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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
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
Lively prose with great exploration of characters. It was funny and I really liked the sweet recipes. The romantic ending seemed unbelievable and their relationship wasn't nearly as captivating as the cross-generational one with her Great Aunt or the culturally-polarising ones with the countryside folk.
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Rosie is asked to go and help her great-aunt Lilian back to health and to sort out the sweet shop run by the old lady, so it is ready to be sold. She leaves her long-term partner, Gerard, in London, constantly asking him to visit, but all he is bothered about is his mummy, computer and takeaways. Rosie soon meets a plethora of young, single men who keep her busy.
While this novel is mostly about rural village life, friendship and the wonderfully reminiscent sweet shop, unfortunately the excessive fat shaming brought it right down in my opinion. There's also ageism and the part where Rosie thought a mother should dye her grey hair so her young son could make friends was just ridiculous. The fact that this book was only written in 2012 and contains so many instances of these issues, is very off-putting and I don't think I will read any more by this author.
While this novel is mostly about rural village life, friendship and the wonderfully reminiscent sweet shop, unfortunately the excessive fat shaming brought it right down in my opinion. There's also ageism and the part where Rosie thought a mother should dye her grey hair so her young son could make friends was just ridiculous. The fact that this book was only written in 2012 and contains so many instances of these issues, is very off-putting and I don't think I will read any more by this author.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fatphobia
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Woo boy! This book had some problems! And I always forget that for all the sachrine stodginess of her characters, Jenny Colgan often throws in a completely unexpected sex scene that just feels like reading romance novels with your grandma. I liked the small-town-village-life part and reliving my youth through descriptions of sweeties, but I really didn't like the backward attitudes about marriage, children, body weight, and pretty much everything else. Oh, but it was hilarious that the big bad guy in the story was the dentist.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
This was a sweet story (pun intended, ha ha), but the pacing was quite slow a times. And I often got frustrated with Rosie. I’d have been happier if 100 pages had been cut from the book, but overall, it still was an enjoyable story.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced