It is my stop on the blog tour today for True Love at the Lonely Hearts Bookshop and it is a pleasure to introduce to you a book that was a real palate cleanser for me. As you can tell by my latest reviews, I have read a lot of gritty crime recently so it was nice to tuck into a novel that I didn’t have to think too much about, and for once I could have my head in the clouds a little bit.

Verity’s boyfriend is perfect in every single way, even her friends swoon at the thought of him, but there is just one slight complication, Peter Hardy is a figment of Verity’s imagination. Created by way of getting her friends off her back for not having a boyfriend. Verity doesn’t even want to be in a relationship anyway so why won’t everyone just leave her alone?! She has come to the conclusion that she is going to have to kill Peter off, but her friends being as nosy as they are, decide to follow her one day. This leads to Verity being thrown out of her comfort zone and sit with a complete stranger with the intention of pretending to her friends that this man is Peter Hardy. As luck would have it, he goes along with this funny little situation but in a completely unexpected way; he pretends that he is the “other man” in Verity’s life – hilarious, right?! Could this be a relationship in the making?! I sure hope so.

Verity in a nutshell is quiet, undemanding and would do anything for an easy life. She is in love with her job and her greedy cat, and the little things seem to please her the most like her Friday night routine of attending her local Italian restaurant and ordering a glass or two of red wine, and a dish of crispy topped cheesy lasagna. Annie Darling has created an adorable character that bookworms will love. Verity is laugh out loud and could easily be anyone’s best friend.

This is the second book in a series however, I haven’t read the first one yet, but nor did I need to (this doesn’t mean I won’t though!). True Love at the Lonely Hearts Bookshop can be comfortably read as a standalone. It is the perfect piece of escapism that we all need once in a while.

Annie Darling writes a funny, beautiful, cozy little tale that is perfect to snuggle up with on the sofa sipping that obligatory cup of tea (or glass of wine!). This story will have you smiling until the end. It will make your heart feel a little lighter, and life a little brighter.

Thank you to Harper Collins and Netgalley for providing me with an e-copy of this sweet little book in return for my opinion on this blog tour. It is the perfect feel-good book, a lovely summer read, so why not give it a try?!

My final word: Adorable.

I absolutely love the first book in this series: The Little Bookshop of Lonely Hearts, so I went into the second very optimistic. I was not disappointed. OK, granted it took me a while to adjust to the fact that the story was based around a completely new character, but once I had I loved this story as much as I did the first!

I’m not usually one for cheesy romances, this definitely one of them. I found the story really original, a really charming love story. The characters were fabulous – Verity’s family in particular – and obviously her amazing cat Strumpet!

The bookshop setting and all the bookish references were fantastic – I imagine any book lover would find them so and would also agree with everyone’s shock at the fact that Johnny hadn’t read Pride and Prejudice!

I was hooked from the first chapter, this is the perfect can’t-put-down summer/holiday read. I would recommend to any one who wants an original, wonderfully written, easy-to-read love story.

Although this is the second in a series, you definitely don’t have to read the first before this one, it can easily be read as a standalone!

Oh dear. Guys. I've fallen in love with "True Love at the Lonely Hearts Bookshop" immediately - just like it happened when I've been reading the first book in the series "The Little Bookshop of Lonely Hearts". Those two stories are heart - breakingly funny, warm, they tug at all the right heart strings and are full of the best ever comments, one - liners and characters. I could read Annie Darling's books on daily basis.
This book was a little different to the previous novel, although I can't tell you exactly what was missing this time, maybe I just had too high expectations but still it was a brilliant, poignant and hilarious read. However, if you haven't read the previous book, I would highly recommend to do this before reading Verity's story, and not because you are going to miss on the characters or plot, because this book can be read as a stand - alone, but because the previous novel was just magical.

