This book had a solid storyline with wonderful characters but I found it a bit over the top with all of the losses the two main characters experienced. It went from a horrible loss for each of them to three horrible losses. For me it made it hard to believe. I loved the inclusion of a dog, he was a sweet addition.

Many thanks to Boldwood Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

I feel much more comfortable with my Hallmark movies than having to read this again.

Unfortunately I think this missed the mark incredibly. I'm a pretty tough critic of romance novels and this one was impossible to get through.

The first character we are introduced to is Hollie. Her mother owns the Starfish Cafe in Northern England. She has a loving family and boyfriend who doesn't show her affection. Easy to tell from day one they won't last. After seeing several different years on the same Bonfire night, the POV switches to Jack who lives with his grandmother and had a tough childhood. His mother died giving birth to him and his sister has blamed him for their mother's death his whole life.

I was under the impression that the set up of this novel will be going through the years for this one bonfire night (which is how the book was set up). After skipping multiple years through Hollie's life and some of Jack's we are suddenly in the present where everything is SO SLOW. I'm talking snails pace. I had to read every single thought, flashback, action these two character do EVERY SINGLE DAY. This level of detail was so unnecessary and undoubtably the reason the novel was 400 pages long.

Also in the present both characters have lost pretty much every single person that did care about them. It makes the characters feel so in-authentic. How is it possible that these two people could literally have EVERYONE and I mean EVERY SINGLE PERSON that loved them die?? I love tragedy as trope in romance novels but in this book its just TOO much.

With such a weak start to his book, I really had to force my way through it. I couldn't find the willpower to care about the romance and not a single tear was shed from my eyes. Absolutely disappointing start to my holiday reads (which I usually incredibly look forward to).

This book might be the sole reason I am currently in a reading slump.

Jessica’s books are so lovely. I love the starfish cafe and would love to sit and have a hot chocolate and a chocolate orange scone whilst watching the waves.
Hollie runs the cafe after family tragedies have led her to be the owner.
She meets an equally fragile man Jake one night after he saves a stray dog from the beach.
They meet and their souls recognise a need in each other.
This was a lovely lovely book. Thankyou netgalley for this ARC of which I have this honest review in exchange for.

WOW, what a fantastic novel, you can't go wrong with anything that Jessica writes but this story is different but it certainly has the wow factor. It contains every emotion and boy what a surprise comes to light, just when you think things are going so well. I can highly recommend this and I wish I could give this far more than 5 stars. Well done Jessica, I personally can't wait for more of your books to be published.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Boldwood publishers for this eARC

What an emotional but heartwarming tale. There is something for everyone, dogs, romance, wood craft, photography, friendship, food, sea, fear, courage and so much more. It also make you want to look up the RNLI and do something to support them.

I loved every minute of the book, all the ups and downs, the uncertainty and the nod to those who put others before themselves. A must read.

Redland's books are a sweet escape during stressful times. Relatable and developed characters with well woven plots. This was another enjoyable read.

"With courage, nothing is impossible."
- Sir William Hillary, 1823.

The moment I saw this book up on Netgalley, I knew I had to read this and I was lucky enough to be approved.

This contemporary story is a perfect balance between happiness and sadness, written in a brilliant manner to definitely touch your heart. Her books have family at great importance and I love that. She writes and tells us the story as if it is happening in daily life of people like us. People with dreams, hope, a past that builds them up and so much more. This makes it realistic and worth experiencing.

Hollie and Jake are two people with a tragic past, they coming together, struggling to share their stories, overcoming fear and finding each other is nicely written simultaneously taking us through their story of past and present. It is like we are going through their memories both good and bad. They are rightly called kindred spirits in her book.

"Keep dancing in the rain."

This being from Jake and Hollies POV gives us so much more, shows tremendous character development, is easy to read and has a great positive impact. The struggles, past issues, pain are written in an effortless manner making sure to show it in an uplifting way. Jessica Redland gives us descriptions that puta up vivid pictures of what is going on.

Go ahead and divulge yourself in this beautiful, heartwarming romance talking about family, friendship, community and love.

Thank you Netgalley and Boldwood Books for ARC of the same.

I will read anything by this author knowing that it will be a good read but this book was something else. It was emotional, had me in tears several times, and really well written. The back and forth storyline wasn't confusing, infact it enhanced the story. Loved it!

Absolutely loved this book. It had me in tears several times. This author just gets better and better!

A wonderful and sweet story of heartache and finding new love. Hollie has had a lot of tragedy, losing those she loved, and Jake had a sad upbringing and tragedy as well. Can they find a way to give support to each other and find a path to their HEA? With the help of a lost dog Pickle they can. Really enjoyed this one, except for the back and forth in time. Got confusing at times. May just be me. Would highly recommend this one.

