ShortBookandScribes #BookReview – The Hometown Bookshop by Jenna Warren

The Hometown Bookshop by Jenna Warren will be published on 21st August by Fairlight Books. My thanks to the publishers for the review copy.

Actress Charlotte has it all: a starring role in a West End show, a glittering social life and an equally high-flying boyfriend. But when her perfect existence abruptly falls apart, she retreats to her hometown on the North Yorkshire coast, finding a summer job in the local bookshop.

Greg, the grumpy, old-fashioned manager of Seaswept Books, is alarmed by Charlotte’s attempts to revitalise the tired-looking bookshop. But when she discovers his secret passion for amateur dramatics, an unlikely friendship blossoms.

As Charlotte begins to question whether her showbiz life was really all that dreamy, and as Greg ventures beyond his comfort zone – with a little help from handsome librarian Nick – can both of them find the courage to start a new chapter?

The story of The Hometown Bookshop is told in alternate chapters by Charlotte and Greg. Greg is the manager of Seaswept Books in the seaside town of Shellcliff on the North Yorkshire coast. The shop isn’t exactly thriving and when it’s bought by Sarah, she brings her sister Charlotte on board to help revive it.

It wasn’t exactly in Charlotte’s plans to go back to her home town. After ten years in a West End play she thought she was well set up in the acting business. Strangely, as time goes on, she starts to enjoy being back in Shellcliff and the challenge of making the bookshop work, not to mention the local amateur dramatics group production.

I absolutely loved this delightful book. The bookshop/seaside setting was utter perfection for me and I particularly enjoyed the chapters set there and all the ideas Charlotte had to update the place, despite Greg’s horrified face! I had a real soft spot for Greg, stuck in his ways and a bit lost, and I grew to like Charlotte too who found a new direction that she didn’t even know she needed.

The Hometown Bookshop is a gorgeous, joyful and uplifting read. It’s light-hearted yet has emotional depth of feeling as past woes threaten both Greg and Charlotte’s futures. I was completely enamoured by it, an ideal summer read about life, love, friendship, reinvention and books.

Jenna Warren was born in Middlesbrough and grew up in Saltburn-by-the-Sea. She studied Theatre at the University of Hull, and completed an MA in Creative Writing at Teesside University. Her first novel, The Moon and Stars, was published by Fairlight Books in 2022. Her short stories have featured in the anthologies Whitby Abbey: Pure Inspiration and Through the Cracks: The Teesside Literary Society’s Inaugural Anthology. After she worked for several years as an assistant in an art gallery, her passion for books led her to open Book Corner, an independent bookshop in Saltburn. The Hometown Bookshop is her second novel.