Christmas at the Borrow a Bookshop - Kiley Dunbar

 

'Tis the season for finding love… and the perfect book

With just two weeks until Christmas, everything in Clove Lore should be perfect. But the latest holidaymaker to the Borrow a Bookshop is feeling far from festive…

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. As Alex finds herself embraced by the quirky village community, she finds her tough exterior thawing – and as she grows closer to Magnús, she finds an equally soft heart under his gruff shell.

It seems that Clove Lore is working its magic once again – until a great flood on Christmas Eve brings devastation in its wake. It’s up to Magnús and Alex to batten down the hatches and 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.

But can Magnús and Alex truly rescue the ruins of the village, and salvage their Christmas spirit? Or is there another complication lurking even closer than they thought?

Purchase Links

AMZ: https://amzn.to/39v0coN

Kobo: https://bit.ly/3QpSgpj

Apple: https://apple.co/3Oewbs0

Hive: https://bit.ly/3HI1olz

My Review:

The second visit to a series with a premise every book lover dreams of – being able to run their own book shop. After reading The Borrow a Bookshop Holiday by Kiley last year, I was excited to return and especially at Christmas.

If you haven’t had the pleasure of reading the first book, this can be read as a standalone but I highly recommend you do read The Borrow a Bookshop Holiday too. Magnus comes into the community we got to know and love, he is an extraordinary character and it wasn’t his idea to come; he soon meets another new member of the community – Alex, who has her own reasons for being around. Their connection is instant but events unfold that mean things do not run smoothly, and when stormy times hit damage is done to more than just local shops and homes.

Clove Lore, it’s locals and the community feel is so special, not matter the set back they pull together to make things work. Magnus and Alex are welcomed with open arms and the village works its magic yet again.

I think the best thing about this book is the whole cast of characters, the community feel and that friendship and camaraderie is a main feature. These books are so well written, you feel like you are there amongst them all. The story moves along nicely, we learn more about so many of the characters in this book.

I am looking forward to seeing what comes next! I wish I could be whisked away to take over the bookshop for my very own holiday. 

Author Bio:

Kiley Dunbar writes heart-warming, escapist, romantic fiction set in beautiful places, with One Winter's Night being shortlisted for the RNA Romantic Comedy Novel Award 2021.

Kiley's five novels include: The Borrow a Bookshop Holiday (May 2021), One Winter's Night (September 2020), Summer at the Highland Coral Beach (2020), Christmas at Frozen Falls (2019) and One Summer's Night (2019).

Social Media Links:

'Kiley Dunbar Author Book Page' on Facebook
website and newsletter: http://www.kileydunbar.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCI8wM4Fmkbyg4S_XGSnfUCA

https://twitter.com/kileydunbar

https://www.facebook.com/KileyDunbarAuthor/

The Cornish Confetti Agency - Daisy James

Welcome to The Cornish Confetti Agency!

When the grand finale of Lexie Harrington’s catwalk show ends with a disastrous twist on the ‘ice bucket challenge’, she was expecting her highly-strung boss to fire her on the spot. What she wasn’t expecting was to bump into her fiancé cosied up with an attractive blonde in the restaurant opposite their apartment!

Desperate to escape her heartbreak, Lexie flees to her childhood home of St Ives to hold the fort at The Cornish Confetti Agency for her best friend Freya, leader of the yummy mummy network and firm believer in ‘happily ever afters’. Little did she know that delivering a Caribbean-themed wedding in sunny Cornwall would rival the fashion industry for drama, tantrums and mysterious goings on.

Who is responsible for dousing the bridesmaid’s dress with tomato ketchup? Or hiding the bride’s beloved Jimmy Choos? Or attaching googly eyes to everything in sight?

The perfect Cornish wedding? Is there such a thing for The Cornish Confetti Agency?

My Review:

A fun filled read that will make you laugh and keep you guessing. A lovely book that's a nice quick and easy read, a great distraction in times of worry. 


Lexie is quite the character, hit by disaster after disaster. Poor thing – everything seems to go wrong at the same time so I cannot blame her for wanting to get away from it all. Lucky her best friend happens to have a great solution for her.


Disaster seems to follow her around though and nothing she does goes smoothly; helping organise a Caribbean themed wedding sounds simple enough but not when things seem to be going wrong and it becomes very apparent someone is against the wedding taking place!


She turns detective to find out what exactly is happening and who is causing so much drama. Who does not love a little bit of mystery thrown into a feel-good story? It’s all on her to ensure this wedding takes place and she forms an unlikely partnership that is beneficial for her in more ways than one.


A lively set of characters that made me laugh out loud at times, full of lovely descriptions and a wedding theme that I was quite envious of! It is the first in a series I believe so will be quite fun to see what happens next time. A fun read!

Available HERE

Daisy James is a Yorkshire girl transplanted to the north east of England. She loves writing stories with strong heroines and swift-flowing plotlines.

When not scribbling away in her peppermint-and-green summerhouse (garden shed), she spends her time sifting flour and sprinkling sugar and edible glitter.

Follow Daisy on Twitter