Loved it from start to finish.
The storyline was really interesting and entertaining.
I loved Sophie's character, she was hilarious and at some points I could even feel her desperation for her bookshop!

What a lovely book cover! So bright, so full of positivity. And oh, it's about a bookshop~ From the sound of 'Herring Cove', the images coming to my mind were of the sea, the beach and the friendly people residing there. It gave me the very same vibe as The Little Vintage Carousel by the Sea by Jaimie Admans, which I absolutely loved. But that's where the similarities end. I dived into this book, perhaps with too much expectation, and came out nearly struggling for breath.

Sophie is the owner of her own little bookshop situated (you know it) at Herring Cove, a little village with all the sights and ambience that have every power to pull anyone into its bubble. But there's trouble: Sophie's sales have been dropping over the years, and it doesn't look good. Overdue bills and taxes constantly nag at her mind. To make it worse, a property developer by the name of Alexander Fletcher has found himself on her doorstep, trying to get her to sell her shop. But she doesn't give up, and so Fletcher is here to stay.

The worst thing about this book is that... it doesn't make me feel anything. I was not drawn to the characters at all. Yes, there is potential in the plot. But there was no smile, no girly giggling, no butterflies and barely any sympathy from me. There was only indifference, and perhaps a little bit of annoyance. Even as a hopeless romantic, I find certain scenes and dialogues too cheesy to be natural.

Furthermore, the author's writing style isn't very compelling to me. It's like she's trying so hard to bring up emotions into her words through a 'poetic' manner, only to have them fall under the 'irritating to read' zone. Here I quote:

"...he wasn't going to go before giving Sophie fair warning of what was to come. Wasn't going to leave her without her knowing just how much she meant to him. How much of an impact she's had on him."

Sophie, for being the independent woman that she is, turns out to be rather unreliable after all. She may be independent, as they all say, but she doesn't put in a lot of effort to try to save her little bookshop (until Alexander comes along). It's like she can't even take care of herself. That's not a strong female character we have here. It's very hard not to see her as pretentious, reading all the words she has to say to Alexander as to why she refuses to sell, because I as a reader has this impression that she's not that passionate about her bookshop. Sophie also seems to have a tendency to blame someone else for her mistakes rather than to right the wrong she committed. She may be afraid, but so what? Making apologies naturally takes up courage, but that doesn't mean it's okay not to do anything about it. She's really not as mature as one might think, sadly.

And her two friends, Natalie and Ginny, are not any better. I find it very difficult to believe that not once did they tell Sophie of ways to improve her sales. One even had a secret she told neither of her friends, because she felt it was embarrassing when it could have helped Sophie all along to increase her bookshop's exposure. Come on.

In retrospect, the romance came a little too easy to be exciting. Alexander is too easily swayed. There's very little resistance on his side, unexpected for someone who grew up drilled into his life that he is a Fletcher. It's all very convenient when one would expect Sophie and Alexander to put up a lot more fight against each other instead.

All in all, a very disappointing read. However, for those who simply want a clean, easy read, this might be the book for you.

This review is written based on the ARC provided by the publisher through Netgalley.

Sphie has a book store that is slowing going under. She lives in a village where there is not a lot of tourist traffic and her debts are mounting. In addition a large corporation is buying property all around her to develop the area into a huge resort. Sophie will not sell and others in the village won't either, but they are not hanging on by a thread. Instead she does everything in her power to liven up the town, and get some good publicity for it. She is a one woman wonder and with the help of her friends manages to convince the developer to invest in the village as it is, making it bigger and better, without the resort. Amazing!

I love sweet, easy to read books with a happy ending. And this ticks all my boxes! It’s a David and Goliath story set in the peaceful village if Herring Cove. Herring Cove is potentially going to be developed into a resort and not all the villagers are keen!
It’s gentle, simple, easy to read and tranquil. Perfect summer reading!

Sophie owns a bookstore in a small English village by the sea. Alex arrives, working for his father as they buy up properties and install tourist destinations. Naturally there is a conflict between the two, even though there are sparks as well. Sadly though, I struggled to get into this story. He so quickly drops his hard edge business attitude, and helps her instead. The concept is nice, but didn't seem realistic. Also didn't like how at times I felt like I heard the author instead of the characters. Some dialog seemed a bit forced. Still though, if you are looking for a quick easy summer read, this is a nice fit. Would recommend at 3.5

A fab uplifting and romantic story. I loveddddd the setting of this novel and the cover drew me in immediately. I felt both characters complimented each other perfectly and I enjoyed reading about their relationship. This is the perfect novel to read on a rainy day or even if you're sitting by the pool!

Lovely feel good book. Great for a rainy day to curl up with. Likeable characters and the perfect seaside setting in a bookshop. The type of book you just have to read in one go. Thank you

This is such a beautiful book! I loved the main characters of Sophie and Alex and I was completely engrossed in their developing relationship. As a librarian, I'm always going to be a sucker for books that are book related and I fell in love with the bookshop. If you are looking for a happy and lovely romantic story, with a few twists - you are onto a winner here!

So what if her bookshop is not the huge success it once was; Sophie has no intention of selling out to bigwig developer Alexander Fletcher. He’s simply to good looking and to successful to trust, right? So why is she starting to develop feelings for him? Is his offer to help make her bookstore super successful too good to be true? And most important of all, can she trust him with her heart? This is a sweet, gentle little romance, perfect for those terribly imperfect days that we all seem to have

Set in Herring Cove, Sophie runs a bookshop living above where her parents used to. Her best friends Ginny and Natalie also live close by in this little seaside community.



Alexander turns up from a building company set to take over under orders from his dad. However he tries to help out Sophie after learning of her debts and later her parents deaths. As he gets to work building shelves for her the pair come to grow close talking about their lives and for Alex his love of building work his parents blatantly disapprove of.



However as Sophie refuses to leave and Alex helps her and gets to know the locals even though Natalie has agreed to sell and move for a better life he realises there's a way he could help preserve their community in its natural style and so he tries to persuade his father but after Sophie realises he knows about her money woes after she confided only about her ex boyfriend though.



As Alex heads back to London and Sophie too is left heartbroken the pair must find their way to come back together again and for the good of Herring Cove and its future without a resort destroying the natural beauty there the pair must fight his parents to achieve their mutual dream...



I was engrossed in this book and read it in one evening I was so gripped in the plot and not just because of the handsome Alex who sweeps Sophie off her feet eventually! The drama was always related to the plot developing and it did so at a steady pace instead of rushing to the point and then seeing the repercussions where as we could've seen a very different story play out indeed. It was warm, romantic and had some moments you wishes you loved there too! The ending was beautiful but you'll have to read it for yourself to find out why!



Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

I received an ARC of this book in return for an honest review. This is a gorgeous and uplifting story about love and books. This was perfect, I felt as though I had escaped to the sea side. This was a fun and charming read that I couldn’t put down. I’m always reluctant to try new authors but this book was fab and definitely didn’t disappoint. I need to find more books by Kellie Hailes.