Skip to main content

Featured

'Tis the (damn) Season by Fiona Gibson #Review

  Festive reads continue with Fiona Gibson's 'Tis the (damn) Season, published by Boldwood Books.   This year, their families can deck the bloody halls themselves... Old friends Shelley, Lena and Pearl have reached their limit with the festive preparation that has always fallen to them, and five days before Christmas, they’ve booked a mini break… without their families. Up until Christmas Eve, they’ll be sipping prosecco in the Highlands while their kids wrap bacon around 100 chipolatas and their partners brave the supermarkets. It’s exactly what they need… until they’re snowed in. Facing the prospect of Christmas 500 miles from home, each woman is forced to confront her real reasons for needing to escape: the fiance with the obnoxious family; the son’s new girlfriend who is taking over their home; the family who take their mother for granted all year round… Will the friends make it home before Christmas day? And if they do, can they really go back to their old lives?

Spring Tides at the Starfish Cafe by Jessica Redland #Review


 Jessica Redland's
Spring Tides at the Starfish Cafe is the latest of her novels to be set in Whitsborough Bay. It was published by Boldwood Books on  April 5th. 

Welcome back to the Starfish Café - where you will find stunning views, delicious food and lifelong friendships.

A new season...


As winter turns to spring, Hollie - owner of The Starfish Café - is feeling content as she settles into her new life with her loving boyfriend, Jake, and their adorable dog Pickle.

But when an unwelcome visitor threatens the future of her café, Hollie must stay strong to protect her family's legacy...


A leap of faith...

Emerging from an unhappy relationship, Tori finds herself with nowhere to stay and nobody to talk to. The long-hidden secrets of her past weigh heavily on her until a chance encounter with Finley, struggling to come to terms with his own secrets, provides an opportunity to open up.

Can she find the strength to stop hiding from her past and face up to her family? Especially when that would mean letting her guard down and learning to trust again...

A fresh start...?

Little do Hollie and Tori know that their lives are about to collide at The Starfish Café and they may be able to help each other with a fresh start. After all, with good friends in your life, nothing is impossible...

 

My Thoughts

 I love the setting of this Starfish Cafe series with all the sights and sounds of the Whitsborough Bay coast. By this book, I knew Hollie's back story and ! did think that although you can read this as a standalone, you get more out of it if you have read its predecessor. I also enjoyed meeting up with some familiar characters from other Whitsborough Bay stories and seeing what they had been getting up to!

Tori and Finley are certainly an interesting couple with some surprising secrets from their pasts. There are several story strands to follow as lives overlap but family and friendship, with a community feel are strongly there. You are definitely invested in the fate of the Starship Cafe and the decisions which Hollie has to make. Although this is an uplifting story, it does have a few darker moments as certain characters come to terms with unhappiness and childhood bullying.  Roll on Book 3!

 

In short: New starts for some, old ties for others. 

About the Author


Jessica Redland is the top 10 bestselling author of over thirteen novels, including The Secret to Happiness. Inspired by her hometown of Scarborough she writes uplifting women’s fiction which has garnered many devoted fans.

 

You can follow Jessica here: Twitter   |  Facebook   |   Website 
   |  Instagram  |  Blog   |  Bookbub   |  Mail list sign up
 
Book links: Amazon UK 
  
Thanks to Jessica Redland, Boldwood Books and Rachel of  Rachel's Random Resources for a copy of the book and a place on the tour.  
 
            Don't forget to take a look at these great bloggers!
 

 

Comments

  1. Thank you for taking part in the blog tour for Spring Tides at The Starfish Café and for sharing your thoughts on the book. Really delighted you enjoyed it so much :-)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment