I really enjoyed this book set in a British seaside town. It was a super fun light hearted read with fab characters, a great storyline & lots of mouth watering sweets.

Would definitely like to read the other books in the series

This was a cute story...quick read and a great escape from the cold winter days.

Marnie inherited her grandfather’s sweet shop and she was determined to do his legacy proud. She works with her best friend Beth. Marnie is about to make changes in the shop with recently won money, for which she has to thank her best friend. The shop has been looking the same since she took over and it really needs a fresher look. Marnie’s best friend is pregnant and can’t work for her anymore, there’s a need for a new assistant. Just when you she needs it the most, a young man Josh comes to the rescue and turns out to be a great assistant. Marnie is trying to get over her ex boyfriend and Josh seems to be the right guy. There’s a lot going on in Marnie’s life, especially all that revolves around the shop and her family. Marnie misses her ex boyfriend Alex, but also feels attracted to Josh, who wins Marnie’s heart?

I enjoyed reading this book, there was always something going on that made it easy to keep the eyes glued to the pages. There was a great amount of friendship, family relations and love. Reading about all these sweets makes you crave for something too. I really liked the idea about the home made sweets and those made my mouth water way more than the regular sweets. It was a great first book and I can’t wait to read the next.

I really wanted to love this book, but I didn't. The main issue I had was the character development. I didn't feel like there was any depth to any of the characters and it was frustrating because it meant that I didn't care about any of them.

Marnie was just an irritating character. I just kept expecting more and I didn't get that.

Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for this book! Release Date is March 02,2017.

Predictable but sweet. This is a good beach read, or maybe a stuck-in-the-house for a snow day read. Loved the characters.

When Marnie Appleton inherited a sweet shop from her grandfather she was determined to do his legacy proud. The shop has been a much-loved feature of the little seaside town of Shipley for years, but now Marnie needs to bring it up to date, and she’s recruited gorgeous new assistant Josh to help.

Marnie gets busy redecorating the shop and choosing delicious new sweets to stock, but things are never that simple: new neighbour Isobel, a fame-hungry blogger, is on a crusade against sugar, and she’ll go to any lengths to secure bad publicity for Marnie’s shop.

Marnie fights back with homemade sugar-free treats, but with her best friend Beth heavily pregnant, her grandmother Celia recovering from an operation, and her very recently ex-boyfriend Alex returning to Shipley with a new love, Marnie has a lot on her plate.

And then there’s Josh, with whom Marnie is struggling to keep her relationship strictly professional…Will both the sweet shop and love flourish?

My Review

I know you should not judge a book by its cover but my isn't it a pretty cover. Even the title itself made me want to dive in. For those who know me, know I love a good old fashioned sweet shop. Nothing better than walking in and seeing all the jars on the wall and spotting sweets from my childhood there (even though that wasn't that long ago).

This book was a great read, so easy to dive into and get lost. I read this book in a number of days, this is a good sign for a good book for me as normally it will take me a week to get through one if I'm not enjoying it very much.

Characters were great. I want more from them all especially how it ended I feel like there could be a Christmas version of this book in the way and I would like to be first in line to read it! I also wonder if there was a Christmas one if the cover would be as stunning.....

This to me is on par with that of a Jenny Colgan and her lovely sweetshop story. See told you I was a fan of sweet shops!

Highly recommend it for a light read where you want to dive in and forget the world around you for a few hours.

4 stars

This was a lovely, light read about Marnie and the sweetshop she inherited from her grandfather.

Life is a bit complicated for Marnie, with her boyfriend going overseas without her, with having a helping hand from the lovely but distracting Josh and trying to keep a bit of an eye on her grandmother Celia as well! Her mum is overseas but then makes a quick visit back. Is everything ok with her? Should she stay in the village and keep running her shop or will she take after her mother and go and travel? Marnie is at a bit of a crossroads and there is much to consider.....

I really enjoyed this book, I liked Marnie and I was hoping that everything would work out for her. I kind of wanted to go to the sweetshop myself, not just for the pear drops but also for the view!

Anyway, this book is highly recommended :)

I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture.

The Beachside Sweet Shop is a lovely lighthearted read. It follows the story of Marnie Appleton who inherited the sweet sop from her grandfather.

