Series Name: Travelling Shops, #2
“Life is unfair,’ she says with a harrumph. ‘And we could do this back and forth all day. But you’re a complete fool if you don’t see that the universe is showing you the way, and that it’s time to think about your own happiness for a change.”
Bookworm Aria Summers knows what she wants in her life: to travel with her best friend Rosie, and her camper-van-cum-book-shop. She definitely has no interest in finding romance, because Aria has sworn off love since her beloved husband passed away three years ago. She promised herself that the only love she would experience would be the romance she read in her books.
After drinking one too many glasses of wine, she finds herself ‘literally’ falling into the arms of fellow bookworm Jonathan. Aria is surprised that Jonathan sparks feelings she long thought she could no longer feel. Aria pushes these thoughts and feelings out of her head as she, Rosie and Max head out for a summer of travelling around France. But Jonathan and the feelings he stirs keep on popping up during their travels and maybe this summer trip will be just what Aria needed to heal her broken heart.
Ooh lala this book ce magnifique! There is just so much to love: book talk, France, food, and characters that are near and dear to my heart. Aria’s Travelling Book Shop is the second installment in the Travelling Book Shop series and in this book readers get to experience the world through Aria’s eyes. I was super excited to read this book. I loved Aria and wanted to learn more about her past and see how she sees the world.
Aria’s backstory is not a happy one. She lost the love of her life to cancer and she believes that she will never find love again, and even if she did, to love another man would be dishonouring the memory of her late husband TJ. I cannot imagine what it would be like to go through what Aria went through. In this book, Aria receives a diary that TJ wrote before he died. The diary entries are scattered throughout the book and sort of reminded me of the movie PS I Love You. Aria’s memories and TJ diary entries made me feel such conflicting emotions. The romantic in me loved the love that existed between these two. But I know that their love story didn’t have a happy ending. I definitely had tears in my eyes as I read the diary entries alongside Aria. I would often just sit there and think how utterly heart-wrenching the whole situation is.
This book really has two love stories in it, the one love story between Aria and TJ and the budding romance between Aria and Jonathan. The romantic relationship between Aria and Jonathan is something any bookworm would dream off. The cute moments between these two often center around their love for books. The way that Jonathan tries to capture Aria’s attention is through bookish gestures. The perfect date night for these two is sitting beside each other reading a book.
Have I mentioned how much I adore the friendship between Aria and Rosie. I love reading those quiet moments between Rosie and Aria. These two are down to earth friends who are there when you need a shoulder to cry on or give you a push that you need to do something that will take you out of your comfort zone.
Oh! You know that this book is a love letter to bookworms when book sniffing is brought up. There is no better smell than a book! I just love sniffing books, they often smell like adventure, romance, and a way to escape the world. I also love the fact that Aria is able to sense when a bookstore is near. This is a talent that I have; it freaks my dad out LOL. I can definitely smell a bookstore. I wonder if I should put bookstore finder as a skill on my resume?
Aria’s Travelling Book Shop is a book that will tug at your heart-strings and leave you believing that happily ever afters are always possible.
Read our review of Rosie’s Travelling Tea Shop here.
