Scottish Bookshop Books In Order

Publication Order of Scottish Bookshop Books

Scottish Bookshop Series by Jenny Colgan

Jenny Colgan (aka J.T. Colgan, Jenny T. Colgan, and Jane Beaton) was born in Scotland. She studied at the University of Edinburgh and after college worked for six years in Health Services. She married Andrew Beaton, a marine engineer, and they have three children.

In 2000 she published her first novel, a romantic comedy titled Amanda’s Wedding. Since then Ms. Colgan has written dozens of cozy romantic comedies and science fiction stories. She’s contributed to the Dr Who legacy with many stories.

Over Ms. Colgan’s career she has been recognized with many nominations and awards for her writing; Romantic Novel of the Year, Melissa Nathan Award for Comedy Romance, and Romantic Novelists’ Association award for Comedy Novel of the Year among others.

Ms. Colgan has written an impressive catalogue of stand-alone novels and many different series of stories. The Scottish Bookshop Series is a fan favorite.

Each story in this cozy series finds a woman escaping to the Scottish Highlands from the hectic environment of London. The hills and lochs and sleepy villages are a tonic to them all.

Bookshop on the Corner (Kirrinfief #1) (published previously as the Little Shop of Happy Ever After) starts with the author stating she hasn’t written a dedication at the front. She, instead, dedicates the entire book to all readers. This story is about readers, it’s about them.

Ms. Colgan has a rather lengthy message to her readers. In a detailed and hilarious way, she talks about where and when she reads. In the bath, with the temperature slightly less than the surface of the sun, she prefers to use her e-reader and she uses her “magnificent Scots-Italian Peter Capaldi nose” to turn the pages on the e-reader.

She also shares tips for using the “old-lady” sun beds with the fabric bits to cover your head. She finds the atmosphere of reading in front of a fire particularly soothing and advises if you don’t have a fireplace, light a candle. She also offered tips for reading in hospital, walking down the street, and in a hammock will have you in stitches.

In Bookshop on the Corner we meet Nina Redmond, who calls herself a literary matchmaker. She considers it her mission to pair a reader with the perfect book for them. It is her passion and it was her job. But the job as a librarian in the bustling city is no more.

Forced to build a new life for herself, she decides to move to a cozy village many miles from London. Nina buys a van and converts it into a mobile bookshop and starts driving it to the area neighborhoods. She is back in her element, changing lives with one book at a time.

Nina’s life is changed as well. She delivers a lamb for her grumpy landlord and a charming train conductor shares a picnic and woos her with poetry. Nina is finding peace, adventure, and just a bit of magic. She’s starting to feel like it’s home. Maybe she just wrote her own happy ever after ending.

Kirrinfief #2, Bookshop on the Shore lands us on Loch Ness. Single mom Lottie is desperate to get out of London. Building a new life for herself and her son Raffie is all she can think about.

Her current situation is much less than ideal with the two of them in a too expensive, confined studio apartment over a busy street with constant horns and shouting football fans that keep her son and her awake all night. Lottie’s on the verge of a total meltdown.

An advert for a nanny job in the Scottish Highlands catches her eye and on a whim, she answers it. Soon Lottie and Raffie are headed to the very north of Scotland and Loch Ness.

The job description requires someone able to care of two “gifted children” but after meeting them Lottie thinks of them as “feral wolverines” who spend their day tearing through the heather on the banks of Loch Ness. The kids are running wild in a huge rundown castle and their widowed father is a wreck.

The picturesque and peaceful loch is everything she needed and knows London is not. Lottie is determined to meet the challenges of the job and the children. Nina, the charming local bookseller, is a source of strength and motivation for Lottie. Together they support and inspire each other to live their better lives.

Ms. Colgan’s third entry in her Scottish Bookshop Series (Kirrinfief #3) is 500 Miles From You. In this story, she returns to the Highland town of Kirrinfief, the town we got to know in The Bookshop on the Shore.

Lissie lives a hectic life in the midst of the hustle of London. She’s a particularly competent nurse but underneath she’s struggling to keep it together. After helping to save a patient who was the victim of a horrific crime, she has since endured quietly with PTSD.

Lissie’s supervisor becomes aware of her problem and arranges for her to spend some time in the Scottish Highlands in the cozy town of Kirrinfeif. The change of scenery will possibly help her heal.

Lissie is swapping positions with Cormack who’s an Army veteran and the nurse/paramedic/all-purpose medical man located in Kirrinfeif. The small-town life will be a big adjustment for Lissie and Cormack’s not spent time in a big city. The swap will do them both good.

The two strangers, having never met, are in constant contact, taking care of each other’s patients, sending multiple emails about all sorts of things. Through the distant electronic universe, they are getting to know each either. There is an unexpected depth of feeling- for their profession and for each other. It could be interesting when they finally meet.

Ms. Colgan is highly passionate about reading and is eager to share her enthusiasm with readers. She wants you to enjoy her books and all books.