My rating: ★★★☆☆
Goodreads: 4.16/5
Genre: Romantic Fiction > Contemporary romance
Fiction > Modern & contemporary fiction
Nicola May describes her writing as Chic Lit with a kick!
Synopsis
Rosa Larkin is down on her luck in London, so when she inherits a near-derelict corner shop in a quaint Devon village, her first thought is to sell it for cash and sort out her life. But nothing is straightforward about this legacy. While the identity of her benefactor remains a mystery, he - or she - has left one important legal proviso: that the shop cannot be sold, only passed on to somebody who really deserves it.
Rosa makes up her mind to give it a go: to put everything she has into getting the shop up and running again in the small seaside community of Cockleberry Bay. But can she do it all on her own? And if not, who will help her succeed - and who among the following will work secretly to see her fail?
There is a handsome rugby player, a sexy plumber, a charlatan reporter and a selection of meddling locals. Add in a hit and run incident and the disappearance of a valuable engraved necklace – and what you get is a journey of self-discovery and unpredictable events.
With surprising and heartfelt results, Rosa, accompanied at all times by her little sausage dog Hot, will slowly unravel the shadowy secrets of the inheritance, and also bring her own, long-hidden heritage into the light.
My Review
This is the first Nicola May book I have read. I was attracted to this book as it was based in Devon - all be it a fictitious Devon place but, I love a bit of fiction based in my home county. The reality is that Cockleberry bay could have been any seaside town setting, there was nothing for me that made it specifically Devonian other than the mention of Exeter!
After reading this book I have quite mixed feelings about it and have found it rather difficult to write my review.
On one hand I wasn’t gripped, I didn’t feel I needed to pick the book up to find out what happened next. I was left a little uneasy by the way in which the author handled the rape story-line, maybe I do it a grave injustice and it portrays the victims well, alcohol was involved so maybe they felt they would not be believe, but I did feel like it was depicted like it didn’t matter that it had happened, that it was almost brushed under the carpet and that just does not sit right with me.
On the other hand, I quite enjoyed it, the brash ungrateful main character who I did not overly like to start with grew on me into a lovable, caring character. It was an easy read, packed with quirky characters, some you grew to love, others you detested.
It had some fantastic quotes, ‘Sometimes in life, if you don’t know what to do: do nothing, say nothing and the answer will come to you. You are blessed’ or my favourite one being ‘love is friendship set on fire.'
The story also came to a nice end and would work as a stand-alone book so I’m intrigued to know were the author will take the next book in the series. I’m however, not excited enough to rush out and purchase it. I feel quite deflated that I don’t have the inclination to add to my TBR pile. If I came across it second hand or as a cheap deal on kindle then I probably would pick it up but it would still not be a priority to read.
To sum up I suppose overall it had a good story line, the mystery behind the inheritance and the journey of self discovery make a nice, easy read, but for me, I’m in no rush to re visit Cockleberry Bay and its characters.
I would love to know what other people thought, did you enjoy it or did you have mixed feelings like me?
Your review mirrors my thoughts about it but I know many who love the full series.
ReplyDeleteWhen i feel a bit impartial to a book i find it really difficult to write a review, i just try and be honest. We all can't like the same books and I believe we all can interpret books differently which is part of what i love about reading and reviewing, it's really interesting to hear other people's views. thank you for you comment.
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