Annie Darling has - again - created some of the best characters in the fictional world. This time the story focuses on Verity Love, who works in Posy's bookshop. Verity may be a very extreme character - you know, there might be quiet and there might be quiet, and she was at the very end of the scale, but the descriptions of her introverted nature were so spot on, they explained her personality in such a perfect way that - even though I have my wild years behind me I am still an open person - I could just get Verity, I understood her with my whole heart and could see her need for peace and quiet. It was brilliant that she realised she's not the easiest person to be around but it was even more great that she was trying hard not to overwhelm people with her need to be alone, and I had a feeling that she tried so hard not to be a burden - but she was not a martyr! Oh no. She was a lovely, incredibly smart and funny person and I would love to have Verity as a friend.
I think that the best parts of the book involve Verity's family - her fours sisters, cats, dog and parents who also refers to themselves as Our Vicar and Our Vicar's Wife - loved it! The sisters couldn't be more different than Verity herself and they brilliantly complemented her, they were incredible, self - confident chatterboxes talking all the time. I laughed out loud at their antics and couldn't stop smiling when they were planning Con's wedding. They were all so warm and you could see they love each other incredibly.
The author also couldn't come up with a better name for the antagonist. As it happens, I know one Marissa and even though she's only a child, she's as devil as the Marissa from the story.
And then we have the main male character. Oh boy. But before I start gushing about Johnny please let me tell you that there was one moment at the end of the story when I felt SO disappointed with him! I thought I'm going to kill him with my bare hands. Also, him being in love with a woman he can't have, and the way he cling desperately to this illusion started to annoy me at some point and I wanted to shake him really hard. And he was a little like enigma to me, sometimes he just came across as self centred and arrogant, and sometimes he was so understanding and heartfelt. But whatever, I really liked him and the way he was around Verity, he was so patient with her and he had so much understanding.

What made me feel a little unsure was the fact that I was eventually asking myself if Verity and Johnny should really end up together? They worked brilliantly together in my opinion but there came a moment that we got to know Verity's feelings about the situation and didn't know about Johnny's, and then came this another moment that I've mentioned above about being unsure about Johnny, and I was simply afraid that Verity is going to be hurt, because I was not sure what it really is what Johnny feels. Nevertheless, I loved the way this friendship evolved, it felt very genuine and natural. They both had issues and demons and I loved to see how they open up to each other and how it helped them.

I am only afraid that slowly there is only so much Jane Austen I can take and that with this book I've maxed up my limit of reading books based on "Pride and Prejudice" - however it was one of the best "adaptations" I have come across.

So altogether, even though the first book in the series was magically brilliant, I adored "True Love at the Lonely Hearts Bookshop" and I hope that Annie Darling is going to write another book about one of the characters! I will be the first in the virtual queue to read it, that's for sure. This book was full of a great, different romance, wonderful, larger than life characters and written in such a lovely way! The author has a great way with words, she always knows when it's time for something poignant or some fun and some of the situations are either heart - breaking or hilariously funny, and I loved this balance. If you need to loose yourself in a humorous, heart - warming novel about friendship, family, love and hope than treat yourself to this book. Highly recommended!

I haven't read the first book in this series, but this one is readable as a standalone. It's an OK, if predictable, story centred around Verity Love and Johnny True (yes, I'm afraid so), with a cast including Very's loud sisters, parents (I really didn't like them being called Muv and Farv, or Our Vicar and Our Vicar's Wife, both names were irritating), Johnny's unpleasant ex, his many dahling friends and a few others. Johnny wants a fake girlfriend, and his reasons are pretty poor, Very goes along with it too, but I'm not sure why, really. A lot is made of her being an introvert, yet she's at weddings and parties with Johnny non-stop all through the summer, despite many references to her need for solitude. There are also some pretty annoying stereotypes - the socks and sandals mansplaining curate, the do gooding vicar and wife, whose sermons are long and boring and who give all their children terribly holy names and have no TV, etc...

The ending is predictable and very possibly wrong. After ten years, ten years, of conducting an emotional affair with his ex-best mate's wife (admittedly said ex friend was a bit of a scumbag for pinching her from him straight after his mum died, hardly paints either of them in a good light, shades of Ross - "we were on a break!"), Johnny falls for Very, but he's hardly Mr Darcy. Just because he seems nice, we can ignore this major character flaw of obsession. Very, run a mile!

It's sort of engaging, but with an undercurrent of 'do I really care about these characters?' Probably a reasonable summer beach read, but not one to go back to for a second read. The tearoom sounds awesome though!

