Zoe is a professional child carer as well as mum to Hari. However struggling to afford to live in London when the father of your child tries to make it as a DJ around the country and abroad and rarely pays any attention or money Zoe is starting to struggle.
When an opportunity to escape all of this for a fresh start, Zoe jumps at the chance to take herself and Hari away from it all. Away from it all though happens to be Scotland.
As an au pair to three rather difficult and challenging children – Zoe is going to be ‘Nanny Seven’. Six have gone before and not conquered the problem will Zoe be able to?
With Hari in tow she makes the move.
But has Zoe made a mistake and taken on more than she could possibly deal with?
Not only is she trying to culture a nice environment for these three children and she does work wonders with some really obvious and simple methods. She has also offered to help run the little bookshop in a van whilst the current owner Nina has a baby.
Zoe does not have the knack of Nina in matching books to customer but she has an eye for other books when it comes to her customers as well as the three children.
She starts to make an impact on everyone in the house, in the van and in the community.
When events mean that it looks like Zoe is going to have to move on, it can only possibly take something monumental to change her mind.
But will it happen in time?
This is a great read which took me to the ever changing weather and landscapes of the Highlands of Scotland. Whilst characters first appeared in an earlier novel by Colgan which I had not read, there was enough background to see me through as this book is very much focussed on Zoe and Hari as well as the three children she comes to care for.
Subtly done, some rather difficult situations are encountered, selective mutism, mental health issues in youngsters as well as romance and friendships, the book has so much to give and was one of my favourite reads of 2019 so far.
Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.
The Bookshop on the Shore is published on 13 June.
I am going to catch up with Nina, one of the charters in this book in The Little Shop of Happy Ever After so I can experience more wonderful Scottish landscapes and great stories!
The Book Jotter 