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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
This was a super sweet love story! I love this Village Romance series by different authors. Each book is different and I love the other characters making appearances! I really enjoyed this story. Natalie and Ellie are just wonderful characters and I adored the supporting characters in this story.
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
One star for some good fluff and one star for some good steam, but overall mostly repetitive and flat.
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The second of the Village Romance series and we're back in Chewford, this time with Ellie and Natalie. Ice cream and gin. And… it was good to return. It felt a little weird when we had some crossover of people from the first book in a way that made clear that the timelines overlapped (though those characters had minor enough roles in this book that I shouldn't have worried about any weirdness).
I felt like this book appreciated the village more than the first book, though it still suffered from the trope of having to be introduced to the village by somebody escaping the city in search of a better life. As some body who grew up in a small town, it sometimes feels like authors think they need the "city" point of view to validate a small town to the reader. I can understand (especially in lesbian romance) why you might not have two women from the same small town "all of a sudden" fall in love with each other, but… why can't the "outsider" come from another small town sometimes? (My apologies to Clare Lydon for this, because she didn't do it badly, but that the same trope that annoys me has come up two books in a row in this series, so TB Markinson already had me itching about this trope from the first book.)
That said, I want to visit this village and the ice cream shop and the chocolate shop and the pub… Sorry, I'm not a big drinker, so I'll pass on the distillery and the gin… and I look forward to Harper Bliss bringing me back to the village in the third book!
I felt like this book appreciated the village more than the first book, though it still suffered from the trope of having to be introduced to the village by somebody escaping the city in search of a better life. As some body who grew up in a small town, it sometimes feels like authors think they need the "city" point of view to validate a small town to the reader. I can understand (especially in lesbian romance) why you might not have two women from the same small town "all of a sudden" fall in love with each other, but… why can't the "outsider" come from another small town sometimes? (My apologies to Clare Lydon for this, because she didn't do it badly, but that the same trope that annoys me has come up two books in a row in this series, so TB Markinson already had me itching about this trope from the first book.)
That said, I want to visit this village and the ice cream shop and the chocolate shop and the pub… Sorry, I'm not a big drinker, so I'll pass on the distillery and the gin… and I look forward to Harper Bliss bringing me back to the village in the third book!
Always a pleasure
I love Clare's writing. I read book 1 and couldn't wait for book 2. I was not disappointed. Great friend to lover angle. I like that the main characters are more mature in this series. Love is ageless. I truly look forward to book 3.
I love Clare's writing. I read book 1 and couldn't wait for book 2. I was not disappointed. Great friend to lover angle. I like that the main characters are more mature in this series. Love is ageless. I truly look forward to book 3.
Esse foi um dos melhores livros da Clare Lydon que eu já li. A construção dos personagens é muito bem trabalhada, o timing dos acontecimentos é exato. E tem o fato de ser uma trilogia, que encaixa muito bem com o primeiro sem perder a essência de cada autora. Ansiosa para ler o último!
4,5 stars - This a really cute romance book, and I love the setting in the small English village. Currently reading my way through all of Clare's books, and can really recommend this one.
An outsider comes to the Cotswolds to make ice cream, sell chocolate, and steal the village sweetheart’s hand.
Ellie Knap is suffering from a broken heart. London has failed her in love, work, and play. She is suffering from terrible migraines, her sometimes lover will not take “no” for an answer, and her job has made her sick. She takes her sister Red’s advice and moves to the country and for six months her only company is sheep while a manager handles her new chocolate store in Cotswolds. When the local tailor shop goes up for sale, Ellie decides now is the time to live her dreams of making ice cream and buys the shop. First item on the list? Run over the local sweetheart Natalie Hill.
Natalie Hill has met outsiders before coming into the village, buying businesses, then leaving six months later. She had even lost her heart to one before, but never again. She is concentrating on her village and expanding her gin business, which just happens to be right next door to the new ice cream shop. Natalie cannot deny the sparks Ellie inspires within her. This does not mean she has to taste the ice cream.
A Taste of Love (2019) the second in “The Village Romance” trilogy by Clare Lydon was a joy to read. It is fun, light, and filled with romance. Natalie and Ellie are women who have been hurt before and do not want to be hurt again. Life is busy and they are both trying to succeed in business. They make a conscious choice whether to get involved and take a chance and get hurt. Lydon treats this relationship as all relationships should be treated: as two adult women making a decision to get involved.
This does not take anything away from the romance. I was thinking about their first kiss as much as they were. I have to say that I have never in all of my years of reading had a first kiss like Lydon wrote in my life and there is nothing like it. (laugh) Thank you Ms. Lydon, you never forget your first real kiss and Ms. Lydon gave it to me on a bridge in the moonlight. As much as their minds are involved, so are Natalie and Ellie’s hearts. This is a romance that makes you wish that you had a bridge in your town to wait for your Ellie to come knock you off.
