Member Reviews
I really like Rebecca's books and this one did not disappoint! I think Rosie might have been one of my favorites yet!
The story follows Rosie, a successful chef in London living her perfect life until everything came crashing down. Following her divorce, Rosie buys a bright fuchsia van and heads out along the "van lifer trail". Along the way she meets a dear friend in Aria who also carries her own baggage. Rosie encounters several other wonderful individuals along the way including Max who pushes her even further to live her life to the fullest.
I loved the concept of van lifers which is something I didn't have a whole lot of knowledge about. Rebecca's writing style had me turning pages to see what happens next as well as the warmth and the ease of relating to the characters.
Overall, this was a light refreshing read that I thoroughly enjoyed! It wassn't your typical light "chick lit" novel though. The author did a great job weaving in emotions, life lessons, and love.
I was provided with an eARC via HQ Digital and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts expressed are my own.
I loved this book and could not put it down. The storyline was interesting and I really related to the characters.
‘The bookworms are utterly lovely. They cuddle their books like newborn babies, chat for hours over tea and cake about their favourite writers, cliff hangers, preferred chapter length, eBooks versus paperbacks and the like! In a way I wish I could have poured my own pot of tea and sat with them like Aria did. You have to envy her sometimes. It’s a great way to live life.’
Bookworms beware! As soon as I saw this and read the blurb, I knew I needed to read this book! Sometimes you need some light escapism for lifting one’s mood, and this is one of those books that came to me at the right time. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it from start to finish.
There is just so much to love about this story .... with some really compelling life lessons included. I really appreciated Rosie’s story, both the literal and figurative journey she was on. In fact, there were quite an assortment of characters on this wonderful trip across the UK - what a great way to travel! I totally lost myself to van life and felt like I was at one of the festivals where Rosie and Aria have set up. I want a van!
‘A busy day ahead doing this. I grin, imagining him in some rural hamlet, a pot of steaming hot tea at the ready, a new novel to sink into and nothing else to do all day besides enjoy the solitude.’
Rebecca Raisin’s writing has a wonderful warm feel to it, both in terms of people and place. The people are engaging and the places .... well you just wish you were there - pink van included! Then there is the food and tea! Don’t get me started! You will adore Aria’s van, you will love the combination of tea and books, especially Rosie and Aria’s attempt to match a brew to a title! I could really do with a cup of ‘Sense and Sensibility’ right about now!
‘She goes to the first shelf, pulls down a once cobalt blue hardback, its cover now ravaged and faded with time-and she takes a great big sniff, before she turns to me,her eyes bright as though she’s just discovered the meaning of life. “That is the best scent in the world, better than any perfume, any flower. It’s the smell of lives lived.”
Delve a bit deeper and this book is about life, love and friendship and how it can be found in the most unlikely of places. It’s all about finding yourself and daring to break out of the humdrum daily existence to try something new and exciting. Could you reinvent yourself? Live nomadically from venture to venture? Who wouldn’t love to try a summer of festivals in a camper!
‘With a long sigh she says, “I felt like there was no sunshine anymore, you know? Like I was trudging through interminable darkness. Have you ever considered why you’re here, Rosie? Like right here, right now? This moment.”
This wonderful cosy read just resonated with me so much! With copious amounts of tea, books and a trip to the countryside ... what is there not to love?
“Sometimes I feel like I’ve lived a thousand lives already,” he laughs. “And one thing I’ve learned is there is no right way to walk this earth, and we can only learn from those in our lives, take whatever lesson we can from it and keep going.”
This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.
Rosie's Travelling Tea Shop was the first book I've read by this author, but now I'm sure it won't be the last!
Rosie is a sous-chef in a Michelin-starred restaurant and after her personal life begins to fall apart, she accidentally buys Poppy, a hot pink campervan. From then on, she embarks on a journey of self-discovery and adventure, and meets all sorts of people along the way, including Max.
Max was, in fact, one of the characters I loved the most in this story. He's first presented as the hot buff guy but soon we learn that he's also a vegan pacifist with a passion for healthy, whole foods. When I first read he was vegan, I was afraid his character was going to turn into a stereotype fest, but I was pleasantly surprised by how the author wrote him.
In the end, this was a lovely story, full of endearing characters and free of angst.
#RosiesTravellingTeaShop is a cosy chick lit, that is easy to read and brings to life a Jason Momoa fantasy which I’m sure lots of people will love (kind, compassionate, muscly).
When Rosie’s husband leaves her for another woman she drunkenly purchases a pink campervan and decides to become a van lifer running it as a tea shop. I’ve read other stories along this ‘opens a food business’ vein, but the van life aspect was what caught my attention.
