Have you ever dreamt about throwing it all in and hitting the road? That is exactly the premise of Rosie's Travelling Tea Shop, by Rebecca Raisin. Set in England, where trailers are known as caravans, this is the tale of a young woman who has been thrown over by her husband finding herself. She does so by buying a beat up trailer and following the concert route where she sells teas in the park. By the end of the first chapter you will be in love with Rosie. Raisin has great character development and Rosie, the protagonist, is a prime example of Raisin's ability to allow us to understand the character's motivations, morals, way of life and what makes her tick.

We follow Rosie's exploits as she masters the art of driving and setting up her caravan, makes a new BFF, confronts an online troll, starts a new online business and finds true love! Blue skies all around!

A nice, light read.

I received a free copy of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.

I loved Rebecca Raisin's Little Paris Collection, the stories were full of romance, heart and life lessons. So when I heard about her new book, I knew I had to read it. Rosie's Travelling Tea Shop has just about convinced me to sell up and hit the road, explore what's out there, stop feeling tied down and stop feeling like I'm not being the real me. This isn't a new feeling or thought, but after reading Rosie, part of me wonders if maybe Rebecca Raisin has been reading my mind. As Rosie says "It strikes me that we humans build these lives for ourselves that have the tendency to trap us." 

Feeling betrayed by her husband, a feeling of being stuck in her life comes to the surface and forces Rosie to reevaluate her life and what she wants from it. It often takes a massive wakeup call to get us to look at where we are and where we are going and Rosie is no exception. Except Rosie, with the help of a bottle or two of wine, buys a fushia pink campervan named 'Poppy'. Without really knowing what she's doing, but with a sense of adventure and trepidation, and a need to try something new, Rosie sets off with a vague plan to find herself, her 'real' self, as well as get away from London and the Restaurant Industry gossip. Rosie's talent is cooking and she decides that tea and comfort food will be her new endeavour.

Rosie meets some wonderful people who live their lives travelling from here to there for many reasons, over here in Australia we call them grey nomads, though many young people are starting to take up this lifestyle too, which I completely understand. I actually had no idea the nomadic campervan life was a such big thing in the UK. Its definitely one way to see and experience this big world of ours.

The two main characters she meets are Aria an absolutely fabulous young lady who instantly becomes Rosie's friend, and Max, who instantly butts heads with Rosie. These two characters will help Rosie discover who she is, but not without plenty of speedbumps along the way.

Max is gorgeous, inside and out and there were times I wanted to shake Rosie due to her bullheadedness and inability to see what was in front of her. These two had some fun moments along the way, as well as some more serious and meaningful moments. I wonder if I took up the nomadic life whether I could meet my own Max? Max however, may have a rival in internet blogger Oliver; now that's a storyline you'll need to read for yourselves.

Aria has a bookshop van, a dream I myself have mulled over (maybe I'll revisit that dream), she is so different to Rosie, but in many ways she is the same. They work together so well, I really enjoyed the friendship that formed between them. Aria is a total romantic and her van is full of romance novels, books are her life, just as food is Rosie's. "... and she takes a great big sniff, before she turns to me, her eyes bright as though she’s just discovered the meaning of life. ‘That is the best scent in the world, better than any perfume, any flower. It’s the smell of lives lived, the weight of words…’ ‘ Well, I guess I never quite thought of books that way before.’ Sure, they could transport you to another place, be there for you when no one else was, but I hadn’t quite pictured secondhand books as having lived their own important lives, being ferried from one person to the next, imparting a little magic along the way." I myself have never gotten into the whole book sniffing thing, but I do love the concept of books having lived their own important lives, and they definitely impart magic along the way, just like this book: Rosie's Travelling Tea Shop.

I received a copy of this novel via Netgalley and I give it my honest review!
Wow! An immersive, laughing from the pit of my stomach read!
I couldn't put this book down, the scenes were written beautifully I could visualise them all, and the characters were beautiful. A story full of laugh out loud moments, romance, and life changing experiences, an adventure not to be missed! I loved it!

I was lucky enough to be accepted by @netgalley to read this a month before it comes out as a e-book. There will a review on my blog next month but heres a quick review: I loved this story and wanted to join Rosie, Aria and the camper-vans. I’ve never liked flavoured teas or tea or any sort, but this story has made me really want to make some tea! This book has also got two male interests: Max & Ollie but someone has a secret, but who or is there more than one?!

Main Review:

Rosie finds out her husband is having an affair on her birthday, so she quits her sous chef job at the high end restaurant,

drinks a lot of wine one night, wakes up to find she has purchased a camper van named Poppy

Rosie decided to change her well planned life and goes travelling and sell comfort food and different tea blends.

When she pulls up to her first ever camp site, she meets Aria who is a fellow camper and uses her van as a book shop. Together, the girls bond instantly and set up businesses that go hand in hand; books (Aria’s) and food & tea blends (Rosie)

Both girls are single due to their partners, but Aria's story is completely different to Rosies's but Aria is a booklover and uses her knowledge of the romance genre to try and play cupid with Rosie and Max (Rosie's ex-husband boss).
However, Rosie is also creating a bond with Oliver, who met through the campervan forum.