The shop has been part of the seaside town of Shipley for many years and everyone loves it until Isabel Sinclair arrives in town. Isabel is on a crusade to get the shop closed down and tries her best to secure nothing but bad publicity for Marnie.

Marnie fights back with sugar free treats and with family (grandmother Celia) and friends (Beth in particular) helping, does her best to secure the future of the shop.

Marnie, Beth and Celia are all fantastic characters that gel well together. Add in a couple of hunks in the shape of Josh and Alex and this book really does prove to be an excellent feel-good romantic comedy that I loved reading this weekend.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and Karen Clarke for the chance to review.

Firstly thank you to netgalley and the author Karen for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

It took me about a third of the way through to get into this book, i found i was easily distracted at the beginning. However once i did get into it i found it a lovely read. Its a cute story based on a small seaside village. I loved the idea of the small seaside sweet shop (we all visited one in our childhood, didnt we?).
the
The healthy sweets were a great idea and gave me some ideas about making some myself. It would of been great to add some of the recipes into the book.

Every now and then, you read the perfect book for your current mood, at just the right time, and for me The Beachside Sweet Shop was one such book. I had struggled with my previous read a bit, and starting to wonder if with new stresses on my time, whether I could still sit and devour a book in a relatively short time, and thankfully I picked The Beachside Sweet Shop. It has completely put my mind to rest, and at the same time provided me with a wonderfully enjoyable story, and a whole new seaside town to fall in love with.

I knew this was going to be the right sort of book for my me, when within the first page turn I was laughing out loud, in fact the opening exchanges between Marnie and her sweet supplier, set the tone for this book, as light hearted, and not afraid to make jokes.

As you may have guessed a lot of the action in this book is centred around Marnie's sweetshop. Although I have a sweet tooth I've always been more of a chocolate than sweet person, so thankfully I didn't get too hungry while reading, however if you love your sweets than I suggest you get a bag of them to nibble on while reading.

The Beachside Sweet Shop is a rather olde-world style shop, designed to remind people of their childhoods, it serves sweets in imperial measurements, and even has a pick and mix section. Marnie hasn't really made many changes to the shop since taking it over two years ago after her beloved grandfather's death. She isn't even sure she wasn't to still be in Shipley, running a sweet shop, and is determined to leave it all behind one day to satisfy her wanderlust.

Despite winning a local business award, things aren't smooth sailing for Marnie, as she attracts the attention of new neighbour Isobel. Isobel is a blogger who hopes to get a book deal and decides that campaigning against sweet shops will get her one. She is determined to rid Shipley of its sweet shop and then take them on elsewhere.

At the same time Marnie also acquired a new shop assistant, a gorgeous skateboarding dude, who also does close up magic, and seems to know his way around a sweet shop. She doesn't know much about Josh but he seems like a nice guy and he did help her out of a bit of a bind.

I really enjoyed reading Marnie's story, her friendship with Beth, all about Marnie's family, and of course the campaign involving the sweet shop. There is one memorable and funny scene involving Marnie and Coconut Ice, that really attacked my funny bone!

The Beachside Sweet Shop is an easy to read book, with some wonderful characters, including busybody neighbour - Doris Day, some delicious sweets, potential for romance and plenty of laughs. It was a delight to read and I am already looking forward to returning to Shipley in The Beachside Flower Stall.

Thank you so much to Bookouture and Netgalley for this copy of the book which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Such a sweet book (sorry, couldn't resist)

I've bought sweets from a shop just like this when I visited Tenby in Wales a year or so ago, so that's the one I had an image of!

I can really understand where Marnie is at - feeling that she has to look after an elderly relative, even though that relative insists they can manage without her. Marnie is a little resentful and feeling rather trapped, thinking she is being forced, by circumstances, to let go of her dreams in order to fulfil her responsibilities.

For Marnie, things aren't what they seem, and the story ends on an upbeat and uplifting manner. However, there is a thread of seriousness running through this chick lit novel, and I feel this gives it more depth.

A really cute, sweet (sorry, I did it again) read. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

Marnie Appleton is a very lucky woman.. it just takes her a bit to realize it! I love the characters in this book, and wish we had heard more from Celia, Doris, Beth, Harry and Bunty, and maybe even Isabel I definitely hope to learn more about Josh's adventures!!

