Cover Image: The Café at Marigold Marina

The Café at Marigold Marina

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Member Reviews

Like all of Tilly's, this was a really fun and sweet story. The characters were lovely and the premise had me hooked from start to finish. Always a pleasure returning to Tilly's stories.

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I am always ready to read a book by Tilly Tennant, whilst some of her books are better than others the characters are always friendly, warm and the books full of new beginnings. And the covers are always vibrant and inviting.

The cafe at Marigold Marina is no different. It is an easy to read book about a character moving to a small village to start a new after the death of her husband. Marigold Marina is full of lovely, funny and caring villagers ready to help Rosie. Books like this make me want to move somewhere similar and become part of a lovely little community and go sit in the cafe and enjoy tea and cake in good company.

Rosie herself is quite a timid character, but we can see her come out of her shell with the influence of those around her and Kit, who she can't help swooning over even if her heart isn't quite ready to start again.

A lovely book to read, curled up in your arm chair with a nice cup of tea.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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I did enjoy this but some of the characters were awful. Right from the start, you just new Fergus was a bad egg - so much emotional abuse. I’m glad the story ended the way it did though, which of course it always would. Tabitha was a great character. The story with Letitia was annoying and I wish Rosie had just nipped that in the bud like she wanted to.

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This book made me feel all the feels. I was already such a huge fan of Tilly Tennant and this was one of her best yet! Perfect to read on vacation or by the pool, you will not be able to put it down! 5 stars!!

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Unfortunately I think this books just wasn't really my style, the synopsis sounded interesting but it just didn't capture my attention. Thank you for allowing me to read a copy x

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Lovely sweet feel good book to read. It was a joy to read. Lovely characters. Great plot. The book was charming. Very well written. I’d definitely recommend this book. As always this author remains as one of my favourite authors

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I originally ended up DNFing this book to pick up at a later time in hope I could really connect with the story or characters.

Well, I can back to it and while it was easier to get through this time around, I still just didn’t feel that connection. I felt that the emotional abuse part was a bit oddly written, almost out of place paired with Rosie really struggling with her idea of being strong or persistent on behalf of her late husband. Which leads me to my next point of- this shouldn’t have been marketed as a feel-good romance. Is there romance? Sure, a painstakingly slow burn of one but the focus is more of Rosie moving on to her own dreams and happiness.

Not a bad book and had it maybe been more discreet of the romance advertising, I could’ve gone into this with a better mindset of expectations.

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Another brilliant book by Tilly
A lovely summer read
Lovely characters and a warm story
Can’t wait for her next book
Thanks NetGalley

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Tilly Tennant is one of my favorite author so I knew before reading this new book of hers that I was going to like it and I wasn't wrong! I loved it! It's another wonderful book by Tilly Tennant! A very heartwarming story and a lovely romance! This book is so well written and there are so much that I haven't seen coming when reading it! This book is full of surprises and mystery around some of the characters. It's a page turner, you really want to know what is going to happen! The main characters are really loveable and very well built! I am giving a 4 stars out of 5 to this book! Thank you to Tilly Tennant for always writing such good stories that are all different from one another! She has an incredible creativity ! Love it!

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Following the sudden death of her husband, Rosie finds herself in sole charge of the café they bought at Marigold Marina. Far from able to open and start making money, Rosie has channelled her grief into this place to get it up and running.

She opens the doors with thanks to a wonderful assistant, Tabitha and spends all her time in the café. That is her life but she knows there is more to that and it seems there is a glimmer of something when she meets Kit, the owner of the book barge that she can see from her little café. A friendship blossoms.

But something is not quite right an Rosie learns about her husband and a lot about the relationship they had together. It was at these moments, I wanted to cower about the way Rosie was being treated, she just could not see what was happening to her and that frustrated me beyond belief and I think that might have spoiled the book for me a bit. However, her strength she had was clearly there and with the support of the new friends she made, Rosie suddenly found the answer.

The setting of the marina, made me think we were immiedaley by the sea but were in fact on the river in Stratford Upon Avon. I think that needed to be made a bit clearer, because at times throughout the book it really felt like we were by the sea and I had to keep reminding myself we weren’t which distracted me from the book a little. The cover implies you are by the sea, with cliffs and beaches.

A easy romantic read to while away the sunny days, but I have read stronger novels from this author and perhaps would not start with this one if you are new to the author.

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

This was a light, breezy book that I thought was enjoyable to read.

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I have loved all of the books I have read by Tilly Tennant and this one is no different.

It's a great storyline and I love Rosie, she's such a lovely character. I really enjoyed getting to know Rosie and Kit and all the other characters.

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This was the first of this authors books I have read and certainly won’t be my last I have definitely found a new author. This was at times both a heartbreaking and heartwarming emotional read and I was completely invested in the story from the beginning. It was also a journey of self discovery with the main character doing a lot of soul searching to find out what she really wanted from life and how to carry on after the death of her husband and also how secrets always come out in the end. It also showed a lot of community spirit of how others look out for Each other and how with a little help from real true friends you can pick yourself back up again and how with the right people behind you you can start to feel more confident and believe in yourself again

I loved reading about the location of this book and had a picture in my head of the idyllic view Rosie had from her window and also brought back memories of a fantastic barge holiday I had many years ago.