Personal Thoughts:
I know I said this is my quick thoughts but, but I generally felt like I was travelling along side Rosie and Aria, going to the festivals, drinking the tea blends (which sound delicious but I can never drink them☹️) and felt like I was experiencing it all alongside them.

I really enjoyed this book. It read like I was riding along side the character. I was attached to her from the beginning and cheered her on. While there isn't a lot of depth to the plot the characters driven story line carried the book very well. I liked how it opened up the world of traveling shops and how it even has its own culture.

I would highly recommend this book for anyone in the mood for a light contemporary read about a woman learning to let go of control and how to live life in the moment.

this is my first book by this author and it was mostly an enjoyable read. it was light and cute, good for fans of lighter chick lit. a few things irked me though. i wasn't a fan of the love triangle angle, regardless of how it turned out. the romance between the two main characters was pretty disappointing, and rosie kinda got on my nerves with how clueless she was about some things. i also wish we'd gotten some sort of closure re: callum, or at least wish she'd thrown something at him when he broke up with her on her birthday. what a douche. i liked aria though. however, i think i am the only woman alive who does not find jason momoa attractive. blech.

I was looking forward to reading this book as I love the idea of being a nomadic traveller, but was a little disappointed. What started as a promising tale about the adventures of 'van lifers' became too predictable for me. Halfway through, I knew exactly where the plot was going. There were also a lot of spacing errors, which interrupted the flow of reading.

On the plus side, I did like the main characters and fell a little bit in love with Max!!

I would definitely read more from Rebecca Raisin in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC

This is my first read of Rebecca but I promise it won’t be the last. I am so pleased I agreed to take part and read ‘Rosie’s Travelling Tea Shop’ as I have thoroughly enjoyed the story where we meet Rosie, Aria, Max (the handsome Max!) amongst other quaint characters.

From the off Rosie has me literally in stitches (though I know the wine is to blame!) Her backstory is interesting and I think she’s brave and strong, more than she gives herself credit for. So of course she’s my favourite character of the book. I love how she’s made a very good friend in Aria and they travel and go on an adventure on the road together. I feel like I want to meet up with Rosie and Aria to sit in their vans and taste their tea and delicious sounding food. They battle different challenges throughout their journey, I will let you find these out for yourself but they overcome these in different ways.

To me this book is about love, friendship and to obviously to not judge a book by its cover! This book is also about going on a journey of self discovery and for life you don’t necessarily have to have a plan in place for your life to be happy and content. I wish I could give ‘Rosie’s Travelling Tea Shop’ more than 5* but I give this book 5*/5*!! 😊

Thank you to HQ Digital UK and Rebecca for an advanced copy of this book via Netgalley

I really wanted to like this book. I loved the cover and it looked like I would really enjoy the other books of the author as well. Here's what I liked about the book - the setting and the premise. The author understands story. But unfortunately, I didn't like much else. The characters seemed trite and not well-rounded. It was hard to tell who said what, since the author omitted most dailogue tags, and that highlighted how much the characters sounded like each other. There was too much internal monologue; it really felt like the book was missing an editor. This was in addition to the many typos that I tried hard to overlook.

I gave it the 3 stars because I was able to at least finish the book, and I think there is a lot of promise in the book. Unfortunately given the issues I had with this author's writing style, I won't be reading any of her other books.

This is an enjoyable, lighthearted book, perfect for fans of romantic comedies or chick lit. I’ve never read anything by this author before, but I’m likely to check out her future books. The characters are quirky, and yes, there’s a bit of predictability to the plot, but it’s a fun book with some nice visuals. A fun read overall.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy, but I wasn't required to leave a positive review.

A nice romcom with food for thoughts ! The setting is contemporary, and the characters are interesting.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This story was different to the usual self discovery trope. Rosie gets dumped callously by her partner and has no other alternative then to take a huge chance on a travelling tea shop. The steps she takes to make this work and the issues she faces are definitely believable. It makes you tempted to ditch the 9-5 existence and see if you can make a life living this way. It really does sound idyllic. It also helps that she bakes these amazing desserts that has your mouth watering throughout the whole book.
The romance side of things was a little up and down, however I'm glad it ended the way it did.

Camper vans, cakes and books, Rosie’s Travelling Tea Shop has all this and more. It’s a lovely story that I’ve enjoyed spending the last couple of days reading. I loved the plot and the quirky characters and it’s so well written you can easily envisage yourself pulling up alongside Rosie and Aria.

A fab read that I can heartily recommend. Thank you to NetGalley, HQ Digital and the author for the chance to review.