What a beautiful read. With the amount of heartache and tragedy in this book i thought it wouldn’t be possible to have a happy ending but my goodness the love that was still possible within Hollie and Jake was amazing. The insta love they felt for each other was totally obvious yet their hesitancy about starting a relationship after their own personal heartache was totally understandable. I loved how they took the time to get to know each other and how they acknowledged that they each had tragic pasts but were ok to not explore it straight away. They way they sorted through their own pain and took steps to be happy was lovely and discovering they had more connections than they realised. The shifting timelines added to the dramatic story telling as we as readers got to only see parts of the story and were able to see the bigger picture building.

It was a lovely heartwarming story.

I really enjoyed this. Descriptions of characters and places, allowed me to picture everything so vividly. It was heartwarming, loving and sad but all in a good way.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cozy, delightful book that really put me in the Christmas spirit.

This was one of the most beautiful books I have read and have also found a new author to me that I know am going to love. Snowflakes over starfish cafe is a beautiful portrayal of love and loss and over coming adversity to find happiness when you least expect it and how sometimes somethings in life happen for a reason. Hollie and Jake both have had to face a lot of trauma and upsetting events and challenges in their lives can things start to improve for them when their paths get the chance to cross in the form of a lost dog.

I loved the descriptions of the beach and the seaside in this book the descriptions of north and South Bay reminded me of family holidays to Scarborough when o was younger and is also a place close to my heart as my mum was born and brought up there. I hadn’t read the other books based in whites borough bay but this didn’t matter or detract from this story as could be read as a stand alone.

This book was a heartwarming. And life affirming read and will stay with me a long time and has left me with a book hangover and a warm fuzzy feeling. Once I had started reading I couldn’t put it down and read it in one sitting.

I have so enjoyed the Hedgehog Hollow series by Jessica Redland, that it was a no-brainer to read Snowflakes Over the Starfish Cafe. Especially with such an attractive cover.

This book is very well written. Apart from a couple of minor typos (sooth instead of soothe, bought instead of brought), the writing flows so well. It’s just so easy to read, and the various timings and two viewpoints work really well. That can’t have been easy!

I was drawn into the story really quickly, and I immediately liked and warmed to the two main characters. I also really liked many of the other characters, and the sense of supportive friendships. I liked the theme of slowly rebuilding after tragedies and difficulties. However, I did find it really hard watching Hollie and Jake go through so much. It makes it extra wonderful when they finally get their happy ending, but it’s a little too emotional for me.

Overall, this is another brilliant and lovely story, that will keep you turning the pages until the end. Just keep your tissues handy!

I was given a free copy of this book, my opinions are my own.

TW: death of 3 family members for each main character. Bullying of younger brother by older sister. Dog dying (old age in flashback).

I received an advance copy of, Snowflakes Over the Starfish Cafe, by Jessica Redland. I have read other books by this author and enjoyed them too. I really liked the characters in this book.

Snowflakes over the starfish cafe - I really liked the characters in this book, to begin with I thought it was not going to be my usual taste in books and everything was going to be too perfect in their lives, but the more I read I realised this was not to be the case. Some areas of the book had me laughing and some I thought were really sweet and bought tears to my eyes.
It is also informative about the RNLI and makes you appreciate how they save lives everyday.
I really enjoyed the book and would recommend it and look forward to reading the follow on from this one.
The book has a feel good factor and we all could do with reading a book like this after the year we have all had, it’s nice to lose yourself in a book like this

I loved this book by Jessica Redland, with the story of two people with trauma in their past, who want to learn to let love remove the shadows, and live for the future. Moving between the present and various times in the past, we learn the tragic events of both Hollie and Jake's lives. A sweet little dog brings them together and helps them open their hearts to each other.

As always with a Jessica Redlands book this is full of action, packs a punch and offers a nice warm hug. Loved the story and would gladly read more.

Contains minor plot spoilers

I recently came across Jessica’s work and vowed to read through her entire back catalogue, so when the opportunity came to read an advanced copy of this, I snapped it up. Any book involving Christmas and snow is always guaranteed to make me happy, and when you throw in Jessica’s naturally beautiful writing style, it’s a no brainier - and yes I did read accompanies by Christmas music in the heat of August.

It is a very contemporary story of love and loss and all the ugliness that coned with both. The lovey-doves bits aren’t sickly sweet, and the sad bits aren’t over the top. It’s like a warm hug in a book. It is fabulously festive but appropriate for all times of the year - but I have been to known to read Christmas books in the height of summer so I’m not the best judge of when to read what.

Jessica doesn’t come out and tell you everything right at the beginning. We learning more about the characters as they get to know each other, which flows really nicely.

As someone who lost her father 10 days before Christmas in 2017, I know all too well how difficult the festive period can become. Jessica finds a fight balance between a truthful heartbreak and tugging at heartstrings just for entertainment purposes.

Oh and it’s true that a dog can save you in your darkest days unlike anything else.