The Cornershop in Cockleberry Bay by Nicola May #Repost #Review #Interview #Excerpt

 

Can you believe it is five years since Nicola May's The Cornershop in Cockleberry Bay was published? I am delighted to join in the celebrations and to repost my review.  I have also had the opportunity to feature an extract and an interview with Nicola. If you want to read these, just follow the links below. 

author interview  |  excerpt

First, here's a little about the book: 

 
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 Thoughts

 This is an entertaining and fun read with some great characters and a wonderful setting. What more can you want? There is a secret at the heart of the story and all the way through you are trying to guess who might be involved in it. Rosa is an interesting central character, with her difficult childhood which has affected her development as an adult without doubt. She has lots of layers, from the slightly spiky front she presents to the world, to the caring friend she turns out to be. She faces a challenge in setting up the shop and get it up and running and she certainly does not lack courage in giving it her best.

    The beautiful setting is always present in the story and is such a contrast to the London life which Rosa lived before. She has to learn how the village community operates and quite quickly gets the measure of some of the locals, although it is quite a painful learning process at times. With the adorable Hot, her rescued sausage dog, the comedy potential is high. Being a romcom, there are several contenders for romance but who will win the day? Read it and find out!

In short: a quirky heroine and a pacy plot- great fun!

About the Author

Nicola May is a rom-com superstar. She is the author of sixteen romantic comedies, all of which have appeared in the Kindle bestseller charts. The Corner Shop in Cockleberry Bay became the best-selling Kindle book in the UK, across all genres, in January 2019, and was Amazon’s third-bestselling novel in that year. It spawned three sequels, followed by the hit Ferry Lane Market trilogy.

 You can follow Nicola here: Website   |  Facebook   |  Twitter 
                                             |  Instagram

Book links: Amazon US   |  Amazon UK   |  

Thanks to Nicola May and Rachel of Rachel's Random Resources for a copy of the book and other information and for a place on the event.