Thanks netgalley for the advance copy.

A lovely, charming book which is just as good as the first in the series. I can't wait for more to come out!

For my full review, please see the link to my blog post below.

The Little Bookshop of Lonely Hearts was one of my top reads of 2016 and I have found it impossible to let Posy and her quaint little Bookshop go so I was over the moon when I found out that Annie Darling was bringing us a sequel, True Love at the Lonely Hearts Bookshop.

This time our main character is Verity, who you may remember from the first book even though she had a smaller roll. Verity is perfectly happy living the single life but her friends and family have other ideas and so to keep them off of her back and to stop them constantly trying to set her up she invents a boyfriend but when she is followed by her nosey friends who are keen to meet her mysterious man she has to think quick and enlists the help of an unexpected guy to help her cover her tracks.

Johnny never expected that evening to be that eventful but he sees a great opportunity for Verity and himself to help each other out over the next few weeks and so they agree to pretend date so they can get a break from blind dates and matchmaking.

The dangerous thing when you adore a book so much and long for a sequel is that you have incredibly high expectations and you expect to have all the feels from the first book flowing through the pages of the second book. This sequel is an enjoyable read that I found myself eagerly turning the pages wanting to see how Verity’s love life was progressing but I really felt like the book was missing that special spark that was found in the first book. I am sure if you were to read this book as a standalone you would thoroughly enjoy it but those reading this after reading book one will not be able to help but compare to the two. It didn’t have that warm cosy and community vibe going on that was so inviting in the first book but it does have a great sense of wit which I loved.

I loved seeing glimpses of the previous characters from the first book, I must admit that I was hoping that Posy was going to have a bigger role in this book but that is just because of how much I loved and related to her character. Verity herself is a difficult character to warm to as she has high barriers up and comes across as a prickly character at times but when she spends time with Johnny gradually I felt her guard coming down at times and I began to really care for her character and long for her to find the happiness she deserved. Johnny was also a character who had me on a rollercoaster as some times I loved him and thought he was just what Verity needed but then at other times he would say something that would throw my opinion of him in the complete opposite direction.

I did enjoy this book and I would recommend anyone who is looking for a light hearted romance to take away with them this Summer but I would just give anyone who fell in love with the first book a heads up that this although an enjoyable read, it doesn’t leave you with that longing for a follow on this time around.

True Love at the Lonely Hearts Bookshop by Annie Darling is the kind of book I wouldn’t usually go for actually, but you know what? I’m glad I did read it because sometimes this kind of book is just exactly what you need and this was one such time.

What I liked: It’s set in a bookshop, which, HELLO. I think Verity might be me, actually because I related to her on many levels. There’s a cat. And a lot of Pride and Prejudice. & I do like a good meetcute. It was a mostly fun, and very easy read. It was perfect for hot hot days when I wanted to be entertained but didn’t want to hurt my brain. & I want to eat cake in that shop, damnit.


What I didn’t like: Johnny. & I know that’s probably bad considering he’s the male romantic lead but I couldn’t help it. I thought he was a bit of a dick. Also I knew from page one how the story was going to end which is probably why I don’t usually go for books like this; I like my fictions to break free from the formula.

I did find myself thinking about Mary Wesley's books as I read this one. I find there is space in my life for snuggling up with an amusing love story which also generates a few tears, on a day when the weather outside is grey and wet. I really liked the idea of the bookshop and I thought it would end happily ever after but the author did keep me guessing about that until the end. All the characters were well drawn, I am not sure all 40 somethings have so much money but it did remind me of the life some had during the 80s and 90s.

A great feel good read.

This was an enjoyable romantic comedy with some engaging characters. My main gripe with the book is that the names are a bit twee; author - Darling, protagonists - Love & True! That aside it would make a great holiday read.

A book lovers dream, I thought this was quirky and heart warming. A fabulous romance set in the world of bookselling..

Now i am going to be honest, the cover of this book did not get my attention. Usually i like a cover with real people on, not drawings. what drew me in is the blurb of the book. A female lead who does not need romance but feels the need to lie about it, and instead of a man sweeping in to rescue her, he comes in needing her help as well. A fun and light read but it was great to read something quite different to what i would normally pick up. This books story had me smiling and routing for the characters especially Verity.

