The Bookseller's Gift

Catherine and her mum Ann have decided to live their dream, by opening a bookshop on Ireland’s west coast. But at Christmas, when disaster strikes, it looks like they’ll have to close for the year’s most important shopping week. They’ve been working so hard they’ve barely had time to get to know their neighbours, but builder Fury O’Shea and his dog The Divil, who come to the rescue, open their eyes to the stunning Finfarran peninsula, and what it really means to live a dream.

Fury has his own troubles though. The forest his family has maintained for generations is being sold off and, feeling old and tired, he hasn’t had the strength to resist. But nothing’s going to stop him making his annual gifts of Christmas trees to his neighbours and, seeing devastation in the bookshop, he gives the largest tree to Catherine. Setting aside his own disaster, he undertakes to repair the damage while keeping the bookshop open by constantly moving the tree to hide the chaos.

The tree becomes the focus of a celebrity cookbook signing, a visit from Santa, late-night shopping, and charity carol singing. The bookshop is the background for family tensions, revelations, and reconciliations – and for Catherine’s tentative relationship with Donal, a volunteer in Lissbeg Library. And, ultimately, Fury’s forest becomes the magical setting for a romance which by Christmas Day will transform his life and those of star-crossed couple Adam and Lia who, up to now, have been chasing dreams in all the wrong places.