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readerofbzh's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
ladymarigold's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.25
blbdennis's review
5.0
Rosie is not looking to re invent herself she is quite happy working as an auxillary (traveler) nurse in London and living in with her boyfriend of seven years, who does think his mother cooks, irons and keeps house better than Rosie but is most likely going to probably propose, soonish. When her Great Aunt Lillian breaks her hip Rosie is the only family close enough to go look after her, plus she is a nurse. Neither Lillian or Rosie like this plan and both hope it ends quickly. But it doesn't because Rosie falls in love with the sweet shop and Lillian and someone else . (because of course her boyfriend is rubbish). I Love Jenny Colgan, every book is a delight. I know I can open up one of her books and I will feel better about everything.
lisawreading's review against another edition
5.0
A one-sentence review: I loved this audiobook!
Need more?
Jenny Colgan’s books inevitably lift my spirits and get me deeply involved in her characters’ lives, and Sweetshop of Dreams is no exception.
Rosie is an auxiliary nurse, working busy hospital shifts and living in a small London flat with her boyfriend Gerard, who’s maybe a little too comfortable with their living arrangements. She thinks he’ll propose… eventually… but meanwhile, it’s been years, and he seems perfectly content with the status quo.
But after Rosie’s great-aunt Lilian injures her hip, Rosie’s mother Angie asks her to go stay with Lilian for a little while. Someone needs to get Lilian moved into a care facility and get her ancient sweetshop prepped for sale. And since Angie is currently living in Australia with Rosie’s brother’s family, it falls on Rosie to see to the family obligations in England.
Off Rosie goes to the small country village of Lipton, thinking she’ll be in and out in a matter of weeks. What she finds, though, is that Lilian’s shop hasn’t been opened in a few years, and that Lilian herself is underfed and weak, having stubbornly refused outside help or to leave her cozy little cottage. Rosie dives in, tending to Lilian and cleaning up and reopening the shop — because how can she put it on the market to sell unless she can demonstrate that it’s a viable business?
The longer Rosie stays in Lipton, the more she becomes involved in village life. Even though she sticks out like a sore thumb at first, with her city ways and clothes that can’t withstand the country weather, she eventually makes friends and finds a new purpose in life.
In a dual-timeline approach, we also get little snippets of Lilian’s life during the 1940s, as the young men of the village head to war and Lilian helps her father with the sweetshop. Through these flashbacks, we learn about why Lilian has been alone all these years and what caused the heartbreak she experienced so long ago.
Rosie is a lovely character, upbeat and curious and not afraid to jump in when a pair of hands are needed. Although she’s there for the shop and for Lilian, she also becomes friends with the village doctor, who involves Rosie in his most challenging case — which leads to a whole new set of possibilities for Rosie after she finally dumps her city boyfriend.
I really enjoyed Lilian as a character as well, and found myself so moved by her backstory and her experiences. The book treats Lilian with great respect as she ages, and I found her relationship with Rosie to be just so sweet and lovely.
And the sweetshop!!! Can I just say right now that I’d love to live inside it for a year or so? It sounds so bright and wonderful, full of nostalgic treats and joy and happiness. This book makes village life seem like something idyllic and peaceful and funny and wonderful.
The audiobook narrator, Beverley A. Crick, does a terrific job with Rosie and Lillian, but also masterfully conveys the voices and personalities of the other village residents, from small schoolboy to grumpy old farmers. Listening to this book was such a treat!
Sweetshop of Dreams does include a love story for Rosie, and it’s a good one, but it’s not the sole focus of the book. Instead, this book is a sweet mix of romance, quirky characters, family bonds, and a celebration of community, and it’s utterly enjoyable.
As with the best of Jenny Colgan’s books, Sweetshop of Dreams kept me enchanted by the setting and the people, and left me wanting to spend more time with all of these characters. Luckily for me, there’s a follow-up Christmas book (Christmas at Rosie Hopkins’ Sweetshop), and while I don’t normally read Christmas books, I just can’t resist this one!
Need more?
Jenny Colgan’s books inevitably lift my spirits and get me deeply involved in her characters’ lives, and Sweetshop of Dreams is no exception.
Rosie is an auxiliary nurse, working busy hospital shifts and living in a small London flat with her boyfriend Gerard, who’s maybe a little too comfortable with their living arrangements. She thinks he’ll propose… eventually… but meanwhile, it’s been years, and he seems perfectly content with the status quo.
But after Rosie’s great-aunt Lilian injures her hip, Rosie’s mother Angie asks her to go stay with Lilian for a little while. Someone needs to get Lilian moved into a care facility and get her ancient sweetshop prepped for sale. And since Angie is currently living in Australia with Rosie’s brother’s family, it falls on Rosie to see to the family obligations in England.
Off Rosie goes to the small country village of Lipton, thinking she’ll be in and out in a matter of weeks. What she finds, though, is that Lilian’s shop hasn’t been opened in a few years, and that Lilian herself is underfed and weak, having stubbornly refused outside help or to leave her cozy little cottage. Rosie dives in, tending to Lilian and cleaning up and reopening the shop — because how can she put it on the market to sell unless she can demonstrate that it’s a viable business?
The longer Rosie stays in Lipton, the more she becomes involved in village life. Even though she sticks out like a sore thumb at first, with her city ways and clothes that can’t withstand the country weather, she eventually makes friends and finds a new purpose in life.
