Digital nomad Joy has been booked to modernise the running
of the bookshop at Clove Lore following the disastrous floods of the winter. Along
with Joy is her 6-year-old daughter, Radia. The pair have been on the move for
five years but Joy is beginning to feel guilty about some of the things her
young daughter is missing out on, such as friends and school. The tight-knit
community of Clove Lore seems to magnify all the things Radia is missing but
Joy is still reluctant to put down roots. Joy is determined that once the job is complete they will move on to the next one. Little does she realise the power Clove Lore and it's inhabitants have over people in need to connection.
This is Book 3 in the Borrow A Bookshop series from Kiley
Dunbar and it feels like returning to a well-loved holiday spot. All the eccentric
characters are still there and you have a pretty good idea of how the story is
going to go but that’s part of the attraction of the familiar. The lightness of
the story works well as an audiobook.
Joy is a complex character. Highly intelligent, an expert in
IT, she’s traveled the world to fulfill contracts. The big question is why her
need to constantly be on the move? As the story progresses, we learn that not
only is she estranged from her own family, she’s also fearful of her ex-partner
finding her.
Travelling with a young child means that her daughter has
experienced more than most children. Initially Joy saw this as positive but now
Radia is obsessed with all the things that young children are obsessed with;
friends, school, parties.
The community of Clove Lore is rebuilding itself after the disastrous
floods of the previous winter and as we have learnt from previous outings the
community work together and help each other, particularly where the bookshop is
concerned. Despite her best-efforts Joy is surrounded by support, friendship
and a blossoming romance.
The on-off nature of the romance is exactly as we’d expect,
straight-forward romantic fiction would be a bit boring. As we learn more about
Joy and her past we discover why she is continually on the move and reluctant
to become involved with anyone. Thankfully these darker elements of the story
are contrasted with the lighter tones offered by eccentric Minty, lady of the
manor, who is trying to launch a wedding business by persuading smaller businesses
to provide goods and services for free.
Something New At The Borrow A Bookshop is available
in paperback, ebook and audio format. My thanks to NetGalley and Saga Egmont
for a review copy.
No comments:
Post a Comment