Although this is not the normal sweet, contemporary, Christmas romance I tend to gravitate towards, I found it to be a charming read. The characters of Alex and Magnus seemed so sincere that I just wanted life to be okay for them. I adored the other characters met along the way as I traveled the pages of this books - Jowan, Minty and everyone else in this amazing little town. Any book that has a bookshop in it's setting is worth the read, in my opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of the ebook in exchange for my honest review.

This book is a great read! It's a cozy read with wonderful characters that you hate to see end. I loved it and highly recommend it! I received a complimentary copy Hera Books via NetGalley and was not required to write a review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Who doesn't love an adorable Christmas story with a quaint little book shop mixed in? 😍😍 This book gave me all the feels.....including wanting to put my Christmas tree up in August! Yep

I received this as an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a sequel, something I didn't realize before requesting, however, I didn't feel super behind whilst reading which I think is a very good thing! (I do fully intend to get the first one & read it.) This book was chock full of cozy scenes and I learned a lot about Icelandic culture I didn't know before due to Magnus (a MC) traveling from there to England. The ending is satisfying, and if you're looking for cozy English charm, this is the book for you!

Unfortunately this was a DNF for me.
The premise of the book sounded right up my street. Christmas, a bookshop, a coastal Devon setting, however, I found the story difficult to engage with. I read a third of the book but decided not to continue.
I've subsequently read that this is the second book in a series, so possibly it would have worked for me had I read the first one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read a digital advanced copy for an honest review. These are my words and my words alone

What drew me to this book was the title and cover...I have never read a Kiley Dunbar book before...the story intrigued me and I'm sorry to say that it fell flat. I had a really hard time to keep reading...it didn't catch my interest..

Please don't go by my review read what others had to say about the book. Just because it wasn't my cup of tea it may be yours.

Again I'm sorry to the author

******I will not be reviewing on a retail site....I don't want my review to hurt the authors ratings and or sales*****

I had to DNF this one. I didn’t realize it was part of a series (that was not made clear), and within the first 5% so many characters had been named and introduced (and not explained) and I was utterly and irrevocably lost. Definitely recommend reading the others before diving into this one. If you can push through (and I’m sure eventually grasp the characters), I think the story has a lot of potential!

A sweet story, a sort of Christmas fairy tale. It made me smile, root for the characters, and wish it was Christmas.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Classic Christmas romance

I loved the dynamic between the two main characters and would love to read more about them in a follow up story!

4 stars!

"Christmas at the Borrow a Bookshop" by Kiley Dunbar is a sweet, cute, festive holiday story with great characters and tons of merriment. It's full of comfort, joy, love, and even a few thrills towards the end of the story. This is the only book I've read complete with a holiday donkey blessing! It sure is a quirky read, but that's why I enjoyed it. The premise is downright adorable... are borrow-a-bookshops real? Because I would *totally* take a vacation to help sell books! My one minor complaint is that, for being such a small town, Clove Lore has *a lot* of characters doing *a lot* of things *all the time.* It was occasionally difficult to keep everything and everyone straight in my brain.

If you're looking for a delightful read to get you in the holiday spirit, take a chance on the easy-to-read "Christmas at the Borrow a Bookshop." I could totally see thing book becoming a movie!

Thank you to NetGalley, Kiley Dunbar, and Hera Books for providing me with an ARC copy of this book! All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for my review in any way.

Yes. Now this is a good Christmas read. Loved it!

It is fun, it is uplifting, it is entertaining and it is all about the spirit of Christmas with a bit of romance thrown in. The characters are a delight and you can imagine them in your life. The seaside village is charming and the village of your dreams. But it also has a story and a theme, and it will resonate with each and everyone of us.

The writing is well done and keeps you engaged and keeps you reading, It has everything you want from a good book and everything you need for a good read.

Highly recommend this heartwarming novel and wish I had read book one in the series (not because I needed to but just because I want to).

🌬🌊🌩Healing magic in a close-knit coastal community⛅

What an enjoyable holiday novel that brings two disappointed and broken souls together in a welcoming coastal town on the cusp of Christmas celebrations. Complete with whimsical humor and some good action scenes thanks to a storm of the century that added suspense.

There is a central pair of very likable newly-arrived strangers who find an instant connection and deal with several obstacles to their romance and uncertain futures. The village residents are delightful, right down to the town's beloved donkeys like Mushy Peas (what a name!) and have their own small dramas that add to the cozy character of the story. Even a Darcy-esque marriage proposal (largely inspired by a last minute Christmas gift purchase of an Austen classic and a storm that promotes quieter indoor pursuits like reading, maybe with a glass or two of something on the side😉). And though they add a lot to the story, the local character contingent is kept down to a reasonable number so it's easy to keep them straight.

I think the author, a few of whose works I've read previously, does an excellent job creating a festive atmosphere and engaging characters with strong community spirit. A lovely read with a positive ending. There's an earlier borrow a bookshop novel centered on the same coastal community but this can be read without reference to the prior story.

Thanks to Hera Books and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

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

I loved the first book.

There is still a long list of book lovers wanting to stay 2 weeks working in a bookshop/cafe. As Christmas approaches magnus has come from abroad, but he’s not certain that he wants to stay here, as his own bookshop failed in Iceland.

