Hi there! I’m here to bring you a review of a quiet adult fiction novel that I had the opportunity to read early. **And every day we are reminded that discrimination against marginalized communities is still a serious problem, so click here to find a compilation of resources where you can donate your time, money, or whatever you can to support these communities. I still encourage you to research these causes on your own to educate yourself and find the best way to lend your support.**
I’m not exactly sure when this book caught my eye, but The Bookshop of Second Chances by Jackie Fraser has been in my NetGalley queue for a while. It’s an an adult debut fiction novel set in Scotland surrounding Thea, a woman who’s recently inherited a cottage and a book collection from a distant relative, and leaves her life in Sussex behind to enter a quaint little town with new opportunities. It was a charming read that I’m glad I read. It was actually released in the UK in November of 2020, so if you’re located there you may have already picked this up, but it’s being released in the U.S. this month and decided I needed to get a move on and read it if I wanted a review up before release date.
Bad things seem to come in threes for Thea Mottram – she has been let go from her job without any notice, she finds out her husband of twenty years has been sleeping with one of her friends, AND he’s told her he loves the other woman more. When Thea is sorting through all of her belongings on Valentine’s Day, she finds a letter saying that a distant great uncle has passed away and has left her his house and extensive antique book collection (which may be worth a hefty amount of money) in Scotland. A few weeks later, she finds herself traveling from Sussex to the quaint little cottage to sort out his things, and a fortnight trip turns into months where Thea is falling in love with the town and its people, and doesn’t quite want to leave. There’s also a particular fellow, Edward Maltravers, owner of the local bookstore and local grump, who Thea can’t help but be drawn to. The townspeople tell her to stay away, but she needs a job and wants to work in the store. But Edward has a hiring policy – no women – and that’s for a specific reason – they always fall in love with him, or vice versa. Will Thea be the one to break the cycle, or is it inevitable that these two are destined for love?
I think my favorite aspect of this book was the character of Thea herself. Although the past few months had been an emotional rollercoaster, she is incredibly independent and doesn’t let the opinions of others influence her thoughts or decisions. When the town warns her to stay away from Edward because of his demeanor and his past, she still proceeds to apply for the job at his bookstore and spend time with him to form her own opinions and find out the facts for herself. When Edward tries to convince her that his brother, Charles, has ulterior motives when asking her to dinner, she goes to the meal and makes her intentions abundantly clear. She isn’t devoid of emotion – she actually feels quite deeply – but she’s straightforward and direct and completely in control of her own destiny. I loved to see her progression throughout the novel. Thea also falls in love with the town on Baldochrie during her stay. What was supposed to be a two-week journey to sort our her great-uncle’s things – make plans to sell the house, appraise the extensive book collection, wrap things up and be back in Sussex to start her new life as a single woman – became a permanent stay content with her surroundings and happy with the way things turned out. From the job with moody yet curious Edward at the bookstore to the best coffee at a local café to forming bonds with townspeople, Thea knows she shouldn’t stay but just can’t bring herself to leave. The seasons change and the house is up for sale, but she isn’t mad about it. It was a very quiet book that felt slow-paced but with a quick passage of time. For the most part I enjoyed Thea and Edward’s dynamic – it’s a bit of a light pessimist/optimist grumpy/sunshine scenario, and sometimes Edward’s jealously was a little extreme but he didn’t quite know how to process his feelings, and kind of detested himself for falling for Thea in the first place. I will say, things were a bit awkward when they did finally get together, and Edward was much too pushy for my taste, wanting things to progress at a faster pace. Thea always stuck her ground, and never agreed to anything she wasn’t comfortable with, but I just felt Edward was talking of marriage a lot sooner than the idea would have been on Thea’s mind, especially since she was still married (yet separated).
Overall, I would say this was an enjoyable read and a nice break in between a lot of hard-hitting contemporaries and high-stakes fantasies that have been my latest reads. I’m really excited to see what Jackie Fraser brings next after this solid debut, I’ll be surely keeping my eye out for it. The Bookshop of Second Chances will be releasing (in the U.S.) on May 4th, 2021 (which is the day this post goes live), so please join me in wishing it a happy book birthday and consider picking up a copy for yourself if you’re at all interested! *Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Ballantine Books, for the e-copy, all thoughts and opinions are my own.*
Where to find The Bookshop of Second Chances:
Bookshop
Amazon
Goodreads
Jackie Fraser’s Facebook page
Penguin Random House
Thoughts About Things 