Marnie's conflict with Isabel rings true in many ways in today's world. Bullies out for nothing else than making themselves look better. I love how she doesn't give up, even when everything seems to be against her and just keeps GOING! She's got a strong sense of character and self-worth and a mission that made me root for her every minute I was reading!

I love Karen Clarke's writing. The story flows well and the characters are easy to fall in love with. Can't wait to read the next one!

This was a nice easy read set in a sweet shop in a seaside town, and a lovely book cover.

Marnie ran the sweet shop that had been in her family for years, taking over from her grandfather when he passed on. But she never wanted to be there supposedly and was always planning on leaving to go travelling, which got a bit tiresome after a while as no-one was making her stay there.

There were some good side characters (grandmother Celia and best friend Beth), albeit some very irritating ones too (nasty Isobel)! There was an ex-boyfriend who she'd kind of pushed away to work in New York as she 'had to' go back to Shipley to work in the sweet shop. The romance side didn't really work for me and was a bit confusing at times as it looked like there was a slow burning romance with Josh, who worked in the shop, but then certain things came to light and he was out of the picture. Then near the end the ex popped back again.

But all in all a pleasant enough read.

A reasonably light hearted romantic romp through the village of Shipley and the unusual but funny residents who live there.

With a sweet shop being the main stay of this story (and I do like sweets, not quite as much as cake but it is a close run thing) you cannot really go wrong giving this book a read.

This is a light, fun, sweet read that I was hooked on from the second I started reading.

The story follows Marnie, who took over the sweet shop after her Grandad died. After winning a competition for independent businesses things start to get a little complicated in the shop, with a sudden rush of new customers, mum's clubs starting a war on sugar and Marnie's best friend and shop assistant having a baby, leaving Marnie stuck for help until a stranger named Josh steps into the shop.

The characters are instantly likeable and you love reading to get to know them.
Marnie could be a little whiney at times. Complaining about wanting to leave and missed opportunities so often and yet still choosing to stay where she was, running the shop out of obligation that nobody else seemed to think she owed.

The story is well written and descriptions of the shop, town and views so easy to imagine and picture yourself in.

The only complaint. I constantly wanted sweets when I was reading this book!

I've had a bit of a rough week with a nasty lurgy so needed some light, funny escapism and to my rescue came Karen Clarke with The Beachside Sweet Shop!
With a summery, warm feel of seaside holidays and nostalgia in buckets (& spades?), this book has brilliant characters you instantly love (& some you hate) centered around the coastal village of Shipley and the old family sweetshop Marnie Appleton runs. Facing some difficult decisions and battling pressures from her past and present, Marnie tries to keep the family shop a success whilst figuring out what , or who, is really her true calling. Not one to miss, especially if you've ever enjoyed a good bag of pear drops.

The Beachside Sweet Shop is a sweet and charming read that is sure to make you crave some candies for yourself! The characters are as charming as can be, the setting is picturesque and I can imagine myself visiting a place just like that, and the added romance adds just the right amount of flavor to this delicious novel. And on top of this, the cover of the novel is beautiful. This is what originally made me want to read the book in the first place. For some reason, I am a book cover lover and this one sits high on my list favorites.

With that being said, fans of chick lit novels; especially those that dive into the culinary/bakery/shops etc. as the backdrop for the story will adore this novel. I know that I did and I can't wait to read the next book in the series when it releases!

The Beach side Sweet Shop has such a gorgeous cover, I felt I could have sat on that very deck chair and read my books on it! As I was actually brought up in a sweet shop I smiled all of the way through this gorgeous heartwarming read. A lot of the sweets reminded me of my childhood.

The fictional Seaside town of Shipley sounds gorgeous, I almost packed my bags and started looking on TripAdvisor for a place to stay. The characters and storyline are just everything I adore in a book. I can honestly say that I felt quite sad to be saying farewell to everyone at the end.

This was a new to me author, well , I'm a huge fan after reading this book. Fun, light hearted and fast paced . The characters are well written and lovable and I craved sweets the entire time I was reading . I look forward to reading more from Karen Clarke. This book was a wonderful escape from reality, thank you for writing this story Ms. Clarke. Highly recommend.

I really enjoyed this book. It was light and easy. Yet interesting enough to keep me wanting more. I'd definitely read more of this author!!