Twinkle Twinkle, Little Bar by Isabella May #Review

 

I am happy to be featuring Isabella May on the blog today with her latest novel, Twinkle Twinkle, Little Bar.  I thoroughly enjoyed Isabella's Costa del Churros , Oh! What a Pavlova, The Cocktail Bar, and The Ice Cream Parlour and Bubblegum and Blazers.

 River and Alice miss Somerset. Christmas isn’t Christmas without family and friends, even when you live in quaint Cornwall.

When River’s Aunt Sheba dies unexpectedly, leaving him her ancient VW campervan, nostalgia nudges him and Alice back to Glastonbury - and the surrounding villages - to rediscover their roots whilst serving the most decadent hot chocolate and delectable gingerbread from their renovated ‘bar on wheels’.

A bar on wheels complete with a fold-up stage to host local talent competitions rivaling anything Simon Cowell could dream up, even if he’d gorged on a truckle of Cheddar cheese!

As the villagers sip their cocoa and ice their gingerbread houses amidst the festive backdrop of song, dance, and slightly more unconventional talents, River and Alice find themselves in an unexpected race against time:

Zara, their chocolate supplier is leaving Glastonbury on the twelfth day of Christmas, keen to put a string of disastrous relationships behind her to make a fresh start.

Bruno, their gregarious and gorgeous baking supplier is secretly smitten with Zara - ticking every box on her New Year’s wish list.

If only they can get them together for one experimental kiss under the mistletoe...

They’ve even enlisted their customers’ help in their mission to wrap this budding romance up in all the jingle bells and whistles. How hard can it be?

So, ho, ho VERY tricky, as it turns out...

 My Thoughts

It was great to meet up with River and Alice who first featured in The Cocktail Bar, In this festive read, you follow them back from Cornwall to their beloved Glastonbury, via a tour around Cornwall in their quirky camper van. Cue descriptions of the most delicious festive food which they sell at their pop-up van. Gingerbread, in all its incarnations and the most appetizing hot chocolate drinks mean that you are permanently hungry as you read this book! 

    As River and Alice travel around, you meet up with a whole crowd of individuals who are full of heart and humour. I also enjoyed Zara and Bruno's friendship (if you can call it that) as Zara works her way through her issues and Bruno is a little perplexed at how every meeting seems to end up in disaster, despite their obvious chemistry. Romance, humour and a huge dollop of Christmas mix together to cook up a delicious festive read.

In short: A festive journey

About the Author

Isabella May lives in (mostly) sunny Andalusia, Spain with her husband, daughter and son, creatively inspired by the mountains and the sea. She grew up on Glastonbury's ley lines and loves to feature her quirky English hometown in her stories.

After a degree in Modern Languages and European Studies at UWE, Bristol (and a year working abroad in Bordeaux and Stuttgart), Isabella bagged an extremely jammy and fascinating job in children's publishing... selling foreign rights for novelty, board, pop-up and non-fiction books all over the world; in every language from Icelandic to Korean, Bahasa Indonesian to Papiamento!

All of which has fuelled her curiosity and love of international food and travel - both feature extensively in her cross-genre novels, fused with a dollop of romcom, and a sprinkle of magical realism.

Isabella is also a Level 4 Pranic Healer and a stillbirth mum.

You can follow Isabella here: Website| Twitter| Facebook 

                                             | Instagram | 

Book link: Amazon UK

Thanks to Isabella May and Rachel of Rachel's Random Resources for a copy of the book and a place on the tour.

Check out the rest of the tour!