It’s a lovely story, with characters I liked. However, it took me a long time to read it as it just didn’t keep me gripped. But I did finish it, and enjoyed reading it. I think the ending was a little rushed.
I think lots of people will be charmed by it.
Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for my free advance copy in return for an unbiased review.
Delightful lighthearted read - I really enjoyed this book. A lovely mixture of romance and adventure. I really enjoyed the character of Rosie and how she developed throughout the book. I love the idea of a travelling tea shop and some of the teas sounded so lovely I would like to try them.
A fabulous tale of roadtrips, festivals, teas and tasty treats. I recommend this book - perfect for a holiday read or a cosy afternoon on the sofa.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
What an utterly charming, delightful book! I was fully immersed in Rosie's new adventure after finding herself alone and determined to prove her (quite awful sounding) husband wrong in that she isn't predictable and boring. A travelling tea shop sounds like the perfect idea to me -and I do love a book that makes me drool for the wonderful treats and delights it describes!
Rosie seems like a woman I would be friends with, shes brave, independent and really funny - I laughed out loud several times throughout. She's been pushed out of her comfort zone but she goes with it and makes the best out of each new situation. I think the combination of her and new friend Aria is wonderful.
Aria is probably my favourite - a mobile book van, come on!! Books and a tea shop is my idea of heaven. Their friendship is so well written, they support each other perfectly. Both need someone to guide them and work through their different problems, which they do as the story progresses. I could really imagine going to some of the festivals mentioned and sitting with a book from Aria coupled with a wonderful tea from Rosie.
I enjoyed the romantic aspect of the wonderfully annoying, yet gorgeous, Max. I liked how he continued to push Rosie into new, uncomfortable things and yet she found utter pleasure from them. He really healed her heart and confirmed her ability to be happy and push her boundaries. I think their relationship was well written, sweet and gave Rosie the happy ending I know I was hoping for.
I have never read anything by Rebecca Raisin before - shame on me! I will be rectifying that. I loved this book, I have never felt tempted by camper vans etc but this genuinely made me imagine life on the road, having adventures and meeting new friends.
I highly recommend - a book full of adventure, self-discovery, friendship and heart. Thank you to HQ Digital UK and Rebecca for an advanced copy of this book via Netgalley.
I really enjoyed this book. It's all about Rosie who was a sous-chef for a prestigious restaurant in London. She's married to a fellow sous-chef at a different restaurant and has her whole life planned out, even when she will conceive her two kids. That is until she comes home late on her birthday to find him waiting up for her with his bags packed. He claims that she isn't spontaneous enough and is leaving her for another woman.
Rosie is freaked out about the claims her husband made about her before he left and she decided that she didnt want to be the butt of anyones jokes in London and didnt want to end up alone, like the ex had said she would. She decided to quit her job. After she turned in her notice in a drunken haze she bought a van and made this whole plan to become a traveling tea shop.
I thought that this was a very cute story about recovering from heart break and finding a new lease on life. She makes new friends and is even open to finding a new love. Her story is so sweet and inspiring, that I want to go back to Europe and start exploring too.
I did have some trouble giving it a star review, as cute as it was there was nothing really special about it so i thought that a 4 star rating was too high, and a 3 seemed to low... so I guess I am going to settle in the middle with a 3.5. There were so many wonderful aspects to this story, but at the same time it lacked something too. I felt like there were times that the story was really rushed and the ending was over so quickly. It felt like we were gearing up to this big reveal and when it happened it was over so fast that the story was just over. I think the really issue was that i just wanted more. I wanted it to go on a little longer and there were times that weeks would pass and it just felt too rushed. I did really enjoy it though and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.
Rosie thought she had her life worked out. Good job, husband, nice house. Then on her birthday of all days, her husband decides to tell her that he's leaving, having an affair and basically wants everything that Rosie has worked for. After drowning her sorrows, Rosie realises that she's bought a rusting bright pink camper van called "Poppy". This is the catalyst for the once organised and structured chef to throw caution to the wind and start life on the open road.
I really REALLY enjoyed this book. As a festival loving chick myself I could easily see myself in Rosie but more so in her new friend Aria, the bookworm owner of the travelling book shop she partners with. She is my complete sprit animal and I love the way the friendship develops and how slowly and steadily, Rosie becomes the person she's probably always been inside.
