diff --git a/spec/gnucash/book_spec.rb b/spec/gnucash/book_spec.rb
index 4d1f30d..ed67edf 100644
--- a/spec/gnucash/book_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/gnucash/book_spec.rb
@@ -1,24 +1,39 @@
 module Gnucash
   describe Book do
-    before(:all) do
-      # just open the test file once
-      @subject = Gnucash.open("spec/books/sample.gnucash")
+    context "with errors" do
+      it "raises an error for unexpected XML" do
+        gr = "gr"
+        Zlib::GzipReader.should_receive(:open).and_return(gr)
+        gr.should_receive(:read).and_return(nil)
+        ng = "ng"
+        Nokogiri.should_receive(:XML).and_return(ng)
+        ng.should_receive(:xpath).with('/gnc-v2/gnc:book').and_return([])
+
+        expect { Gnucash::Book.new('file name') }.to raise_error "Error: Expected to find one gnc:book entry"
+      end
     end
 
-    it "records the date of the earliest transaction" do
-      @subject.start_date.should == "2007-01-01"
-    end
+    context "without errors" do
+      before(:all) do
+        # just open the test file once
+        @subject = Gnucash.open("spec/books/sample.gnucash")
+      end
 
-    it "records the date of the last transaction" do
-      @subject.end_date.should == "2012-12-28"
-    end
+      it "records the date of the earliest transaction" do
+        @subject.start_date.should == "2007-01-01"
+      end
 
-    it "lets you find an account by id" do
-      @subject.find_account_by_id("67e6e7daadc35716eb6152769373e974").name.should == "Savings Account"
-    end
+      it "records the date of the last transaction" do
+        @subject.end_date.should == "2012-12-28"
+      end
 
-    it "lets you find an account by full name" do
-      @subject.find_account_by_full_name("Assets::Current Assets::Savings Account").id.should == "67e6e7daadc35716eb6152769373e974"
+      it "lets you find an account by id" do
+        @subject.find_account_by_id("67e6e7daadc35716eb6152769373e974").name.should == "Savings Account"
+      end
+
+      it "lets you find an account by full name" do
+        @subject.find_account_by_full_name("Assets::Current Assets::Savings Account").id.should == "67e6e7daadc35716eb6152769373e974"
+      end
     end
   end
 end