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A review by melindamoor
The Beachside Flower Stall by Karen Clarke
3.0
I received the arc from the Publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
True to chick-lit formula in general, this book does not really hold any surprises after you have read the cover blurb, but if you'd like to indulge in an easy, relaxing beach read for the spring/summer days to come, this is definitely one to consider.
Also as with most books of the genre, for me, the real clincher is whether I end up liking the protagonist or not. In this case I had some serious doubts right at the beginning. The main characters came across as pretty one-dimensional with "goody-two-shoes", "mr-oh-so-nice-guy" and "bitch-queen" stamps all over them - no subtlety there.
The heroine, Carrie, was so gullible and painfully pathetic that pushed the borders of credibility and instead of captivating, she was deeply irritating.
Interestingly enough, it was the colourful set of secondary characters who got me more involved as the story progressed; somehow they were much better-drawn and very entertaining. Ruby's story touched me more deeply than Carrie's and I owe the most hilarious moments of the book to the endearing antics of Ruby's assistant Jane.
Somewhere along the middle of the book, Carrie became less annoying, as I felt that finally we were given some much needed development in her character: we learned more about her friendship with Megan as well as her relationship with Tom.
The seaside town of Shipley was a lovely setting and I would have loved to be given even more details about the place and its inhabitants (I haven't read the first book [b:The Beachside Sweet Shop: A Feel Good Romantic Comedy|34304574|The Beachside Sweet Shop A Feel Good Romantic Comedy|Karen Clarke|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1488381651s/34304574.jpg|54132455] in this series, so I don't know whether the author went into more details there or not).
By the end I was very much in charity with everyone - well apart from Megan, obviously - and I felt we were a bit cheated with the end. I missed a final-final chapter that could have been titled "6 months later". I really would have liked to read more about how Carrie & boyfriend and the rest of the cast were getting on.
In the end I decided I'd like to learn more about "Beachside Bay", so I will check out Book #1 in the series.
True to chick-lit formula in general, this book does not really hold any surprises after you have read the cover blurb, but if you'd like to indulge in an easy, relaxing beach read for the spring/summer days to come, this is definitely one to consider.
Also as with most books of the genre, for me, the real clincher is whether I end up liking the protagonist or not. In this case I had some serious doubts right at the beginning. The main characters came across as pretty one-dimensional with "goody-two-shoes", "mr-oh-so-nice-guy" and "bitch-queen" stamps all over them - no subtlety there.
The heroine, Carrie, was so gullible and painfully pathetic that pushed the borders of credibility and instead of captivating, she was deeply irritating.
Interestingly enough, it was the colourful set of secondary characters who got me more involved as the story progressed; somehow they were much better-drawn and very entertaining. Ruby's story touched me more deeply than Carrie's and I owe the most hilarious moments of the book to the endearing antics of Ruby's assistant Jane
Spoiler
a 50something woman who decides to spice up her marriage by going on a holiday and reenacting scenes from the book "50 shades of grey" with some weird, but funny outcomesSomewhere along the middle of the book, Carrie became less annoying, as I felt that finally we were given some much needed development in her character: we learned more about her friendship with Megan as well as her relationship with Tom.
The seaside town of Shipley was a lovely setting and I would have loved to be given even more details about the place and its inhabitants (I haven't read the first book [b:The Beachside Sweet Shop: A Feel Good Romantic Comedy|34304574|The Beachside Sweet Shop A Feel Good Romantic Comedy|Karen Clarke|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1488381651s/34304574.jpg|54132455] in this series, so I don't know whether the author went into more details there or not).
By the end I was very much in charity with everyone - well apart from Megan, obviously - and I felt we were a bit cheated with the end. I missed a final-final chapter that could have been titled "6 months later". I really would have liked to read more about how Carrie & boyfriend and the rest of the cast were getting on.
In the end I decided I'd like to learn more about "Beachside Bay", so I will check out Book #1 in the series.