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cosmin's review against another edition
4.0
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.
craftyemma's review against another edition
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
2.0
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
denitsa's review against another edition
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
3.75
linneahedvig's review against another edition
2.0
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.
taries's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
andimontgomery's review against another edition
3.0
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.
littlemissdynamite's review against another edition
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
4.25
markalkman's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
Okay. Here's the deal: I absolutely love Jenny Colgan. Her books make me so happy. Seriously, I can't stop smiling when I'm reading her stories. You just know it's going to end well, and isn't that something we all want? To just escape from it all and feel this wonderful feeling of love and genuine happiness? It's not that her books or her stories are perfect - they're far from perfect, in fact. Her characters are flawed, they say stupid things and they make mistakes. That's what makes her books so great - they're relatable.
“I think love is caramel. Sweet and fragant; always welcome. It is the gentle golden colour of a setting harvest sun; the warmth of a squeezed embrace; the easy melting of two souls into one and a taste that lingers even when everything else has melted away. Once tasted it is never forgotten.”
I loved the premise of the story. A city girl having to move to the country side to help out her great aunt with her sweetshop. Rosie Hopkins is an auxiliary nurse and she likes her job. She likes London and her (pretty childish and spoiled) boyfriend Gerard. She doesn't want to go to the middle of nowhere where her great aunt Lilian lives. She doesn't want to leave her Starbucks and H&M behind. She doesn't want to go.
But of course she does, because that's what she's likes. Rosie is a sweet, helpful girl with a really big heart. She kind of pretends to be selfish, while in fact she isn't. Rosie is a refreshing character: funny, kind, loving... So, she leaves London behind and gets on a bus. To the middle of nowhere. And then she's stuck in a village where everyone knows everyone and everything about everyone. At first she thinks Lilian is a really grumpy old lady, an elderly woman who doesn't want any help and who definitely doesn't want to be told she's old and fragile. There's a lot of great dialogue between Rosie and her aunt Lil, and throughout the book you can see their relationship take a turn for the better. They really start to care for one another, Rosie is becoming the daughter Lilian never had.
“That thing that everyone talks about. That really big newspaper in the sky that came along and ruined everything else, blah blah blah.'
Rosie was stumped, until light finally dawned. 'You mean the internet?'
'Well, yes. I hate that thing.'
'The whole thing?'
'Yes.'
'You hate the entire internet?'
'Yes.”
It was nice to read about Lilian's history. To have little flashbacks every now and again, to a time when she was still young and met the man of her dreams. A man she never stopped loving. I liked Lilian as a character. The fact that she doesn't want to be an old woman is something a lot of people can relate to, I think. Or that she really doesn't want to move to an old people home. She wants to stay home, she wants to be okay and fit and young. She wants to run her sweetshop. The struggle she has with herself, her age and the frailty of her body felt real.
Rosie meets lots of people in Lipton. For startes, she meets bossy Lady Lipton - Hetty - and her dog Bran. She meets local doctor Moray (I LOVE MORAY WITH ALL MY HEART OKAY) and his boss Hye. Then there's the Issit's, Jake, Edison and his mum Hester, Tina and her twins Kent and Emily, dentist and the evil town resident Roy Blaine. And then, of course, she meets Stephen Lakeman. A patient of Moray's who doesn't seem to want any help. Moray convinces Rosie to go see Stephen and to talk to him. And even though Stephen sends everyone away who tries to help him, he lets Rosie in. He lets his guard down around her, which is a really interesting thing to read. And just like Rosie, as a reader you have no idea what happened to him or why he is the way that he is. Or why he's a young man who clearly has some kin of money because he lives in a really big house on a cliff. I won't spoil anythig, of course.
“That didn't sound much like a date, Rosie thought. Useful wasn't a word you used about a date. It was a word you used about a stapler.”
NEVERTHELESS. Even though Stephen is really interesting and everything, I can't help but prefer Moray over him. Not as a love interest, just as a character. From the first moment he stepped onto the page, I just couldn't help but love him. A young man who got to go to medical school in Glasgow but decided to move back to the countryside. To the village he grew up in. Moray is an intersting character, somewhat of a mystery, I guess. But dear lord is he hilarious. I couldn't stop laughing. He really does have the best lines/conversations in the entire book. Gosh, I hope I get to know more about him in the next book.
"Rosalind," he said.
"It's Rosemary, actually," said Rosie.
"Really? I prefer Rosalind."
"OK, Morgan."
(that is actually my favourite Rosie/Moray conversation)
Writing style. I like Jenny's style just fine, there's just one thing that annoys me a teeny tiny bit. She switches point of view quite easily and of course, there's nothing wrong with that, but it gets kind of confusing if you switch pov within the alinea. I've always tought to write one aline from one point of view. And if you want to have someone else take the lead - start a new alinea. Sure, you get used to it, especiallly if it's a 465 pages book, but it wouldn't be my first choice of writing. Probably the reason why I decided on 3.5 stars instead of 4.
