Rosie is stuck in a dead-end job and feeling like her life is going absolutely nowhere, until she receives an unexpected inheritance from her great-aunt: a charming bookshop in a tiny Scottish town. The catch? She has to run it for an entire year to claim it. Once she arrives, the locals welcome her with open arms, including Scottish hottie Alexander. Not only does he rescue injured puffins, but he’s also super interested in Rosie.
This cozy Christmas novel is set against a magical small-town backdrop, and I found it completely adorable. It definitely has those quaint-village-in-December vibes with just a sprinkle of whimsy. There is a bit of insta-love (or maybe more insta-lust), but it didn’t bother me much because Rosie and Alexander take time to become friends before sliding into their friends-with-benefits stage. Their banter is genuinely cute, and their awkward, endearing interactions made their relationship fun to read.
If you like puns, then this book is for you. A group of women called the Book Bitches visit the shop daily wearing pun-filled T-shirts, and they were one of the funniest parts of the story. There’s also a subplot about decorating the bookshop windows for a Christmas competition. I actually wish we’d gotten more of that. For a story set in December, the Christmas atmosphere felt surprisingly light. Besides the window-decorating contest, the holiday elements were pretty minimal.
At times, the book almost felt like part of a series. Characters would appear with the energy of “Oh, you already know who this is,” and I kept checking to see if I’d accidentally started a sequel. But it appears to be a standalone, so maybe I was just picking up on very detailed side-character worldbuilding.
I wasn’t the biggest fan of the third-act breakup. The reason behind it felt a little silly and easily fixable, something that could have been resolved with a single conversation. Alexander was definitely jumping to conclusions. Thankfully, the breakup only lasts a chapter, so we’re not stuck in pages of angst and pining.
Honestly, the best part of the entire book was the puffin Alexander rescues. I could have read a whole novel about that tiny puffin friend.
Sounds like a cute story.
It was a cute and quick read!