One of the many things to enjoy when reading Jenny Colgan’s novels that are all set in the United Kingdom are the specific locations, each one unique and described so thoroughly that we feel as if we are there. So in “Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop,” we are transported to Edinburgh, Scotland, and Colgan’s narration is enticing and filled with enough details about the beauty and charm of Edinburgh that readers will want to book their next trip there.

This novel is the sequel to “The Christmas Bookshop,” which is a sweet story about Carmen Hogan, who was let go from her job as a shopgirl and found employment with Mr. McCredie at his Old Town bookshop in the old part of Edinburgh. The street it’s on is charming, with a hardware store down the street, a posh clothing shop, and even a magic shop with a resident witch. When she lost her job, Carmen had moved in with her older sister, Sofia, and although Sofia’s house is large, there are Sofia and her husband and their four children. It’s a lot, and it was meant to be temporary. Carmen’s love interest from the first novel is a PhD student from Brazil, and his name is Oke. While they are not together for most of this story, we know what is happening to them through the narrative.

Unless you’ve read the first book, this book might be a bit confusing. There’s just not enough space in the story to include all the important elements from the first novel, and while Colgan does explain the relationships, the depth suffers a bit. But what Colgan does manage to do is, again, charm us with the diverse characters, the improbable situations, the spark of good in even the worst of jerks, and people who are just trying to do the best they can. Carmen is a perfect example of a main character whom we don’t love, while we can still empathize with her situation. She makes poor decisions, and at times, she is extremely childish and petty, but at core, Carmen is a good person who just wants a family of her own.

In this story, the bookshop is doing poorly. Carmen needs to move out of Sofia’s house because Sofia is hiring a nanny and going back to work. Carmen can’t afford to live in Edinburgh on what she’s paid. And Mr. McCredie has decided his life’s ambition is to visit Antartica, and he’s desperate to find the money to embark on this incredible—and very costly—voyage. Colgan’s descriptions of the way the bookshop’s back area tunnels into the cliff at the base of the Edinburgh castle is fascinating, as is her depiction of the whole of McCredie’s house. It’s really almost magical, and her descriptions are lovely. And how Carmen manages to solve everyone’s problems, including her own, is pretty magical as well.

As in all Colgan’s books, there is a happy-ever-after. Carmen gets what she really does deserve (which we knew she would). These books aren’t mysteries where we wonder how it will all end up. We know that the ending will be as warm and satisfying as a thick comforter on a cold Scottish night. The fun is in the journey.

This review was first posted on Bookreporter.com.