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This book is a great summer read. Really enjoyed it and the author made the places come to life.

I love reading this style of book as can lose yourself in it and just enjoy the story.

An easy read with characters that were both likable and complex. Dealt with some difficult issues included the perils of unrequited love and the pressure on young women to be part of a couple, sociable an outgoing etc. Also its tongue in cheek way of dealing the love/hate relationship that so many people have with romantic fiction

I was so excited when I found out that there would be a second book in the series for The Lonely Hearts Bookshop, as I adored the first book, and loved all of the characters. I jumped at a chance to read this book!

This installment sees Verity, who is feeling very pressured to have a boyfriend by her family and friends, so she makes up an imaginary boyfriend to keep them off her back and to stop pressuring her into dates. This, in turn, brings her to meet the handsome Johnny, who also would like to get his friends off his back for being single, and being in love with a woman he couldn't be with (which at many times made me want to jump into the book and knock his head against the wall for being such an idiot). Perfect time for them both to act as if they are together?

This book was a fab read but didn't quite hit the same notes for me as the first book. It felt a bit like a different story that was only slightly connected, as you didn't see as much as of the bookshop and the other characters as I would have hoped (especially Posy and Sebastian), but more time at weddings and parties. Saying that though I did really enjoy the story it just wasn't as much connected to the first book as I would have hoped. My only other complaint was the constant references to Pride and Prejudice, there was just way too many of them and I found it quite annoying at times.

Overall a fab read. I need to fit in some time now to re read both books back to back! Also keeping my fingers crossed for more books to the series.

Well from the title and the opening few chapters of the book you just about know what is going to happen. However in saying that, there were a few good twists and turns along the way to make it an enjoyable read.

Overall, the book had potential but failed to be memorable. To summarize, both main characters require fake "other-half's" for the summer so they make an agreement to help each other out and predictably feelings develop. This was the perfect setting for a lovely love story full of suspense and funny moments, but was a lost opportunity instead. I recognize the strategy to create non-perfect characters; these characters felt contrived and much of their dialogue tended to annoy me. One or two of the side characters had potential.

I quite enjoyed True Love at the Lonely Hearts Bookshop. Annie Darling has a clever, humorous voice and she infuses the story with wit and colour. It took me a while to really warm to Verity, but the portrayal of an introvert is well done and sensitively handled, and many of the features will be recognisable to similar mindsets. Loved the dynamic palette of secondary characters and the heartwarming way in which they all constantly rally around the heroine. An enjoyable, light-hearted romantic read.

Full disclosure: I'm not really a big romance reader (well, not since I used to raid my nan's bookshelf as a teenager for the Mills & Boons she bought at 5p each from the market), and in the case of this book, the title, cover and even the author's name make it pretty clear that "gritty urban thriller" is probably off the table and romance is most definitely on it. (To be fair, I'm not that big on gritty urban thrillers either.) However, I *am* all for variety in my reading matter, and I'm certainly not such an old misery as to be entirely averse to a spot of romance if it's fun, interesting and well written.

Bookshops/teashops/a combination of both seem to be big news in publishing at the moment and titles featuring them abound. This is the sequel to a previous book, The Little Bookshop of Lonely Hearts (which I haven't read), featuring the same shop - the romance-themed Happy Ever After - but a different central character. In this case, it's the bookshop's admin manager Verity Love (*the* most perfect name for a romantic heroine), a twenty-seven year old self described spinster, Jane Austen addict - she has a quote for every situation - and owner of a difficult cat called Strumpet (excellent name also).

Verity's invented an imaginary boyfriend, perfect Peter Hardy (oceanographer), entirely in order to get her friends off her back, but of course this backfires when they inevitably seize an apparent opportunity to meet him and Verity has to throw herself on the mercy of a random handsome stranger. It's all a bit far fetched, but it would be curmudgeonly to complain. Handsome stranger Johnny, announcing upfront that his heart Belongs To Another, offers a mutually beneficial arrangement whereby he acts as Verity's real fake boyfriend, Peter Hardy (oceanographer) having been retired, at social occasions - hence getting both sets of friends off their backs. There follows a summer of weddings and parties as Verity and Johnny get to know each other better.