Coming home, Alex finds her boyfriend and best friend in an uncompromising situation. Without stopping to talk to him, she takes her boat, which her father left to her on the seas.

With the weather changing, it brings a storm and she loses control of the boat, and ends up on clove lores shores, what happens next changes both hers and Magnus’s life.

As Magnus helps out with the other residents, he thinks he’s met a mermaid.

Another storm hits and everyone end up at the big Manor House, there’s moments in this book, which made me unable to put it down. Although this book does feature Christmas, and traditions of it, it’s more about community spirit, so it can be read before the festive season.

I highly recommend this book.

“Christmas at the Borrow a Bookshop” is a heartwarming delight to read. If you have visited Clove Lore before in “Borrow a Bookshop” you will meet old friends and find out how they are doing. This time a surly new borrower arrives alone, during the festive season. Meanwhile a young ferry woman has sailed off in her boat to “run” away from her cheating boyfriend and all that she knows. Their paths cross in a delightful manner and hope for a happier future for both them and others in magical Clove Law, begin to dawn. The setting not only sounds picturesque the sense of community & warmth draw you right in to stay the duration. I couldn’t put the book down it was a magical read and had the power to keep me smiling throughout.

Christmas at the Borrowed Bookshop
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Romance
Format: Kindle eBook
Date Published: 9/1/22
Author: Kiley Dunbar
Publisher: Hera Books
Pages: 292
Goodreads Rating: 4.16

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Hera Books and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: Icelandic ex-bookseller Magnús Sturluson might be surrounded by love stories in the Bookshop, but he’s nursing a sadness that not even fiction can fix. When Alexandra Robinson finds herself stranded in Clove Lore, she finds a safe place to hide from heartbreak. After all, all that’s waiting for her at home is a cheater boyfriend and the memories of her parents. Alex grows closer to Magnús, she finds an equally soft heart under his gruff shell. A great flood on Christmas Eve brings devastation in its wake. It’s up to Magnús and Alex to help bring the village back together again, while also introducing the locals to the Icelandic tradition of the jólabókaflóð – Yule book flood – where families and friends gather on Christmas Eve to exchange books and read together.

My Thoughts: Clove Lore is more than your typical small town, it is filled with love, tradition, hope, and just everything you want where you live. This is a book in a series but I did not read the prior book, which I have read is just as good as this one. This was not a typical romantic trope, it was romance from the beginning, well until a great flood complicates things. I believe this is more than a romance, it is about community and tradition, which I adored. The characters were well developed with depth, charisma, connection, and chemistry. The cast of characters were just wonderful, I loved them all, and connected with them. The author’s style of writing was complex, emotional, festive, and kept me engaged from cover to cover. This was a lovely story to kick off the festive season and I would recommend to anyone who loves Christmas or romance books!

DNF - The premise sounded sweet & I am a sucker for any story involving a bookstore. However, I found the story difficult to engage with. The first chapter is insanely short compared to the second which I felt droned on far too long & included an insatiable amount of detail about Alex's life. This chapter stands out to me as something we could have slowly grown to know, rather than have an entire section dedicated to a full life-rundown.
In any case, I struggled to follow the narrative. There was just something missing for me.

Thank you NetGalley, Kiley Dunbar and Hera Books for the copy of Christmas at the Borrow a Bookshop. This is my personal review.
The book said it was “A heartwarming, cosy, utterly uplifting romcom.” I was so looking forward to a quiet few hours settled into a holiday romance.
The characters in the story were well written and the storyline was easy to follow but I did not find myself totally vested in the story. I was wanting a little more and the ending was what I was expecting so there was not real surprises.

4 stars / This review will be posted on goodreads.com today.


Clove Lore is a small town on the Devonshire coast. It is where Magnus Sturluson has landed here from Iceland to mend a wounded heart. It is the last place he would have chosen to spend his holiday. This was a gift from his brother, as a joke, before Magnus’s world began falling apart.

Alex has taken to the sea in her late father’s ferry boat. Escaping from the tragedy of her life in Port Hernou. Her parents have both passed away, and now she’s found her boyfriend of sorts in the arms of her best friend. She had no plans to run, but run she did, right into the path of a storm. A storm that will wash her up on the beaches of Clove Lore, and into the arms of a handsome Icelander.

But life is never this simple. Alex’s ‘family’ in Port Hernou is missing her and wondering where she is. Magnus has a locked away his heart and feelings. Not to mention all the other residents of Clove Lore.

This was a wonderful, heart warming story of a small village and how people can find love and happiness even in the darkest of times. It is the perfect little novel for Christmas! Although this is book number two of the series, it can definitely be read as standalone (as I have.) I dare you not to fall in love with the residents of Clove Lore. Especially the donkeys and little Aldous.

I didn't realize this is the second book in the series. I will have to get the first. Staying in a bookshop for a holiday sounds like fun to avid readers. I didn't know it was a thing. I'm intrigued. There are many interesting characters in this English village and romance is in the air when a storm threatens all during the Christmas holiday.

The cover of this book immediately drew me in! This is a sweet story of community and love. I adored all the villagers and the village itself felt so magical! I also loved Magnus and Alex and their love story. Read this sweet book by the twinkle lights this winter. It's the perfect escape.