In a dual-timeline approach, we also get little snippets of Lilian’s life during the 1940s, as the young men of the village head to war and Lilian helps her father with the sweetshop. Through these flashbacks, we learn about why Lilian has been alone all these years and what caused the heartbreak she experienced so long ago.
Rosie is a lovely character, upbeat and curious and not afraid to jump in when a pair of hands are needed. Although she’s there for the shop and for Lilian, she also becomes friends with the village doctor, who involves Rosie in his most challenging case — which leads to a whole new set of possibilities for Rosie after she finally dumps her city boyfriend.
I really enjoyed Lilian as a character as well, and found myself so moved by her backstory and her experiences. The book treats Lilian with great respect as she ages, and I found her relationship with Rosie to be just so sweet and lovely.
And the sweetshop!!! Can I just say right now that I’d love to live inside it for a year or so? It sounds so bright and wonderful, full of nostalgic treats and joy and happiness. This book makes village life seem like something idyllic and peaceful and funny and wonderful.
The audiobook narrator, Beverley A. Crick, does a terrific job with Rosie and Lillian, but also masterfully conveys the voices and personalities of the other village residents, from small schoolboy to grumpy old farmers. Listening to this book was such a treat!
Sweetshop of Dreams does include a love story for Rosie, and it’s a good one, but it’s not the sole focus of the book. Instead, this book is a sweet mix of romance, quirky characters, family bonds, and a celebration of community, and it’s utterly enjoyable.
As with the best of Jenny Colgan’s books, Sweetshop of Dreams kept me enchanted by the setting and the people, and left me wanting to spend more time with all of these characters. Luckily for me, there’s a follow-up Christmas book (Christmas at Rosie Hopkins’ Sweetshop), and while I don’t normally read Christmas books, I just can’t resist this one!
bookswritingandmore's review against another edition
4.0
I really loved this one. Rosie's is so delightful and funny. She makes it so fun to read this novel. I was completely engrossed in this fun, fast paced read.
Rosie's lives in London with her boyfriend of 5 years who still hasn't proposed. She works as an assistant at hospitals that need her and does tons of grueling work. Then her mom calls and asks her to take over the sweets shop for her aunt. Rosie is sure it will be boring compared to the hustle of London. Boy is she in for a treat!
Such a great read with tons of great recipes too.
Rosie's lives in London with her boyfriend of 5 years who still hasn't proposed. She works as an assistant at hospitals that need her and does tons of grueling work. Then her mom calls and asks her to take over the sweets shop for her aunt. Rosie is sure it will be boring compared to the hustle of London. Boy is she in for a treat!
Such a great read with tons of great recipes too.
kdurham2's review against another edition
3.0
Check out the full review at Kritters Ramblings
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.
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.
nattyg's review against another edition
3.0
I loved the story. The jumping around in time and with character POV was rough.
stormshultz's review against another edition
3.0
I want to open this by saying normally I really enjoy Jenny's books, but this one... well, this one fell a little flat. I listened to it on audio, so I'm not sure how this translates to pages but this story was at least 4hrs too long. It's a 12hr audiobook and 8hrs in and I was like ??? why is there still so much left?? Nothing big had happened. I love the idea of leaving the big city to take over a sweetshop in a village. That's one of my favorite tropes, but this one just dragged on. There were four love interests at one point (??) and most of the characters were pretty flat, given that this is a 12hr long book. I liked Lillian, the quirky candy recipes at the beginning of each chapter, and I enjoyed Rosie too, although I wish she would have gotten her stuff together quicker. There was a decent amount of swearing too (which isn't abnormal for Jenny's books, but just a warning if you're planning on listening to it with kids around). And I didn't really care for how one of the love interests, which seemed to make the most sense for Rosie, suddenly ended up being gay but there was no hint of that? Instead, she realizes he's gay because of the pants he decides to wear to the town fair, which admittedly made no sense to me and it felt a little weird to write off one of the love interests that quickly. *Sigh.* Oh well, everyone has a book fall flat though! I do recommend the Beach Street Bakery series by Jenny if you're looking for a cozy baking themed read in a small town!
blodeuedd's review against another edition
3.0
Rosie goes to stay with her great aunt Lillian, who owns a sweet shop. A sweet shop that has stood empty since Lillian is not feeling well. Mmm candy! Yes there was a lot of candy mentioned in this book, especially since every chapter started with that.
A nice little village where everyone knows each other.
A store that can get on its feet again.
A woman looking for a second chance.
A man looking for healing.
Aunt L looking back at her own love life, oh btw, I did not like that the flashbacks were in cursive. Her life made me a bit sad. She said she was happy, but still. Men are such eejits.
And then, Rosie looking at her own life. At her work. At her stupid boyfriend, omg, I so wanted her to ditch him. A mama's boy, who would never do anything for Rosie.
It was a sweet book. It made me have candy, evil book that it was.
A nice little village where everyone knows each other.
A store that can get on its feet again.
A woman looking for a second chance.
A man looking for healing.
Aunt L looking back at her own love life, oh btw, I did not like that the flashbacks were in cursive. Her life made me a bit sad. She said she was happy, but still. Men are such eejits.
And then, Rosie looking at her own life. At her work. At her stupid boyfriend, omg, I so wanted her to ditch him. A mama's boy, who would never do anything for Rosie.
It was a sweet book. It made me have candy, evil book that it was.
pattydsf's review against another edition
3.0
This is my third opportunity to enjoy Colgan's storytelling and it was a great choice for the end of our pandemic year. It has been four years since I read anything by Colgan and I hope I don't wait so long again. I learned a lot about British sweets and that was fun.