The Christmas Bookshop: A Novel

Carmen’s department store has folded, leaving her jobless, wherein she moves in with her perfect and super-pregnant sister in Edinburgh, taking a job that her sister has procured for her at a floundering bookshop. If the bookshop doesn’t make money over Christmas, the poor, eccentric guy who owns it will be homeless and Carmen will have failed at yet something else.

As ever, Jenny Colgan’s prose sparkles with the skill of a fantastic storyteller. Her characters are relatable and the story sucks you in immediately. Carmen’s best friend is a hoot (as ever) and the family dynamics are gleeful to watch. From a safe distance. A departure from her usual work, where the focus is a romantic love story, the love story in The Christmas Bookshop is between two the sisters who through the usual wild and woolly Jenny Colgan-esque circumstances discover a love and appreciation for one another that they never knew before. The Christmas Bookshop is a warm, seasonal read that brings the city of Edinburgh and the holidays to life.