This was my first Jenny Colgan book and it was utterly delightful to read, pure indulgence from start to finish. From the moment I sunk my teeth into this story, much like biting into and savoring a sweet pastry, I was filled with joy and contentment.

This was a charming story about finding yourself, romance, second chances, and of course...sweet treats!

A story that centers around starting over and self discovery is one of my favorite types of stories to read, and I enjoyed following the main character along each step of the way on her path to new beginnings.

This charmingly light hearted story was funny and romantic and I was engaged with both the plot and characters throughout the entirety of the story.

If you are a fan of rom coms, drama, romance, second chances, have a sweet tooth, and enjoy stories that remind you that it’s never too late to start over again, then this is the perfect book for you!

Rosie leaves London and her boyfriend and goes to Lipton to help her great aunt Lilian with her sweetshop. This book was a bit slow in places. There were parts that were confusing because the timeline had went back to the 1950s to when Lilian was younger. I didn't feel much of a connection to the characters. Thanks to NetGalley and publisher SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Sweetshop of Dreams by Jenny Colgan is a perfect sweet-filled getaway to the English countryside in the small town of Lipton. Following Rosie, as she moves from the big city to take care of her ailing elderly great-aunt and deal with her estate and dilapidated sweetshop. Told in dual timeline narratives between present day Rosie and her great-aunt Lilian in the 1940’s, the story slows effortless and you can’t help but being swept up in the nostalgia of Lilian and the self-discovery of Rosie.

Of course, in true Colgan fashion, there is a charming romance to be discovered. The romance can only be realized of course once Rosie comes into her own and undergoes character growth. I enjoyed all the townsfolk, the small town dramas, and the levity of Rosie’s big city ways clashing with farm life.

The one relationship that gave me pause was between Rosie and Stephen.. as a nurse myself I’m not really a fan of relationships that start out like this. I’ve seen it time and again in various novels and it always feels uncouth.

Overall a very enjoyable, pleasant novel that is an escapist read, featuring strong female characters who overcome challenges and grow as characters.

Thank you very much Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for access to an e-copy of this book in exchange for review. It publishes April 13, 2021!
3.5⭐️

Jenny Colgan strikes again! Her stories transport you to amazing places and just make you feel good. Lillian was wonderful and the entire story was just enjoyable.

This was such a cute read. Feel good, warm and fuzzy romance set in an idyllic English village. I love that each chapter started out with a bit about English sweets- inspired me to order a basket of vintage sweeties to try some out!

The story moved well between Lillian and Rosie and their present and Lillians past. I love Lillian’s spunk and love the relationship that formed between the two women!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

I read this book when it first came out in 2012 and loved it. Jenny Colgan is my favorite author and I look forward to reading more of her works!

I received an advance copy of, Sweetshop of Dreams, by Jenny Colgan. This is a really good book. It goes back and forth different generations. I liked the recipes in the book too.

Oh, Jenny Colgan, you did it again. Even though this book isn’t set in Scotland, or on a remote island off the coast of England, but instead in the English countryside, it’s just as delightful and charming as any of your other work. And how can one not love a book centered around a sweet shop, my second favorite place after a bookshop? So yeah, this book has everything: gorgeous countryside, adorable village, quirky and fun supporting characters, and of course the heroine for the modern age, filled with spunk, sarcasm, and love. As ever, I swallowed this book in 24 hours and loved every moment,

I have put down and picked up this book so many times that I know I will never finish it. The characters irked me, the descriptions of sweets got old quickly, and I didn’t like the dual timelines at all.

I tend to gravitate towards Jenny Colgan's books when I am in need of a bit of comfort and Sweetshop of Dreams was perfect for that! It has everything I want and expect from a Colgan novel: a quaint village setting, colorful characters, and a dream job (who doesn't want to run a candy shop?).

A bit unusually for a Colgan novel, Sweetshop of Dreams has dual past and present timelines. This was a wonderful narrative choice, because the reader got to know Lilian and her story before Rosie truly did. The relationship between Rosie and Lilian was so well done - both women are incredibly feisty and stubborn, but Rosie was able to break through Lilian's shell built from years of heartbreak. There was a romantic element for Rosie, but I appreciated that it was not the focus of the book. A much stronger emphasis was given to the relationship between Lilian and Rosie, which, in a way, was it's own sort of love story.

As a wonderful addition, Colgan starts each chapter with a snippet from a book about sweets that Lilian had written in her younger days. In Lilian's signature snarky tone, I found these hilarious and one of the highlights of the book.

