Bookshop Review: Seahorse

A card showing the outside of the shop,
with a rather large and lovely octopus on top,
reading a book.

 A new bookshop opened near us a YEAR ago, and we finally managed a visit! 

Seahorse Bookstore is in a great location in Ardrossan, on the way to the Arran ferry terminal, Asda and Cecchini's restaurant, just around the corner from the gorgeous new veggie cafe, Moka, and with plenty of parking nearby. 

It's also close to the Ardrossan Town and Ardrossan Harbour train stations, and there are plenty of bus stands nearby.

The book shop is clean, bright and friendly, set out over three rooms - non-fiction, fiction, and kids, with a fantastic selection of modern books and classics, and with hot drinks and biscuits, and places to sit and enjoy them. It was quite busy on the day I went so I didn't take pictures in the shop, but there are pictures online here.

Things I loved included the white shelving, gorgeous little book display stands (which I think were bamboo, and which I'd love for my library - I've got plastic ones), and a great selection of beautiful, colourful, touchable books.

They have a book club on Thursdays, which reads a wide variety of great new releases and older texts.

I bought the card pictured, it doesn't name its artist. 

I also bought books: 

King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo - an author my teenage daughter cannot get enough of right now. I must say the YA section in the shop was extensive, with lots of good reads.

Blue Horses by Mary Oliver. I love Mary Oliver's poetry, and I didn't have this one yet, and look, it's so pretty!

The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter. OK, so I've read this one. First after watching The Company of Wolves YEARS ago, and then again at University reading Women's Studies, there's a reason why it's a classic. Now I want to have it nearby for when my teenage daughter runs out of reading matter!

And Still I Rise by Maya Angelou. I love Maya Angelou's writing, and her attitude, and this is a book I've wanted to have on my shelf.

Of course, this is just my selection. They sell lots of books, from a wide variety of authors, and if you can't make it to the shop, you can get them in their online bookstore here.

My young niece has also visited the shop, and she loved the children's room, so I can recommend that too!

The Seahorse Bookstore is a family run shop, and it's awesome to see a new bookshop doing well, deservedly so, with lots of thought clearly put in to book choices, comfort, and accessibility. I'll be back!