#Review: Christmas at the Borrow a Bookshop by Kiley Dunbar @KileyDunbar @HeraBooks @rararesources #blogtour #newrelease #Christmasread #romcom

I’m delighted today to be joining the blog tour for Christmas at the Borrow a Bookshop by Kiley Dunbar, and sharing my review: published by Hera Books on 1st September, it’s now available via Amazon for kindle and in paperback (or for a paperback copy, you might prefer to use Hive), for Kobo, or via Apple. My thanks to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for the invitation and support, and to everyone involved in providing my advance reading e-copy.

My first experience of Kiley’s writing was a Christmas book – the superb Christmas at Frozen Falls, which I absolutely loved and one I had no hesitation in including in my Books of the Year list for 2019 (you can read my review again here). I then thoroughly enjoyed Summer at the Highland Coral Beach in March 2020 (review here) – and in September last year equally enjoyed a return visit with Matchmaking at Port Willow (you can read my review again here – and no, I still haven’t made that trip to Plockton!). I never managed to catch up with her first book, One Summer’s Night, but I did read and review the sequel, One Winter’s Night – heartwarming, uplifting and rather gorgeous (you’ll find the review here).

But my favourite of hers from last year was most definitely The Borrow a Bookshop Holiday – quite wonderful, her best yet, a further inclusion on my 2021 Books of the Year list (you’ll find my review here). So you can imagine how delighted I was to discover that her latest was a return to Clove Lore and the Borrow a Bookshop – and even better, it’s Christmas (ok, I know it’s only September – but who doesn’t love Christmas?)!

‘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?

There was so much I loved about this book – it’s such a special Christmassy read (although, to be honest, I’d happily read it at any time of the year…) – that I hardly know where to start. But let’s begin with Magnús and Alex, and the book’s central (but certainly not only…) romance. Running someone else’s bookshop for Christmas might not have been the best of gifts for Magnús, over from Iceland for a stint at the Borrow a Bookshop after his own attempt to become a bookseller – his life’s dream – has collapsed. But then Alex comes into his life – and in a rather dramatic way, when her boat is washed up on the beach at Clove Lore. Life hasn’t been treating her well either, and she just can’t face the prospect of “going home” – and when their paths cross for a second time, they both feel the spark. Perhaps they can run the Borrow a Bookshop together – there’s a cafe she can run just like her mum used to (her happy place…), and he can focus on the books. And as their attraction grows, it looks as if it might be a happier Christmas than either of them was expecting.

But then… that storm that washed Alex ashore hasn’t gone away. As the flood water flows through Up-along and Down-along, it soon becomes clear that no-one in Clove Lore is going to be getting quite the Christmas they expected or hoped for. And the story’s canvas widens from the early stages of romance, as the whole community becomes involved in dealing with the devastating impact of the weather-related disaster – and the storylines multiply, featuring all the characters anyone who read the author’s earlier book will already know and love. But there’s honestly no need to have ever visited Clove Lore or the Borrow a Bookshop before – you’ll soon get to know everyone really well, and become completely involved in all their lives.

The characterisation is simply wonderful, every individual very real – even when they tend towards the quirky, as many of them do – and every single one of them has their own fascinating slice of the story. And all the drama – my goodness, there are some superbly handled edge-of-the-seat moments, lots of unexpected twists and turns, as everyone pulls together. And there are lots of emotional moments too – there’s the possibility of a second, more mature romance (I so wanted that one to work out!), but loads of other times when the warmth of friendships and individuals’ capacity to care can’t help but bring a tear to your eye (almost always followed by a smile and a glow in your heart…). And through all the trials and tribulations, the connection between Magnús and Alex continues to grow, although there are unexpected personal hurdles for them to negotiate – it was a romance I absolutely believed in, and I was totally invested in the possibility of a happy ending.

I know it’s early days yet, but this is the one I’d urge everyone to add to their Christmas reading list. Just perfect – without question one of my books of the year, and very highly recommended.

About the author

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 six previous novels are: Matchmaking at Port Willow (September 2021), 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).

Website and Newsletter | Twitter | Facebook |

YouTube