As an estate sale shopper he discovers gorgeous volumes of yuletide classics for her to sell which are steeped in a nostalgia factor perfect for the well-heeled clients that frequent the picturesque area in which McCredie’s is located. Ramsay Urquart, hero of The Bookshop on the Shore, turns out to be a huge help in this endeavor. Recognizing a soul even more lost than she is – and realizing that she really does need to make a go of something or she will be serving as backup nanny for Sofia forever – she tackles turning the dusty, dank, untidy store into a charming, quirky little boutique that – just in time for the holidays – carries unique and beautiful Christmas volumes. Colgan know that a staple of her novels is the heroine type I refer to as ‘hot mess Cinderella’, gals who begin the tale in dire straits and find themselves saved by discovering the niche they were meant to occupy all along. Carmen had made a wreck out of her old life, is it possible she can make a success out of this second chance?įans of Ms. But before long, she finds she gets along very well with her nieces and nephew, has a knack for book sales – and there are actually moments where she almost, very nearly gets along with her perfect sibling. Surely Carmen’s experience manning a till at a Dounston’s can translate into selling books and helping an old man save his business.Ĭarmen isn’t exactly thrilled to move to Edinburgh, into Sofia’s perfect house and help her care for her three perfect children as well as play babysitter to an elderly man with a failing enterprise. McCredie, a client who owns an ancient bookstore, needs to turn the finances of his shop around in the next several months or he will lose everything. It’s not like Carmen’s career in retail has exactly qualified her for a placement in a barrister’s office. Sofia doesn’t know what her mother expects her to do. Desperate, Carmen’s mum appeals to her oldest daughter, Sofia, a successful lawyer, to find Carmen a new position.

They adore her, but being homeless and jobless is not what her mother wants for Carmen’s future. With zero savings and no other jobs available in her small town, Carmen is forced to move back in with her parents.

You don’t have to have read them to enjoy this one though.Ĭarmen Hogan has worked at Dounston’s department store ever since she was in school and while she’s known for months that the store is in trouble, it is still a huge disappointment when she is laid off. It is loosely tied to Jenny Colgan’s Kirrinfief series and fans familiar with those volumes will recognize some of the characters – and plot motifs – from those books in this narrative. The Christmas Bookshop is a sweet, holiday offering about a woman finding the place she was always meant to be.

The little paris bookshop summary