Ellie Knap is suffering from a broken heart. London has failed her in love, work, and play. She is suffering from terrible migraines, her sometimes lover will not take “no” for an answer, and her job has made her sick. She takes her sister Red’s advice and moves to the country and for six months her only company is sheep while a manager handles her new chocolate store in Cotswolds. When the local tailor shop goes up for sale, Ellie decides now is the time to live her dreams of making ice cream and buys the shop. First item on the list? Run over the local sweetheart Natalie Hill.
Natalie Hill has met outsiders before coming into the village, buying businesses, then leaving six months later. She had even lost her heart to one before, but never again. She is concentrating on her village and expanding her gin business, which just happens to be right next door to the new ice cream shop. Natalie cannot deny the sparks Ellie inspires within her. This does not mean she has to taste the ice cream.
A Taste of Love (2019) the second in “The Village Romance” trilogy by Clare Lydon was a joy to read. It is fun, light, and filled with romance. Natalie and Ellie are women who have been hurt before and do not want to be hurt again. Life is busy and they are both trying to succeed in business. They make a conscious choice whether to get involved and take a chance and get hurt. Lydon treats this relationship as all relationships should be treated: as two adult women making a decision to get involved.
This does not take anything away from the romance. I was thinking about their first kiss as much as they were. I have to say that I have never in all of my years of reading had a first kiss like Lydon wrote in my life and there is nothing like it. (laugh) Thank you Ms. Lydon, you never forget your first real kiss and Ms. Lydon gave it to me on a bridge in the moonlight. As much as their minds are involved, so are Natalie and Ellie’s hearts. This is a romance that makes you wish that you had a bridge in your town to wait for your Ellie to come knock you off.
Natalie Hill works at her aunt’s gin distillery based in the Cotswolds and is convinced she’ll remain single forever. That is until newly-arrived city-slicker Ellie Knap opens an ice-cream parlour in front of Natalie’s shop. Ellie is hard to resist with her tall, dark good looks and her exquisite ice creams flavours, but Natalie fears that Ellie’s stay in the Cotswolds won’t be permanent. Will they have a happily ever after?
This is book 2 of ‘The Village Romance’ series of three romance novels by T.B. Markinson, Clare Lydon and Harper Bliss set around a small town in the Cotswolds, England. Even though the main characters in each novel make an appearance in the others, each story is completely independent of the other two and can be read as standalone. Having said that, ‘A taste of love’ reveals a bit of TB Markinson’s ‘A shot at love’, so I recommend to read that one first. As a matter of fact, I recommend reading the three books because they are all equally enjoyable.
‘A taste of love’ presents three of my favourite things in life: love, gin and ice cream! Let me warn you that it’s hard to avoid temptation with so many references of ice cream flavours, some classic and others very innovative. The gin tasting scene had my mouth watering and the romance is classic Clare Lydon: funny, witty and hot.
This novel goes beyond the romance to also depict family relationships and life in a small community. I particularly enjoyed the secondary plot that highlights the relationship between Natalie and her father in which the author throws an unexpected twist. All secondary characters are well written and make the small town come alive in front of the readers’ eyes. As usual, Ms. Lydon delivers an authentically English, banter-filled, hot romance.
Overall, an entertaining, flavoursome and love-filled city country girl romance book. 4.5 stars.
ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
See all my reviews at www.lezreviewbooks.com
This is book 2 of ‘The Village Romance’ series of three romance novels by T.B. Markinson, Clare Lydon and Harper Bliss set around a small town in the Cotswolds, England. Even though the main characters in each novel make an appearance in the others, each story is completely independent of the other two and can be read as standalone. Having said that, ‘A taste of love’ reveals a bit of TB Markinson’s ‘A shot at love’, so I recommend to read that one first. As a matter of fact, I recommend reading the three books because they are all equally enjoyable.
‘A taste of love’ presents three of my favourite things in life: love, gin and ice cream! Let me warn you that it’s hard to avoid temptation with so many references of ice cream flavours, some classic and others very innovative. The gin tasting scene had my mouth watering and the romance is classic Clare Lydon: funny, witty and hot.
This novel goes beyond the romance to also depict family relationships and life in a small community. I particularly enjoyed the secondary plot that highlights the relationship between Natalie and her father in which the author throws an unexpected twist. All secondary characters are well written and make the small town come alive in front of the readers’ eyes. As usual, Ms. Lydon delivers an authentically English, banter-filled, hot romance.
Overall, an entertaining, flavoursome and love-filled city country girl romance book. 4.5 stars.
ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
See all my reviews at www.lezreviewbooks.com