Review: The Borrow a Bookshop Holiday by Kiley Dunbar
*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
Blurb:
The Borrow-a-Bookshop Bookshop Café invites literature lovers to run their very own bookshop … for a fortnight.
Spend your days talking books with customers in your own charming bookshop and serving up delicious cream teas in the cosy café.
Bookworms, what are you waiting for? Your holiday is going to be LIT(erary).
Apply to: The Borrow-a-Bookshop Bookshop Café, Down-a-long, Clove Lore, Devon.
Jude Crawley should be on top of the world. She’s just graduated as a mature student, so can finally go public about her relationship with Philosophy professor, Mack.
Until she sees Mack kissing another girl, and her dreams crumble. And worse, their dream holiday – running a tiny bookshop in the harbour village of Clove Lore for two weeks – is non-refundable.
Throwing caution to the winds, Jude heads down to Devon, eager to immerse herself in literature and heal her broken heart.
But there’s one problem – six foot tall, brooding (but gorgeous) Elliot, who’s also reserved the bookshop holiday for two weeks…
As Jude and Elliot put their differences aside to run the bookshop, it seems that Jude might be falling in love with more than just words. Until she discovers what Elliot is running from – and why he’s hiding out in Clove Lore.
Can Jude find her own happy ending in a tiny, tumbledown bookshop? Or is she about to find out that her bookish holiday might have an unexpected twist in the tale…
My Review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
When I first saw this book, I was ridiculously excited. I mean, who doesn't love a cosy, small town romance? But a cosy, small town romance set in a book shop? Yes please!
But unfortunately, while I did enjoy the book to an extent, it was a little bit of a disappointment in my eyes. I mean I love a bit of a cheesy romance - I practically live off Hallmark films - but this one just had a little too much for my liking. For example, the constant "you're so beautiful" actually made me feel a bit nauseous. I mean yes, tell your partner she's pretty, but don't go overboard and smother her.
Anyway, the cheesiness of this book (again, this is normally something I love but maybe not to this extent) put me off a tiny bit, but if I'm completely honest this book didn't quite keep me turning the pages. I knew what the outcome would be of course (not really a bad thing in this genre) but I just felt like nothing really happened to hook me and to keep me reading.
I wanted a bit more actual romance - cute dates, nice outings, maybe even a double date.
Anyway, I actually would recommend this book if you fancy reading a *really cheesy* cute romance (the setting was definitely unique and I LOVED it), but it wasn't really my favourite read.