romantic fiction, especially the likes of Jane Austin, you are going to love this book.

Megan has had a tough time, a very tough time. She has left her well paid publishing job in London to escape to her childhood home a bookshop in York that has been in the family for three generations.
There she is able to lick her wounds, while protecting herself from further heartbreak and hurt. Until the day she agrees to host a book launch for one of York’s most famous authors. What happens next is the stuff of romance novels all over the world, but, I have to say, not quite as predicable.
The author leads us on a journey of hope, of healing, of facing the future whilst remembering the lessons of the past. This book is uplifting and has left me with a quiet smile of contentment on my face, it is the perfect Christmas read, I can see it being read by people curled up by the fire, with mince pies and a cup of tea at hand.
Oh, and the references to classic romance novels might lead you to hunt them out, if you do not already own them.

This is a lovely read, and I recommend it.

After Megan becomes a young widow, she returns home to heal and restore. While at her childhood home, which is also a run down Bookshop in York, she agrees to host the famous author, Xander Stone for a book release party. Little does she know that the rude stranger she has a run in with is author Xander Stone, and they are both in for a wild ride as they slowly start to peel back layers of their lives to each other. Set in the beautiful York at Christmas, will they find their happily ever after with each other or will their pasts continue to haunt them?

This was such a delightful, cozy book! I find myself smiling even as I type my review. Beautifully descriptive, you can picture cozying up next to the fireplace on a snowy night as the characters did. I loved the twist on this book, since it is technically a "romance" book, it had a wonderful twist of having Megan, the main character, and her hilarious friends with their book club, who only talked about romance novels. It was such a fun spin on the traditional romance genre and I loved the humor in it. The author didn't take herself too seriously, and that made for a fun and quick book to read on a cozy night!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for my review and honest opinion of the book.

Megan moved home after her husband died and she's working at her parents' bookshop, trying to up sales and get it back on track, Xander, an author with both attitude and a past, agrees to launch his book there but his chance meeting with Megan, well, that doesn't go well. Not at all. I liked this for the growth both characters showed as well as for, let's face it, the bookstore setting, What a treat it would be to go to Megan's celebration of Regency, Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. It's nowhere near Christmas but I really enjoyed this.

Perfect read to cosy up with at Christmas. Beginning to wish it was Christmas already. .