But I loved the book, and I'm definitely going to read part 2 & 3 (both Christmas books). Can't wait to see what Rosie, Lilian, Stephen, Moray, Tina & Jake are up to next time 'round.
Okay. Here's the deal: I absolutely love Jenny Colgan. Her books make me so happy. Seriously, I can't stop smiling when I'm reading her stories. You just know it's going to end well, and isn't that something we all want? To just escape from it all and feel this wonderful feeling of love and genuine happiness? It's not that her books or her stories are perfect - they're far from perfect, in fact. Her characters are flawed, they say stupid things and they make mistakes. That's what makes her books so great - they're relatable.
“I think love is caramel. Sweet and fragant; always welcome. It is the gentle golden colour of a setting harvest sun; the warmth of a squeezed embrace; the easy melting of two souls into one and a taste that lingers even when everything else has melted away. Once tasted it is never forgotten.”
I loved the premise of the story. A city girl having to move to the country side to help out her great aunt with her sweetshop. Rosie Hopkins is an auxiliary nurse and she likes her job. She likes London and her (pretty childish and spoiled) boyfriend Gerard. She doesn't want to go to the middle of nowhere where her great aunt Lilian lives. She doesn't want to leave her Starbucks and H&M behind. She doesn't want to go.
But of course she does, because that's what she's likes. Rosie is a sweet, helpful girl with a really big heart. She kind of pretends to be selfish, while in fact she isn't. Rosie is a refreshing character: funny, kind, loving... So, she leaves London behind and gets on a bus. To the middle of nowhere. And then she's stuck in a village where everyone knows everyone and everything about everyone. At first she thinks Lilian is a really grumpy old lady, an elderly woman who doesn't want any help and who definitely doesn't want to be told she's old and fragile. There's a lot of great dialogue between Rosie and her aunt Lil, and throughout the book you can see their relationship take a turn for the better. They really start to care for one another, Rosie is becoming the daughter Lilian never had.
“That thing that everyone talks about. That really big newspaper in the sky that came along and ruined everything else, blah blah blah.'
Rosie was stumped, until light finally dawned. 'You mean the internet?'
'Well, yes. I hate that thing.'
'The whole thing?'
'Yes.'
'You hate the entire internet?'
'Yes.”
It was nice to read about Lilian's history. To have little flashbacks every now and again, to a time when she was still young and met the man of her dreams. A man she never stopped loving. I liked Lilian as a character. The fact that she doesn't want to be an old woman is something a lot of people can relate to, I think. Or that she really doesn't want to move to an old people home. She wants to stay home, she wants to be okay and fit and young. She wants to run her sweetshop. The struggle she has with herself, her age and the frailty of her body felt real.
Rosie meets lots of people in Lipton. For startes, she meets bossy Lady Lipton - Hetty - and her dog Bran. She meets local doctor Moray (I LOVE MORAY WITH ALL MY HEART OKAY) and his boss Hye. Then there's the Issit's, Jake, Edison and his mum Hester, Tina and her twins Kent and Emily, dentist and the evil town resident Roy Blaine. And then, of course, she meets Stephen Lakeman. A patient of Moray's who doesn't seem to want any help. Moray convinces Rosie to go see Stephen and to talk to him. And even though Stephen sends everyone away who tries to help him, he lets Rosie in. He lets his guard down around her, which is a really interesting thing to read. And just like Rosie, as a reader you have no idea what happened to him or why he is the way that he is. Or why he's a young man who clearly has some kin of money because he lives in a really big house on a cliff. I won't spoil anythig, of course.
“That didn't sound much like a date, Rosie thought. Useful wasn't a word you used about a date. It was a word you used about a stapler.”
NEVERTHELESS. Even though Stephen is really interesting and everything, I can't help but prefer Moray over him. Not as a love interest, just as a character. From the first moment he stepped onto the page, I just couldn't help but love him. A young man who got to go to medical school in Glasgow but decided to move back to the countryside. To the village he grew up in. Moray is an intersting character, somewhat of a mystery, I guess. But dear lord is he hilarious. I couldn't stop laughing. He really does have the best lines/conversations in the entire book. Gosh, I hope I get to know more about him in the next book.
"Rosalind," he said.
"It's Rosemary, actually," said Rosie.
"Really? I prefer Rosalind."
"OK, Morgan."
(that is actually my favourite Rosie/Moray conversation)
Writing style. I like Jenny's style just fine, there's just one thing that annoys me a teeny tiny bit. She switches point of view quite easily and of course, there's nothing wrong with that, but it gets kind of confusing if you switch pov within the alinea. I've always tought to write one aline from one point of view. And if you want to have someone else take the lead - start a new alinea. Sure, you get used to it, especiallly if it's a 465 pages book, but it wouldn't be my first choice of writing. Probably the reason why I decided on 3.5 stars instead of 4.
But I loved the book, and I'm definitely going to read part 2 & 3 (both Christmas books). Can't wait to see what Rosie, Lilian, Stephen, Moray, Tina & Jake are up to next time 'round.