Sweetshop of Dreams is a very immersive,long winded story of how a woman finds her true self and happiness in a village while helping her elderly great aunt.

As a general rule I don't "do" chick-lit these days. I find them a bit "samey". You know. Girl moves to Ireland after breakdown of relationship. Lead to believe girl is a bit dumpy and average. Girl turns out to be a stunner that bags the hottest guy in the village, but not without all sorts of complications. I'm not cynical. I just find them a little repetitive and predictable.
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In many ways, this was no different but at the exact same time it was completely different.
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Whilst the majority of the novel is written from Rosie's point of view, the narrative is interrupted with flashbacks of Aunt Lilian's story. We get excerpts from her self-published book too which are quite frankly hilarious and it captures the very essence of her. This mix of style really helps with the pace of the book which is almost 500 pages.
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I found the ending predictable but it didn't take away from the warmth, charm and sweetness of this book. Somehow, the nostalgia of childhood sweets is completely captured which makes this a truly lovely read.

*This book was received as a free Advanced Reader's copy from NetGalley.

I was in the mood for something light. Something sugary, something that was quick, fun, and delightful. This book fulfilled some of those needs, but not all of them.

Rosie finds herself in a small town, so different from London, to help out a relative who's having health problems and general just being old problems. While she's supposed to be there to get the relative right again and help her sell her business and home and move into a nursing home, once there, Rosie realizes that there are aspects of country life that are appealing, and maybe a bit tempting to keep her from returning to the city. Running the sweetshop of course, is its own appeal.

The characters are really what make this book 3 stars for me. I love the plot idea in general, the sweetshop, the mentions of candy, the snarky "excerpts" from the aunt's candy book, and a lot of other elements. But the characters can be quite frustrating. Most especially, Rosie herself. I know I have the benefit of looking on as a reader and seeing her choices from that perspective. But yikes, what terrible taste in men. And I'm not just talking about the initial boyfriend either; I felt the same by the end of the book. She lets all the good ones get away. Her aunt too had some questionable random emotional swings (the mention of the lord of the area, what was that??!!).

The sweets though, that's where it's at. I enjoyed the descriptions (and have a few sitting in my cart now to try), especially when it came to everyone's favorite candy. There were also recipes in the book, and while I probably won't try most, there was one for coconut ice that sounded easy enough.

Cute book, quick read, I just wish the characters would have been a bit more sensible.

Review by M. Reynard 2021

Jenny Colgan's latest novel gives her readers exactly what they hope for - classic Colgan stories that remind us that there's good in our world. And she does it with gentle humor and a lot of heart. Sweetshop of Dreams is quite special.

This book was received as an ARC from Sourcebooks Landmark in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book brought warmth to my heart and I could not stop reading and could not put it down. I loved the sentiment and the relationship Rosie and Lilian had when Rosie came and helped her with the Lipton Sweetshop and Rosie found that the candy wasn't the only thing that is sweet there at the shop. She grows fond of the life she has created working in the sweetshop and meets Stephen who brings more than mystery in Rosie's life and finds a new path that was unexpected. I totally can see this book becoming a Hallmark movie and I know it will have a lot of ratings to bring positivity and joy to any circumstance and that is just what the world needs right now.

We will consider adding this title to our Adult Fiction collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

I read athe orginal book when it was published in 2012. I thought maybe it had been changed so asked to read it again. It hadn't, but thtat adoesn't make it anyless enjoyable the second time around.