I enjoyed every moment of this book. It may have been my favorite novel by Jenny Colgan yet! I highly recommend giving it a read! My thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Adorable and fun, including the recipes! A sweet book that flips between two time periods (present day and WWII) interesting and easy to follow. A nice respite from the already crazy year of 2021!

Two story lines in two different time periods and thankfully they came together just perfect at the end. Lillian is an elderly woman who never left the hometown that she was born and raised in and never married, she tells her story of her adolescence and young adulthood in this small town. Rosie is her niece and has moved to this small town to help her great-aunt settle her affairs and move her into an elderly home, she may fall deeply in love with this small town.

I loved the mix of historical as Lillian's story was in the middle of war time as the men are being called to fight and the modern storyline with all the fantastic feels of a small town just trying to make it by. Rosie was a fantastic character to tell her story, she wasn't too whiny and showed resilience and tenacity. It was easy to want to root for her and hope that she finds happiness.

My one hiccup with this book was the repetitiveness at times. There were a few moments where I felt like the author copied and pasted and it made me feel like as a reader I was being reminded a few too many times how the character was feeling.

Charming, cute, slightly predictable, with candy recipes. Very sweet (ha!) with dry humor and readability. Not fine fiction, but an enjoyable read, a good respite, much like the other Colgan books I’ve read. Flipping between two time periods (present day and WWII) was well done and easy to follow. A good break from current day doom and gloom

Another "sweet" story from Colgan. Love how she sets her stories in small English villages where everyone knows everyone and welcome new community members. The flashbacks in this story do a good job of complimenting the main narrative and giving an explanation for why things are as they are.

A sweet rom-com in which Rosie, an auxiliary nurse who lives in London with her lazy boyfriend, finds a chance at new life in an unexpected place. She goes to the small country village to help her aging Aunt Lilian, who needs to sell her house and candy shop and go to a nursing home for care. A dual timeline flips between the present and the 1940s, when Lilian was young and attractive and had a crush on Henry. The story lags at times and Rosie and Lilian can both be annoying as they adjust to each other. But they grow on each other and on us, and as their stories unfold, we’re taken by the lush descriptions of the countryside, mouthwatering mentions of every candy imaginable, and the joys and heartaches of romance. A warm and cozy escape!

Note: This is the newest edition of the book, released originally as “Welcome to Rosie Hopkins' Sweetshop of Dreams” in 2012.

4 of 5 Stars
Pub Date 13 Apr 2021
#SweetshopOfDreams #Netgalley

Thanks to the author, Sourcebooks Landmark, and NetGalley for the ARC. Opinions are mine.

So, this is sweet and cute, but this is also an old book. Released quite a few years ago, so I’m guessing this is just a re-release? The story is gentle and sweet, so it’s a nice read with not too much drama (IMO).

So incredibly adorable and a perfect antidote to 2020! Loved Stephen and Lilian and their chemistry! The way food and rom-com mixed was just everything I wanted!!

Thank you to Net Galley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the advanced read!

What a sweet book - no pun intended!

Rosie Hopkins thinks leaving her busy London life, and her boyfriend Gerard, to sort out her elderly Aunt Lilian s sweetshop in a small country village is going to be dull. Boy, is she wrong.

Lilian Hopkins has spent her life running Lipton s sweetshop, through wartime and family feuds. As she struggles with the idea that it might finally be time to settle up, she also wrestles with the secret history hidden behind the jars of beautifully coloured sweets.

This delightful story is exactly what I needed - light hearted and funny with relatable characters. I was already a fan of Jenny Colgan and this book did not disappoint. A very pleasant, enjoyable quick read.

Told in alternating time periods, from both Rosie and Lillian's perspectives, this is a story that will require a lot of willpower to read.....not because it's terrible, but because you'll be reaching for a new candy every page or so! The book begins with a simple request to go look after a family member, but as they get to know each other, Rosie and Lillian share their experiences and learn from each other. Lillian's story takes place in the 1940s and involves a lot of tragedy, as per the period. There's so much history here tucked into a fictional story that will keep you reading until the very end...

This book felt strangely familiar in points, but I believe it's a re-release of a title first issued in 2012 under a slightly different name. Regardless, it was indulgent and sweet (all puns intended) told with humour and heart. Colgan has taken an ordinary sleepy little village with it's farmers, crotchety old folks, and peculiar locals, and made it a place of dreams and belonging. This was my first read of 2021 and I couldn't have started it off with a better mix of all the delights that make for an enjoyable and well-paced work of romantic comedy fiction.

My thanks to the publisher for granting my wish for this title and providing a complimentary copy for review via Netgalley.