The Bookshop of New Beginnings
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4.5 • 4 Ratings
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- £1.99
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- £1.99
Publisher Description
‘This book had me captivated from the start…a really great read.’ The Reading Shed
It’s never too late to rewrite your story…
It’s always been Emily Cotton’s dream to own her own bookshop. But sitting among shelves of haphazardly stacked books in a damp old barn, the reality feels a little different.
Kate Vincent hasn’t been back home in six years. But when she receives a desperate email from her childhood best friend begging for her help she doesn’t stop to think. Scenes of idyllic holidays with the Cotton family dance in her mind and she books a one-way ticket home to Wigtown.
But life for the Cottons isn’t all as she remembers and the secrets which once drove Kate and Emily apart are finally threatening to come to the surface. Now as the pair work together to save Emily’s failing bookshop – can they too begin a new chapter of their friendship?
Previously published as Summer at Bluebell Bank
About the author
Jen Mouat was born in Edinburgh and fell in love with books at an early age. She soon began to write her own stories which she kept in a suitcase under the bed. She studied Illustration and Printmaking at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design before doing a Postgrad in Education and embarking upon a successful career as a primary school teacher. Idyllic childhood summers spent on holiday in Dumfries and Galloway inspired her love of the Solway Coast, the setting for her writing. She now lives near Edinburgh with her husband and their Border Collie. This is her first novel.
Customer Reviews
Such a joy to read!
I can hardly believe this is a debut novel, it is so beautifully written and such an encompassing read. From the bery beginning you can tell it is polished to perfection and so easily slips under your skin.
Kate Vincent didn't have much of a family life growing up but when she moved to Edinburgh and became friends with Emily Cotton at school, that all changed. From then on she spent her holidays on the Solway coast with Emily and her brothers at their grandmother's home where she became anointed as one of the family.
Now aged 30 and living in New York, Kate receives a message from Emily telling her she needs her and withouth hesitation she ditches her job, romance and life there and hops on a plane to race to the rescue. Thus starts the story of friendships forged many years previously and getting to grips with how things are now and how they develop with Kate's return.
Set in an area I have visited several times this book does great credit to the area. I'm not surprised to read it's Jen Mouat's region - her love shines throughout this novel, and the characters are so well created and defined that I would expect to bump into any of them were I to visit again.
This is a tremendous story - bursting with love, happiness, reminiscences and even a bit of sadness which all add up to an awesome novel. It has been such a joy to read and I have no hesitation whatsoever in recommending it to others.
I received an arc via NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.