Review: The Little Bookshop on the Seine by Rebecca Raisin

Title: The Little Bookshop on the Seine
Author: Rebecca Raisin
Series: The Little Paris Collection, #1
Published: January 2020, HQN (1st published October 2015)
Format: Paperback, 416 pages
Source: Publisher

Summary:
It’s The Holiday on the Champs-Élysées in a great big love letter to Paris, charming old bookstores and happily-ever-afters!

When bookshop owner Sarah Smith is offered the opportunity for a job exchange with her Parisian friend Sophie, saying yes is a no-brainer—after all, what kind of romantic would turn down six months in Paris? Sarah is sure she’s in for the experience of a lifetime—days spent surrounded by literature in a gorgeous bookshop, and the chance to watch the snow fall on the Eiffel Tower. Plus, now she can meet up with her journalist boyfriend, Ridge, when his job takes him around the globe.

But her expectations cool faster than her café au lait soon after she lands in the City of Light—she’s a fish out of water in Paris. The customers are rude, her new coworkers suspicious and her relationship with Ridge has been reduced to a long-distance game of phone tag, leaving Sarah to wonder if he’ll ever put her first over his busy career. As Christmas approaches, Sarah is determined to get the shop—and her life—back in order…and make her dreams of a Parisian happily-ever-after come true.

My thoughts: This is the first book I've read by Rebecca Raisin and I have a feeling it definitely won't be the last! I'm a complete sucker when it comes to books about books or bookshops and this completely nails it on both fronts, not to mention that it is also set in Paris, a city that I hope to one day visit.

One of my favorite movies to watch around Christmastime is The Holiday and so I absolutely loved that this book was a slight twist on that. I loved that Rebecca Raisin gives us all the sights and sounds of Paris during the holidays...I could really feel the magic of this city and it absolutely has me wanting to visit, despite that fact that I know Parisians are not always the nicest to tourists.

I loved the characters in this book. Sarah is used to her routines and change scares her but she's willing to take this opportunity to shake things up. She never travels, while her boyfriend is always traveling for work, so she thinks this is the perfect opportunity to take on new experiences. She heads to Paris, thinking that Sophie's bookshop is a fine-running machine and walks into quite the mess. The employees are all so quirky and endearing and you can't help but fall a little in love with them.

I liked that this wasn't all about the romance. There are quite a few different threads going on throughout the story, and I was intrigued by them all. I particularly loved seeing the journey Sarah took to find herself...I'm always a fan of watching a character go through major growth during a book. It's always inspiring to me and this one absolutely was, watching Sarah come out of her shell. Sarah just needed that push to take a chance.

I enjoyed this book and will certainly be checking out the author's other books. Have you read any of her books?

Books in this series:

The Little Bookshop on the Seine
The Little Antique Shop Under the Eiffel Tower
The Little Perfume Shop off the Champs-Elysees