{"id":252462,"date":"2026-07-13T02:06:34","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T23:06:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/1kitap1.com\/en\/a-bookshop-summer-stephanie-butland\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T02:06:34","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T23:06:34","slug":"a-bookshop-summer-stephanie-butland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1kitap1.com\/en\/a-bookshop-summer-stephanie-butland\/","title":{"rendered":"A Bookshop Summer – Stephanie Butland"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Today she\u2019s wearing a black linen dress with peach flowers on it. It\u2019s crumpled to bits, but the fact that Loveday clearly doesn\u2019t care means that, somehow, she looks good. Though that might not be down to the not-\u00adcaring about her dress. It might be the fact that she got married six weeks ago, and is really, really happy. \u2018Not back at work,\u2019 Nathan says, \u2018allegedly. Our flight landed a couple of hours ago and Loveday thought we should drop in on the way back.\u2019<\/p>\n

He smiles at his wife and she smiles back in a way that gets Trixie right in the heart. \u2018We\u2019ve had an amazing time,\u2019 Loveday says, looking around, \u2018but it\u2019s good to be home.\u2019 Loveday is known for her love of personal space, but when she holds her arms out to Dorothea, that\u2019s permission for everyone. She hugs Madison, then Kelly, then Trixie.<\/p>\n

\u2018Everything\u2019s been fine,\u2019 Trixie says, and Loveday says, \u2018I know. I just wanted to see the shop.\u2019 She pauses. \u2018And all of you.\u2019 A shattered Nathan heads off shortly afterwards \u2013 \u2018I wish I could sleep on planes the way Loveday does\u2019 \u2013 and Kelly, Madison and Dorothea follow, with plans for bath-\u00adtime and story time and then, Madison says, \u2018wine for two thirds of us\u2019.<\/p>\n

Kelly laughs, and says, \u2018It\u2019s so good that you\u2019re old enough for us to drink together.\u2019 Trixie thinks of how Kelly has made her situation work, even though it began unpromisingly. Dorothea\u2019s father is also Madison\u2019s father; when Kelly and Craig were together, he had kept the fact that he was married concealed from her.<\/p>\n

And yet, she seems happy. Maybe happiness is a knack that Trixie just doesn\u2019t have, like dressing stylishly or making mayonnaise from scratch. Loveday and Trixie are left alone in the shop. Loveday checks her watch then turns the sign to \u2018closed\u2019. \u2018Would you like something?\u2019 Trixie asks. \u2018Tea? Or there are some drinks in the fridge?\u2019 Loveday shakes her head. \u2018I don\u2019t think I want anything,\u2019 she says. \u2018Except to text my mum that we\u2019re home and then sit in the reading garden and breathe.\u2019<\/p>\n

Of course, Trixie thinks, that\u2019s another thing. Kelly\u2019s dad and Loveday\u2019s mum are in a relationship. Kelly seems to have the ability to make a family; the opposite of whatever Trixie does. She thinks of Madame Bovary, the self-\u00adcentred heroine of Gustave Flaubert\u2019s novel, and tells herself not to make it all about her. Except the trouble with living your life is that it is all about you.<\/p>\n

\u2018Of course.\u2019 So Trixie potters around, tidying up and putting away, washing the day\u2019s mugs that have accumulated in the sink, and locating the books that have been bought via the website so that tomorrow she can pack them up and post them.<\/p>\n

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Author photo \u00a9 Alan Butland Stephanie Butland is the author of eight novels, including the beloved bookshop tales Lost For Words and Found in a Bookshop. Stephanie lives near the sea in the north-east of England, with her husband Alan and Harris the greyhound. She writes in a studio at the bottom of her garden.<\/p>\n

For fun, she reads, knits, bakes, walks, and goes to the cinema and theatre. Stephanie loves to talk books and meet readers, and is an occasional performance poet. Keep in touch with Stephanie on her website here on X @under_blue_sky on Facebook \/stephaniebutlandauthor and on Instagram @StephanieButlandAuthor 1kitap1.com\/en Praise for Stephanie Butland \u2018Compelling, eye-\u00adopening and heart-\u00adstirring, this book is unputdownable\u2019 Katie Fforde \u2018A beautiful writer, she always writes with such attentive compassion and warmth\u2019 Carys Bray \u2018A really delightful book .<\/p>\n

. . lots of brilliant recommendations along the way\u2019 Ad\u00e8le Geras \u2018Absolutely gorgeous . . . compelling, compassionate\u2019 Sarah Franklin \u2018A warm and moving read with the healing power of books at its heart\u2019 Kate Storey \u2018Burns fiercely with love and hurt\u2019 Linda Green \u2018This delightful, well-\u00adobserved story will captivate readers until the very last page\u2019 Candis \u2018Intriguing and touching\u2019 Sunday Express \u2018A really moving read \u2013 with great book recommendations included, too!\u2019<\/p>\n

My Weekly \u2018A beautiful book\u2019 Prima 1kitap1.com\/en By Stephanie Butland A Bookshop Summer The Second Chance Book Club Found in a Bookshop Nobody\u2019s Perfect The Woman in the Photograph The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae Lost For Words The Other Half of My Heart Letters To My Husband Non-\u00adfiction Thrive: The Bah!<\/p>\n

Guide to Wellness After cancer How I Said Bah! to cancer 1kitap1.com\/en When the Lost For Words bookshop hosts a \u2018reading aloud\u2019 book group, four strangers come together, with surprising results . . . Trixie has set up the group. She loves her job as a bookseller, and her broken heart is finally mending \u2013 or so she thinks. Then her ex calls. Cherry is only here for a break. Caring for her grandmother is exhausting and lonely.<\/p>\n

Maybe things would be different if her long-absent sister would come home. Rhiannon and Guy hit it off instantly; it feels like the start of something special. Soon she\u2019s looking forward to seeing him again. But there\u2019s something she really needs to tell him . . . From strangers to friends to maybe something more? It all starts with the love of books in this captivating, heartwarming new novel from the author of The Second Chance Book Club and Found in a Bookshop.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.<\/em><\/p>\n

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