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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I always love Jenny Colgan (and in fact, I ordered this one from the UK because it didn't have a US release date yet!). She writes such delightful, smart women, and the slight edge of humor keeps her books from being too twee. I also really enjoyed the subtle callbacks to characters from other books. And of course the small-town Scottish setting never disappoints.
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
medium-paced
Such a cute and fun read. Thank you to hodder and Jenny Colgan for the ARC copy via NetGalley.
This book follows Janey and her daughter Essie as they try to overcome their rocky relationship.
Essie grew up in a small town with her parents and brother with a goal of leaving the small town behind. Life in Edinburgh is exactly as she hoped, it’s beautiful and it’s perfect. She has a great home and the perfect boyfriend and what she thought was the perfect job until one day that job isn’t as stable as she once thought leaving Essie to go back home.
Janey loves her life and loves her job. Shes finally settled into a lovely home after the end of her marriage. The only thing niggling at her is her broken relationship with her daughter that she wishes she could fix.
When Essie arrived back home there’s attitude, snarky comments and bitterness but Janey pushes past all that and still continues to try.
I wasn’t a fan of the way Essie was treating Janey and pretty much everyone in the place she grew up. She seemed so stuck up at times it was irritating but other than that it was enjoyable.
Seeing Janey and Essie’s story move along the way it has, has been so lovely. Watching their relationship mend and their bond strengthen was beautiful.
Jenny Colgan brought us a lovely warm hearted read. It was a fun and meaningful read.
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for this ARC.
Essie Munroe who lives in Edinburgh, suddenly gets fired from her job and moves back in with her mother Janey who is an audiologist, leaving behind boyfriend Connor. Like in Summer Skies and Close Knit, the action takes place in Carso, a small town near the sea in the north of Scotland, in the beautiful Highlands, described so vividly, that I, a content Londoner, immediately wanted to move there, for the views, the animals and the close-knit community. As love interests, we meet Dwight, an aspiring property developer, and Lowell, an architect with a deaf daughter.
This is a gentle, character-led story which bumbles along quite nicely until there is a bit of drama inserted with a Ponzi scheme, and a fax machine takes centre stage. It's a funny, uplifting easy read with plenty of cute dogs but I had a bit of a hard time warming up to Essie who often acted like a stroppy teenager. Both slow-burn romances commenced nicely though.
What I love is that Jenny Colgan never just concentrates on a couple of main characters - we meet the whole eccentric community to really round out what it's like living there. I will always read everything Jenny Colgan writes as she has an effortless writing style that gives her wonderful characters enough space to shine while still making sure there is a plot.
Essie Munroe who lives in Edinburgh, suddenly gets fired from her job and moves back in with her mother Janey who is an audiologist, leaving behind boyfriend Connor. Like in Summer Skies and Close Knit, the action takes place in Carso, a small town near the sea in the north of Scotland, in the beautiful Highlands, described so vividly, that I, a content Londoner, immediately wanted to move there, for the views, the animals and the close-knit community. As love interests, we meet Dwight, an aspiring property developer, and Lowell, an architect with a deaf daughter.
This is a gentle, character-led story which bumbles along quite nicely until there is a bit of drama inserted with a Ponzi scheme, and a fax machine takes centre stage. It's a funny, uplifting easy read with plenty of cute dogs but I had a bit of a hard time warming up to Essie who often acted like a stroppy teenager. Both slow-burn romances commenced nicely though.
What I love is that Jenny Colgan never just concentrates on a couple of main characters - we meet the whole eccentric community to really round out what it's like living there. I will always read everything Jenny Colgan writes as she has an effortless writing style that gives her wonderful characters enough space to shine while still making sure there is a plot.
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
While this is another novel set in Carso, and it mentions some of the characters in Summer Skies and Close Knit, this novel is a stand-alone that can be enjoyed as that. This book contains humour, wit, and another perfect set of characters in another close-knit community, which all make me jealous that I don't live in a place like Carso. These are all the things I love about Colgan's books.
At its heart are two romances, one about a divorced woman that has maybe given up on love after heartbreak, and the other about a woman that is struggling financially after losing her job and having to retreat back home, but both ultimately finding love where they least expect it. It's also about how appearances can be deceiving. Add in some unusual but cute puppies, a main character with an interesting job as an audiologist, a project to renovate some tired and run-down cottages, and problems with money investments, and you're off to a winner here. This is my third read of Colgan’s novels, and I know she's now an autobuy author for me. I can’t wait to check out her extensive back catalogue.
At its heart are two romances, one about a divorced woman that has maybe given up on love after heartbreak, and the other about a woman that is struggling financially after losing her job and having to retreat back home, but both ultimately finding love where they least expect it. It's also about how appearances can be deceiving. Add in some unusual but cute puppies, a main character with an interesting job as an audiologist, a project to renovate some tired and run-down cottages, and problems with money investments, and you're off to a winner here. This is my third read of Colgan’s novels, and I know she's now an autobuy author for me. I can’t wait to check out her extensive back catalogue.
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton for sending an ARC uncorrected proof, won in a giveaway, of this book and for Netgalley for allowing me to read the ebook also. love Jenny Colgan's books and have done for a long time. It started with The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris and I have read every single one of Jenny's books since I started with that many years ago.
This book was no exception, it was beautifully written as always, enticing and eye-catching. I really enjoyed reading about Janey and Essie and their relationship with one another.
Janey was my favourite character, she was unsure about whether she had done the right thing a lot of the time but as the story grew you could start to see her coming into her own and feeling more and more confident in herself.
Essie was a bit misunderstood I think, but she did have selfish tendencies. She didn't know what she doing in her life or where she was going and everything seemed to be falling apart.
I will say no more because....no spoilers...but read it, I think you'll love it too.
This book was no exception, it was beautifully written as always, enticing and eye-catching. I really enjoyed reading about Janey and Essie and their relationship with one another.
Janey was my favourite character, she was unsure about whether she had done the right thing a lot of the time but as the story grew you could start to see her coming into her own and feeling more and more confident in herself.
Essie was a bit misunderstood I think, but she did have selfish tendencies. She didn't know what she doing in her life or where she was going and everything seemed to be falling apart.
I will say no more because....no spoilers...but read it, I think you'll love it too.
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No