In short, I am in love with this book. I could not put it down and did not until I was done. It is a perfect cozy book for a cold winter’s day… where you stay home… with a glass and a blanket. The change in our heroine’s life is one so, so many experience, but her reaction was unexpected. It’s never too late to try something new or find the “one.” I loved not knowing what to expect and being thrilled for the HEA. I loved the writing style so much, I read another series (the wedding planner one) and am now on the next (the Paris one). Great great story—I am so thankful to have experienced it.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. Nice and simple easy read, fun and lighthearted, would recommend.

This has been a sweet easy light read, I loved the idea of starting life afresh by just travelling in a campervan, making new friends, visiting festivals/gigs so as to set up stalls to make some money, but as wonderful as it sounds I'm pretty sure it isn't as easy as that in real life.

But despite that I still fell in love with this quirky story, lots of fun & laughs to be had and the characters were a joy to get to know. I knew right from the beginning that there would be more to Ollie than meets the eye.

I loved Rosie's pink campervan, so unique and totally out there, but then I do love all things pink. There were plenty of mention of food/culinary delights throughout from both Rosie & Max, all of which sounded yummy even tbe green smoothie and cashew cheese, certainly different.

My favourite character would have to be Aria, I truly felt for her and what she'd been through and I absolutely adored the sound of her book shop in a van, what could be more perfect than that.

Oh YES, YES, YES!!! I bloody loved this.
It's made me want to jack in my job and take to the road.
Rosie drunk-buys a bright pink campervan called Poppy, and then has a big panic! Oh my gosh, what has she done! She does a bit of research, finding a Facebook group about ‘vanlife’. Here she chats to Oliver, a photographer, who has lots of tips and ideas. She forms a plan to head off towards Bristol, and then onto a book festival and from there to follow the other vans around the country. As she pulls on to her first campsite she almost runs over someone over, and as she gets out of the driver’s seat she falls over in the mud….not a good first impression. This person is Aria, who runs a travelling bookshop. They hit it off straight away and I enjoyed getting to know Aria and her reasons for travelling.
They park up side by side and team up with a book and cream tea offer. Rosie has always blended her own teas and inspired by Aria’s books she comes up with some nice flavours. ‘Cake is the 8th wonder of the world’ has to be a favourite quote. And now I can call my squishy tummy a ‘cake baby’ too!!
There are a few characters that do the rounds at the festivals and events, one such character is Max. His speciality is vegan food, and it took some convincing to get traditional chef Rosie to try out some of his food. It was delicious, and even convinced me to try out some recipes.
Rosie starts to discover her true self during this journey, leaving behind the hectic chef lifestyle in London. The beautiful countryside, sunsets and new companions all make for a great story.
Lots of laughs, food and fun. There were some serious topics brought up too, tackled perfectly.
It really is a lovely book, after reading the author’s last book I wanted to run away to Paris to become a perfumer. She really is very convincing on changing your lifestyle!
Thanks to HQ Digital and NetGalley for the review copy, in which I give my honest opinion.

A very interesting story that was not able to sustain my attention for the totality of the narrative. An admirable attempt.

I received an early preview copy of this book from Netgalley in return for an honest review.
This is the first book that I have read by Rebecca Raisin, and I really enjoyed it. I am definitely looking forward to reading more books by her.
Rosie is a perfectionist, who has made a plan and mapped out the rest of her life. Her husband has other ideas however, and on her birthday, he announces that he is leaving her for another woman.
Rosie drowns her sorrow in a few glasses of wine, and discovers that she has accidentally bought Poppy, a pink campervan, which is fitted out as a teashop. Finding herself soon to be homeless, and now with no savings after her purchase, she decides that she has no choice but to try and make it work.
She seeks advice from a forum about campervan life, and then sets off, but encounters a few setbacks along the way.
I like reading books about cafes, bakerys, tea shops etc, so I expected to enjoy this book. I have read a few books about cafes on boats or mobile trailers but this is the first one that I have read about that travels around the country. It was refreshing to read a book that features a different type of teashop, and also one that is about a Nomadic lifestyle.
This book is quirky and fun. It is a good light-hearted read. It is lovely to read about Rosie's journey, both around the country, as well as how she has to learn how to be more spontaneous, and not plan everything. I liked the characters, and their back stories, which were good to find out as the story develops.

Very enjoyable story about Rosie, a hard working Michelin starred sous-chef who is cheated on and dumped by her husband. He is also a chef and the gossip is rife in their community so Rosie decides to have a complete change after the split, as she needs to find a new home anyway. She decides that she also needs a break from her hectic life so she ends up buying a bright pink camper van called Poppy, hands in her notice at her job, and heads off into the sunset to sell comfort food at festivals around the country.

This decision may have been drink fuelled(!), as she didn't initially remember even buying Poppy until it's previous owner turned up to deliver it, but it was the best decision she ever made. It was a steep learning curve, driving a van around the country, living and cooking in a small space, and trying to make ends meet. But she made some lovely friends (Aria and Max) and found romance and a new life along the way, albeit with a slightly mysterious email 'friend' helping her along the way.

There was a lovely feeling to the whole book and I really enjoyed Rosie's journey, and absolutely loved Max!