Carmen loses her job and is hesitant to spend Christmas with her seemingly perfect sister, Sofia. However, when Carmen is offered a job at a shabby bookshop, she decides to take it. As she works to restore the store to its former glory, Carmen becomes engrossed in the store’s inner workings. With the holiday season approaching, Carmen hopes to heal her fractured family and start a new chapter in her life, all while a famous writer takes an interest in the store and in Carmen herself.

Last year, I discovered holiday romance novels and I was thrilled to read another one this year. And it did not disappoint. Within the first 26 pages, I found myself laughing out loud over ten times at the hilarious characters who reminded me of Bridget Jones Diary. It also included bratty kids that were simultaneously hilarious and cute, an endearing old bookshop owner, a stuck up nanny with a wooly attitude and one pompous and one academic love interest. Additionally, the story delved deeper into the complexities of sibling rivalry, creating an extra layer of depth to the storyline and characters. And if that wasn’t enough, the biggest love interest: a bookshop in a Christmas-lit Edinburgh.

While there were a few minor flaws - I found some descriptions leaning into fat shaming and had difficulty with sudden shifts in point of view - it did not detract from the overall enjoyment of the novel. I gave it 3.75 stars out of 5.

Read if you like:
EDINBURGH
CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS
OLD BOOKSHOPS
DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILY
KIDS
ROMCOM