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dozylocal's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars
Mixed feelings about this one. It didn't start very well but I did get more into it towards the end and quite enjoyed the more funny bits (Meg's mom is a gem!). It's not my favourite genre and it's not been the best one I've read. OK for holiday reading but if you have a long TBR list, I'd probably give it a skip.
Mixed feelings about this one. It didn't start very well but I did get more into it towards the end and quite enjoyed the more funny bits (Meg's mom is a gem!). It's not my favourite genre and it's not been the best one I've read. OK for holiday reading but if you have a long TBR list, I'd probably give it a skip.
susannavs's review against another edition
2.0
A gentle, fluffy read, but something was off for me - the POV was inconsistently switched (for my liking), and all the characters (except the general) seemed to be the same age, when they weren't. The celebrity chef's link to the village wasn't adequately explained, which bugs me!
Easy, beach/holiday reading.
Easy, beach/holiday reading.
leelee77's review against another edition
5.0
I loved being back in Tindledale, the village from the Great Christmas Knit off. This time Meg was the main character of the book, the acting head teacher of the village school threatened by closure. I loved the sense of community in the book bringing everyone together to put on the best village show and hopefully save the school by encouraging newcomers to the village.
laura_skel's review against another edition
3.0
lovely to return to the village of tindledale in the second book in the series. liked the way it was about the same village but about a different person this time. You could easily read this with out having read the first. very enjoyable, read it in about a day
tyseco's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
verityw's review against another edition
4.0
****Copy from NetGalley in return for an honest review*****
I really enjoyed this. It's summery and fun - but with some serious issues mixed in (which are handled with a light touch). This is the second visit to Tindledale, which is exactly the sort of village that you'd want to live in - little village school, nice shops and a good pub - and has a great cast of characters.
I like these more than I liked the Carrington's book (the first one) that I read from the same author - but then I have a thing for village romantic comedies.
I really enjoyed this. It's summery and fun - but with some serious issues mixed in (which are handled with a light touch). This is the second visit to Tindledale, which is exactly the sort of village that you'd want to live in - little village school, nice shops and a good pub - and has a great cast of characters.
I like these more than I liked the Carrington's book (the first one) that I read from the same author - but then I have a thing for village romantic comedies.
jaymelynnway's review against another edition
3.0
Some spoilers ahead, read with caution. Marked with three stars like this: ***
First, I LOVED The Great Christmas Knit Off. It was simple and cozy and perfect for the holidays.
That said...this second Tindledale book almost seemed like it was written by someone else entirely.
The constant rehashing of the conflict and cycling round and round through the same thoughts and emotions...it felt like Brown was trying to stretch a much shorter story out to meet some kind of arbitrary word count.
The dialogue was all...odd? Lots of info dumping (and not just in the dialogue, but in every paragraph, pretty much). Endless details that didn't matter and didn't add to the atmosphere or world building at all. Sometimes things were mentioned that seemed like they should be explored more (***like Meg's relationship with her mother, which was at first described as pleasant and typical, but then there was an odd inner diatribe about how Meg felt abandoned by her and her mother appeared to have a drinking problem, but then after the Big Major Conflict was resolved, everything was fine?).
***The entirety of chapter eighteen (and yes, that seems nitpicky, but this is just an example) could have and should have been condensed into one short phone call about Dan. The rest of it was just rehashing (again!) the issues the village was facing. Honestly, we don't need to be reminded what the problems are 80% through the book.
This main character had a history with the village. So there seemed to be a compulsion to fill in that background and affirm it almost constantly, when it really wasn't necessary. Trust the reader more. You say there's history and memories here, okay, I believe you. Throw in a few through the whole book, not every other page, and leave it at that.
I love Tindledale, so I'll be continuing to the next book, but I was really disappointed by this one.
First, I LOVED The Great Christmas Knit Off. It was simple and cozy and perfect for the holidays.
That said...this second Tindledale book almost seemed like it was written by someone else entirely.
The constant rehashing of the conflict and cycling round and round through the same thoughts and emotions...it felt like Brown was trying to stretch a much shorter story out to meet some kind of arbitrary word count.
The dialogue was all...odd? Lots of info dumping (and not just in the dialogue, but in every paragraph, pretty much). Endless details that didn't matter and didn't add to the atmosphere or world building at all. Sometimes things were mentioned that seemed like they should be explored more (***like Meg's relationship with her mother, which was at first described as pleasant and typical, but then there was an odd inner diatribe about how Meg felt abandoned by her and her mother appeared to have a drinking problem, but then after the Big Major Conflict was resolved, everything was fine?).
***The entirety of chapter eighteen (and yes, that seems nitpicky, but this is just an example) could have and should have been condensed into one short phone call about Dan. The rest of it was just rehashing (again!) the issues the village was facing. Honestly, we don't need to be reminded what the problems are 80% through the book.
