Skip to main content

Featured

The Cotswold Christmas Bookshop by Jill Steeples #Review

I am delighted to feature another novel by Jill Steeples set in the Cotswolds. The Cotswold Christmas Bookshop, a   festive story , was published on August 31st by Boldwood Books. Isla Stewart has a glittering publishing career in London, but when she’s unexpectedly made redundant, she faces an uncertain future. Licking her wounds, Isla heads home to the Cotswolds. Keeping her devastating redundancy a secret from her proud parents, she seeks refuge at Finch’s, the enchanting bookshop she worked in as a teenager. With the owners struggling with their health, Isla steps in to manage the shop hoping to convince them that the business has a future. Isla likes nothing more than chatting to people about books, but her safe haven is soon disturbed when she comes face-to-face with her first love, Charlie Brace, made worse by the arrival of Guy Madley, the incredibly handsome property consultant who has advice for owners Jon and Miriam. As Christmas approaches, Isla has decisions...

The Lottery Win by Rosie Green #Review #LittleDuckPondCafe

 

I am delighted that it is time for another visit to the Little Duck Pond Cafe for another novella by Rosie Green. The Lottery Win is number 28 in the series which is amazing!

 
Krystle has always yearned to live a different kind of life, so when she hits the jackpot, quite literally, she's over the moon. At last she'll get the chance to live in a gorgeous house, drive the car of her dreams and maybe even track down that elusive soulmate at last! It all sounds perfect – but can reality ever live up to your dreams?


 My Thoughts

I found Krystle to be quite an interesting central character in this volume, and I was quite surprised that I had to struggle really hard to warm to her until quite far into the story. As she made one infuriating decision after another, my patience with her was really stretched! However, as I hoped, she went through quite a bit of growing up and I am sure, looked back at her choices through different eyes.

    You are also kept guessing about some of the other characters and kept in the dark about their motivations. It showed up quite clearly how difficult sudden wealth can be for people, due to other people's reactions and suddenly, Krystle struggled to know who was genuine and who wasn't. With the nearby setting of Sunnybrook and some of the familiar characters who make an appearance, this is a lovely addition to the series and fits in well with its predecessors.

 

In short: money, money, money



About the Author

Rosie’s series of Little Duck Pond Café novellas is centred around life in a country village cafe. ‘The Cheesecake Challenge’ is out now. Look out for ‘A Kiss under the Stars’, out in August 2023.

 

You can read my review of more of this series here:

 
You can follow Rosie here:   Twitter
 
Book link: Amazon UK
 
 

Thanks to Rosie Green and Rachel of Rachel's Random Resources for a copy of the book and a place on the event.  



 

Comments