The Bookshop on the Shore by Jenny Colgan isn't really about a bookshop. It's mostly about Zoe, a single mom, and Hari, her four-year-old son, who hasn't started to speak yet. Escaping her dismal job in London, and her even more dismally expensive flat, Zoe heads to Scotland to be a nanny. Only once she's there she discovers that her three charges are the opposite of welcoming; their ramshackle estate isn't exactly comfortable or convenient; and Ramsey, their single father, is mostly absent. And Hari still isn't talking. Down but not defeated, Zoe presses on. After all, she can't exactly go back home. And soon everything around her starts to change for the better.
What I loved most about this book:
- It's set in beautiful Scotland.
- Nina and Lennox from The Bookshop on the Corner are both in it. (And Nina's pregnant!)
- Zoe is plucky, vulnerable, resilient, and witty; and her interactions with Shackleton, Mary and Patrick, the three hard-to-deal-with Urquart children, totally made me laugh.
- There's lots of talk about books and reading.
- Ramsey isn't your typical hunky hero, but in his own quiet and awkward way, he's hard to resist.
- It has a happy ending.
Happy Reading!
