To say Thea Mottram has had better days is putting it mildly. As if being let go from her job wasn’t bad enough, her husband left her after fifteen years of marriage to be with one of her friends. While packing up her marital home, Thea gets a letter that a long-lost, great uncle has passed away and has left her an inheritance. Leaving Sussex and the heartbreak behind doesn’t seem like a bad idea, so Thea heads to Scotland to deal with her uncle’s estate.

The house is more than she expected it to be, plus it comes with a massive book collection. Thea decides to stay in Scotland and enjoy the downtime and heal her broken heart. While clearing out some of her uncle’s things, Thea decides to sell some of the books in her uncle’s collection. Edward Maltravers, the grumpy and off-putting, store owner, not only decides to help Thea sell some of the collection, but he agrees to let her work at the store, temporarily.

As Thea settles into her new life in Scotland, she comes to find out some of the best things in life happen unexpectedly and the past, whether her or Edward’s, will always come back to haunt you and tempt you to deal with it and finally move forward.

THE BOOKSHOP OF SECOND CHANCES by Jackie Fraser is a winding walk through heartbreak, losing yourself, finding yourself, and coming into your own. This is one of those novels that is to be savored bit by bit to really allow yourself to get pulled into the story. I found myself slowing down while reading this and thoroughly engrossing myself in Thea’s world. The way the author pulled in different characters from Thea’s past and present life was brilliantly done. Each character, even though vastly different from the next, brought the perfect balance to the storyline. The pacing and subplots were perfectly introduced and woven throughout the story.

THE BOOKSHOP OF SECOND CHANCES is a wonderfully written debut novel and one that is sure to make your heart sigh with pure content as you finish the last page.