This main character had a history with the village. So there seemed to be a compulsion to fill in that background and affirm it almost constantly, when it really wasn't necessary. Trust the reader more. You say there's history and memories here, okay, I believe you. Throw in a few through the whole book, not every other page, and leave it at that.
I love Tindledale, so I'll be continuing to the next book, but I was really disappointed by this one.
readtheweek's review against another edition
1.0
I picked this up from my local library sale a couple of weeks ago as they were taking it out of rotation, and I can now see why. I chose this one because it was different to books I had been reading previously and I wanted this hobby to broaden my horizons when it came to the style and type of books I was reading. To be honest this is not my preferred genre and I only picked this book up because it had a map printed in the front pages and I’m a sucker for a map, The Hobbit, Game of Thrones, you name it, I’ll study those maps within an inch of their life and flip back every time there is a location reference so I know where I am. Whoever thought of adding maps into fictional books, I salute you.
The Great Village Show is the second book in a series (which I didn’t know until the end) revolving around a town called Tindledale and it’s inhabitants. We mainly focus on Meg, the ‘acting’ headteacher – which the whole ‘acting’ thing seemed a little unrelated and the story would have progressed just fine without that unnecessary extra fact. I only point this out because this is one of the main problems with the story, too many facts about everyone and everything in the story that you are lead to believe are relevant, but never come back into it.
As usual this romance story follows the basic story-line, we meet a nice person in a struggling situation and a potential romantic encounter that is seemingly lost until the last few pages where everything pulls together for a happy ending. As you will have guessed the ending was predictable so it was difficult getting through the book since I knew what would be happening, even in the end I was disappointed by the five or so pages of closure on the story lines that felt rushed and forced so that the ending had some kind of meaning.
I have found (as many others likely have) that internal dialogue is something that always moves a book forward, it’s a necessary influence in the story either from the narrator or main character. However, the constant stream of consciousness in this book made me really dislike reading it, there was too much information relating to the tiniest of insignificant details, it was a true chore getting through Meg’s narration, it really ruined the book for me and if the author had just relaxed it a little it would have been a much easier read. I did not need to know every detail about the pin board in her office as it had no relevance to the story, at points the author even felt it necessary to reinforce information we had already been given by just repeating the information in a new way.
Considering this book is sold as a romantic comedy the ‘romance’ was lacking significantly unless you count three or four brief encounters as significant in a 400 page novel. I struggled to connect Meg and Dan together due to the lack of scenes with them making a genuine connection, along with the fact her internal dialogue never seemed to settle on how she felt about him, one minute she hated him, then thought he was okay and before I knew it he was the worst person in the world again, I can’t say I remember her ever settling on liking him romantically and if she did it was not clear at all. It was exhausting keeping up with the changing mindset.
Overall I did not enjoy this book, there wasn’t any actual excitement that wasn’t squashed within a page. If you’re looking for the typical romance story where everything is picture perfect then I would go ahead and recommend you read this, if you’re looking for some actual stimulating literature maybe give this one a miss
The Great Village Show is the second book in a series (which I didn’t know until the end) revolving around a town called Tindledale and it’s inhabitants. We mainly focus on Meg, the ‘acting’ headteacher – which the whole ‘acting’ thing seemed a little unrelated and the story would have progressed just fine without that unnecessary extra fact. I only point this out because this is one of the main problems with the story, too many facts about everyone and everything in the story that you are lead to believe are relevant, but never come back into it.
As usual this romance story follows the basic story-line, we meet a nice person in a struggling situation and a potential romantic encounter that is seemingly lost until the last few pages where everything pulls together for a happy ending. As you will have guessed the ending was predictable so it was difficult getting through the book since I knew what would be happening, even in the end I was disappointed by the five or so pages of closure on the story lines that felt rushed and forced so that the ending had some kind of meaning.
I have found (as many others likely have) that internal dialogue is something that always moves a book forward, it’s a necessary influence in the story either from the narrator or main character. However, the constant stream of consciousness in this book made me really dislike reading it, there was too much information relating to the tiniest of insignificant details, it was a true chore getting through Meg’s narration, it really ruined the book for me and if the author had just relaxed it a little it would have been a much easier read. I did not need to know every detail about the pin board in her office as it had no relevance to the story, at points the author even felt it necessary to reinforce information we had already been given by just repeating the information in a new way.
Considering this book is sold as a romantic comedy the ‘romance’ was lacking significantly unless you count three or four brief encounters as significant in a 400 page novel. I struggled to connect Meg and Dan together due to the lack of scenes with them making a genuine connection, along with the fact her internal dialogue never seemed to settle on how she felt about him, one minute she hated him, then thought he was okay and before I knew it he was the worst person in the world again, I can’t say I remember her ever settling on liking him romantically and if she did it was not clear at all. It was exhausting keeping up with the changing mindset.
Overall I did not enjoy this book, there wasn’t any actual excitement that wasn’t squashed within a page. If you’re looking for the typical romance story where everything is picture perfect then I would go ahead and recommend you read this, if you’re looking for some actual stimulating literature maybe give this one a miss