I did relate to Verity, an introvert who finds the modern world just a bit too overwhelming at times and needs her alone time to recover. She has friends, a job and a loud, eccentric family but just doesn't feel she has space for a boyfriend. Will she change her mind and can Johnny ever get over the thoroughly undeserving woman who currently holds his heart to ransom? Well, the answers to those questions will come as no great surprise, but it's fun getting there.

This is a light, cosy, humorous read which once I got into it, I thoroughly enjoyed. The ending was perhaps a bit too pat after a long build up and as I said, there are no big surprises, but the story was fun and I liked all the characters, with Verity's family being particularly good value.

Recommended for anyone who enjoys contemporary romance, or even those who think they don't but are prepared to give it a chance!

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishers for this review copy. Also thank you to Jaime Frost, from Harper Fiction for allowing me to take part in the blog tour.

This is the second book of the Lonely Hearts Bookshop series. It can be read as a standalone book, but does make sense to read the books in order to understand the story (and because they are both very good books!)

This story focuses on Verity Love – the quiet, vicar’s daughter, manager of the Happy Ever After bookshop. Verity is now living in the flat above the bookshop with her overweight cat, Strumpet and her friend and colleague Nina. She is still in a relationship with her imaginary boyfriend, oceanographer Peter Hardy. That is until one day, her colleagues follow her to her ‘date’ to meet the elusive Peter and Verity has to quickly sit at the table of a handsome stranger and beg that he goes along with her story! This handsome stranger is Johnny the architect. He is in a bit of a love quandary himself being in love with a woman that he can’t have, and him and Verity agree to become pretend boyfriend/girlfriend for over the summer to stop their friends from setting them up with totally unsuitable dates and to have someone to accompany them to a round of weddings and parties they have been invited to. Can they do it just as friends?

As I write this review I am thankful for four things – 1) the rainy weather which means I have been able to stay in and read, 2) the school holidays which mean I get longer to read without being interrupted with the school runs, 3) the fact that I don’t sleep well and was able to read it until the early hours and 4) the author for writing this amazing series of books. This book was great, wonderful, fantastic, and absolutely brilliant. I can think of many other ways to describe it, but I think that might be a bit over the top. I had read some reviews of this book before I read it and it seemed to have a mixed bag. Some people felt it didn’t live up to the first book’s expectations……not me!! I thought this was better than the first book. It has taken me less than a day to finish it, and believe me nothing else has been done until it was finished!

I knew Verity from the first book, but you didn’t get to see the real Verity until now. You now understand why she prefers her own company and is so shy and introvert. Her relationship with Johnny was wonderful, even though at times I did want to shout at her to get out and don’t fall in love with him! Johnny is stuck in this relationship with his ex-girlfriend, Marissa. He lost out to her and she married his best friend, but he just can’t let her go. Marissa was probably the only character I didn’t like (although I didn’t like Johnny at some points) as she was so nasty and spiteful to poor old Verity. We all know how these stories go, you know there is going to be a happy ending, but that didn’t matter! It was just heaven to get swept along on a wave of love, friendships, weddings, books and cake! Now what more could you want in a book!

This is a 110% recommendation for this series of books. Don’t just read this one, go out and get the other one as well, you will not regret it! Fingers crossed there will be another book in this series!! I’m off for a well-deserved nap now considering this book had me awake until the very early hours! Five huge big stars!

I have found a new author to add to my favourites! In her second novel about the Lonely Hearts Bookshop, Annie Darling – such an apt name for an author of romantic fiction – writes about Verity Love, the manager of the bookshop and a keen Jane Austen fan. Circumstances force her into using a complete stranger as her boyfriend for the summer, and the well-written storyline is highly believable. There is one occurrence towards the end of the book that I found to be rather disappointing, but the story picked up again quickly and I didn’t want it to end. I only finish reading books which have grabbed me in the first few pages, and this one certainly did. In fact, I’m now going to go back and read Annie’s first novel about the bookshop whilst I eagerly await her next book.