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"There were emotions, all jumbled up inside her, so many she was overwhelmed. She couldn’t pick out a single one and feel it.

‘You said you wanted to broaden your horizons and push yourself to do new things.’ ‘I meant like trying a new flavour of crisp.’


This was an easy read, full of friendship and romance. The storyline is predictable, but sometimes that’s exactly what you want in a book - something that is just fun to read. This is a great book for carefree summer reading!

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Tilly Tennant never fails to create wonderful stories featuring interesting characters. The Cafe at Marigold Marina is yet another enjoyable read.
I enjoyed reading Rosie’s story as she begins to rebuild her life after her husband died, and begins to gain insight into how that relationship wasn’t as perfect as she believed. Rosie’s friendship with book barge owner, Kit, begins to gently unfurl into deeper feelings. We readers, with Rosie, begin to see how her late husband was manipulative, coercive and emotionally cruel towards Rosie at times, but the final straw, of infidelity, pushes Rosie beyond her limits and she retreats back to Tyneside. All the while readers, alongside many of the Marina characters, are willing Rosie to return to the Marina and follow her heart.
An original, and at times thought provoking and moving, storyline full of interesting and believable characters within a beautiful setting, topics of coercive control, emotional abuse and mental health difficulties are all sensitively handled. Although these can he ‘heavy’ topics, they do not dominate or overpower the story, simply adding texture and a deeper context to the storyline.
Once again Tilly Tennant has worked her magic & given us another fabulous read.

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This book is heartwarming and offers hope. The heroine is courageous and finds her strength. A good read. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book.

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A wonderful story about finding your truth!

Rosie is devastated after losing her husband, Fergus, and continues to open the cafe they dreamed about at Marigold Marina. As she meets the other residents and business people on the marina, she learns a lot about herself and comes to some hard realizations about her marriage.

This is a story of personal growth, strength and the power to take off the "rosie" colored glasses when you're ready. I really enjoyed it!

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, but my opinions are my own.

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This was a lovely book full of wonderful characters who all rallied round the cafe. I love books like this when the characters are so likeable and always willing to help others. I hope there is more in this series. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review..

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Tilly Tennant is one of my must-read authors, so I was keen to get my hands on her new book asap. It sounded like I was really going to love it with its riverside setting and cafe full of gorgeous offerings. Unusually, I found it took me a while to get into this story, but once hooked I was eager to follow the fortunes of its characters.


The central character in the story is recently-widowed Rosie. She finds herself living above the cafe at Marigold Marina, a river basin near to the town of Stratford-upon-Avon. Renovating the rundown cafe and opening it once again was her husband, Fergus’s, dream and she is doing her best to succeed in his memory. When it is up and running again, Rosie finds she has little time for anything else, but a distraction comes along in the shape of Kit, who owns a book barge which he ties up nearby, and his sister Tabitha, who agrees to help in the cafe. Just as Rosie is beginning to believe that she might find happiness again, she learns a shocking secret that rocks her whole world and makes her want to turn and flee. She is faced with a terrible dilemma - should she give up all that she has achieved or should she stay at Marigold Marina and perhaps find love once more?

Although I, personally, found it took me longer than I expected to get into this book, I was glad that I did and can recommend it to other readers. It has such a lovely setting right on the river and I could certainly envy Rosie waking up to that view every morning. Rosie herself was an interesting character; on one hand strong and determined in relation to her business but incredibly naive in other ways, particularly in respect to the qualities of her late husband. I certainly didn’t like the sound of Fergus. Most of the other characters at the marina were warm and welcoming, in particular Kit and his sister. I would love to catch up with them all and find out what transpired in their lives - surely the sign of a good book.

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After the small disappointment her last book meant for me, Tilly Tennant is back with one of those stories she’s made me fall in love with more than once, light and uplifting stories that will make you forget all the negativity and will imbue you with a strong sense of community.

Rosie followed her husband Fergus to Marigold Marina to fulfill his dream of running a café, and after his tragic death she felt compelled to make that dream true even though it wasn’t hers. A new arrival at the Marina will put on her way a new chance at happiness but, will she be able to move away from her grief?

Once again the setting was gorgeous and it made me wish I was living there. Most of Rosie’s new neighbors were charming and I loved how they were there for her during those hard times. I love how the author always manages to convey that sense of community where you know you can count on your neighbor no matter what.

I felt for Rosie so badly most of the time! It was really frustrating seeing her suffer when it soon becomes clear her husband was an undeserving piece of sh*t. I hated how he belittled her and then tried to justify it saying it was for her own good. He says LOVE, I say ABUSER! That part was certainly deeper than usual in this kind of stories. Though late, I was so glad when she found out his true colors, allowing herself to heal at last and start anew.

All the supporting characters were quite nice and Kit surely sounded dreamy. And to top it all he owned a bookstore! What more could a girl ask for?

Sweet and beautifully written story of love and friendship, dealing with some heavy issues, in a picturesque setting and with some lovable characters for whom you want to open their eyes to allow themselves a happy ending.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

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