MILLY JOHNSON SAYS: ‘A SUNNY, FUNNY, LOVELY STORY GUARANTEED TO WARM THE COCKLES OF YOUR HEART’ “This book is so addictive that you will literally lose 3 hours of your life, and you won’t care!” Cara’s Book Boudoir “It’s one of my favourite books of this year so far.” That Thing She Reads“Incredibly well written, this book has completely got under my skin, highly recommended.” Top 500 reviewer“I … 500 reviewer
“I found this to be an enjoyable, fun, edgy and not your normal light and fluffy chick lit read – more please!!!” Goodreads
Praise for Nicola May’s other books
‘This book will twang your funny bone & your heartstrings’ – Milly Johnson
‘A fun and flighty read’ the Sun
‘A funny and fast-paced romp – thoroughly enjoyable!’ WOMAN Magazine
‘One of those books that I can’t stop thinking about way after I’ve read it! Kim The Bookworm
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.
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The Corner shop on cockleberry bay
Thank you to the author, publisher, and Rachel’s Random Resources for this ARC. This is my honest opinion.
When I had gotten the email about a blog tour for this book, I knew I just had to read it. Why you may ask? Well, Rosa has her very own Dachshund named Hot. As a Dachshund lover, I just had to give it a go. (Tank’s a Dachshund, too. He is just bigger and hairier than most )
We weren’t disappointed. The book is set in Cockleberry Bay where everyone knows everything about everyone. Yet there are still secrets being kept that will turn this little town upside down. The biggest surprise is when Rosa inherits the corner shop and moves in from London. Rosa thinks she is pretty worldly because she has had to fend for herself since she was a little girl. It was interesting to watch her open up and develop new meaningful relationships. Rosa herself was a tough one to like. Besides being a dog lover, she had made some shaky decisions in the beginning that I couldn’t get behind. But she grew on me as the story unfolded.
The story itself had lots of twists and turns. Some of them were easy to see coming and some were unexpected. Overall, I had an enjoyable experience reading it. It was one of those books that left me pondering about it for the rest of the day.
It definitely gets a 4 paw rating as it had suspense, romance, character growth, and of course a Dachshund!
Trigger warning: This book touches on rape and alcoholism.
~4.5 STARS~
Rose is having a bad day…she has lost her job. But, it isn’t all bad. She just found out she has inherited a shop in a Devon. When she returns to the home she shares the news with her roommate and sometimes hookup, Josh, he encourages her to go for it. She has no clue how very much this decision will change her life.
Rose is a complicated woman. She has had a hard life, not knowing her birth parents, and living most of her life in foster homes. Yet, she finds a way to survive and attempts to make her life better. She gets that chance with her Corner Shop. Yes, there is some romance in it, but this is a story about Rose and her discovering who she really is.
I had no idea when I read the synopsis that Marsh would have so many hidden gems and mysteries tucked within the pages. I could go into them, but I’m not. I don’t want to ruin a thing about this book.
This is a lovely, charming book with fantastic characters. Thank you, Nicola May, for taking me away from reality for just a bit and spend it in the lovely village of Devon!!!
***Read and Reviewed for Devilishly Delicious Book Reviews***
Favorite Quotes:
Brian, my late husband, passed just last year… he was a miserable old bugger and I had a face-lift and my teeth done with one of his insurances, which helped numb the pain slightly.
You’ve obviously already realised that you can’t do a silent fart around here without it being in the South Cliffs Gazette.
I refuse to answer that on the grounds of sexual discrimination.
Meet me where the sky touches the sea.
My mum always says, “Follow your heart, but don’t forget to take your brain with you”. About men, she has another saying: “Keep their stomachs full and their balls empty,” but that’s not quite so poetic, is it?’
A boomerang always returns to the person who throws it. Karma will get him in the end.
My Review:
This was my first time reading the talented and witty Nicola May, although reading her clever arrangements of words will most likely become a habitual practice. I frequently smirked and occasionally cringed as her writing has a bit of everything, entertaining and engaging storylines, saucy banter, amusing humor, witty quips, adorable animals, heartbreak, painful insights, duplicity, and most importantly – quirky and endearing yet flawed characters who could have a college degree in bad decision making. Ms. May cunningly captured both the good and bad elements of small-town living from the predatory abuse of gossip and intimidation, pettiness, and snooping; to the empathetic and caring concern, supportiveness, and comradery in times of need. I fell in love with a tiny dachshund cleverly named as Hot Dog, as he was stolen as well as a sausage. I hope Ms. May brings us back to this quaint little town; there would be no shortage of peculiar characters to adventures to annotate. Which brings me to the new addition to my Brit Vocabulary Word List of full-on (maximum) and chuffed (mightily pleased). I would be full-on chuffed to return to Cockleberry Bay.