Max is a complete dish and although I have fallen for fictional characters before (Mr Darcy anyone?) I could easily picture Max as a peace loving Jason Mamoa type which immediately made me want him to be real. In fact, I wanted all the characters in this book to be real. I wanted to jump in and experience the life for myself as the descriptions of the Van Lifer lifestyle were spot on. Descriptive yet enough left to fuel your own imagination.
In conclusion, this is a lovely, easy and fun read for anyone who wants to escape the everyday life.
I'm off to scour eBay for my very own Poppy!
Thank you HQ Digital and Netgally for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
This is the kind of book I would like even more as a "car read" as I like to call them (an audiobook). I think it would be fun to see how a narrator could bring this story and characters to life.
I am a huge fan of the author and loved this story so much. The idea of being able to take off for places you have never been, experiencing new things, and meeting so many different characters along the way must appeal to a lot of us. Reading this made me wish I had travelled more when I was younger, taken risks.
As always the author writes an exceptional story, her characters are all extremely well written, and I devoured the story.
Huge thanks to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for providing a copy.
Great story that kept me interested. It’s not the same concept as other tea shop stories. I love that it revolves around fetid trucks/vans.
What a fun story! The adventures of Rosie and Poppy are great. I found myself smiling and even laughing at parts of the book. I will definitely be looking for more by Rebecca Raisin.
I enjoyed reading about the adventures of Rosie and Poppy! Did not know what to expect but was pleasently pleased: a good holiday read. and It has made me want to buy a campervan and travel
Other than doing a bit of camping with my parents when I was a youngster and staying in plenty of caravan parks during my lifetime, I have never given all that much thought about what permanent life on the road must be like but this has made me want to try..
The Rosie at the end of the book was a different girl to the Rosie at the beginning, and that can only be a good thing. The bits of romance in the book are fun I kind of wish that the book could have gone on a bit longer though, I wanted to know what happens next,
This is such a charming and adorable read. I found myself laughing out loud several times throughout the book. I loved each and every character, and the author has really created each person with proper depth and complexity. I loved how the author captured the true essence of book lovers. I completely agree (based on her bio) that she is a true bibliophile.
I loved Poppy the campervan, she is a character all on her own. I also adored the idea of “Rosie’s Travelling Tea Shop” with its literary tea blends; and its companion mobile bookstore “The Little Bookshop of Happy Ever After”. If only I can meet them in real life!
This book will read like a breeze but it will take you to different places and make you push yourself to the limits of your comfort zone. More than the romance, it will also teach you about friendship and the best and worst forms of humanity. What matters in the end is that you always see the beauty and joy in the world, and just keep on driving on this road called life.
When Rosie's husband leaves her for another woman, and after a few drinks, she finds herself to be the proud owner of a travel van named Poppy. Her type A lifestyle is about to go on an adventure. With the help of some new friends, she begins to navigate her new world as a vanlifer.
Rosie learns to relax, learns to let go of the things she can't control, she learns to push herself beyond her boundaries- she learns to live.
I thoroughly loved this book. Rosie was a wonderful character; her growth was palpable. The side characters were fantastically complex as well, and I find myself wondering about them. I hope we get to see what happens to Aria one day.
I am now going to read the entire backlog of Rebecca Raisin books. ;)
5/5 stars.
Perfect read for a relaxing weekend , thoroughly enjoyed it . Makes me want to jump in a van and play this life differently .
I’ve read a handful of Rebecca Raisin books in the past and whilst she’s not one of my favourite authors I’ve found them enjoyable and so had a fair idea of what to expect. I was not disappointed, I whiled away a pleasant few hours reading this, it was easy to follow with no complicated characters or background stories and it did make me slightly wistful for van life. My favourite character was Aria and I would love to have known more of her story, maybe she might even justify her own book in time!
“Rosie’s Travelling Tea Shop” by Rebecca Raisin is a lovely, light read. When you have just discovered that you have a husband who is a cheat, what a wonderful way to start life over by going travelling in a camper-van. I thought it was great that Rosie made herself some new friends along the way, as well as earning some money at music and food festivals.
I delighted in this quirky, fun story. There were many laugh-out-loud moments and it was wonderful getting to meet all of the characters, although I did not particularly have a favourite.
I especially loved the idea of owning a pink camper-van like Rosie’s, and a fuchsia pink one at that - so unique and off-the-wall. Also worth a mention are some of the references to delicious culinary delights such as the spotted dick, and the Turkish delight butter-cream cupcakes or some of the more suspect ones like the wheat-grass smoothie or the Dijon tofu.
This fantastic book has left me keen to go touring and travelling and I strongly recommend giving this wonderfully uplifting romantic story a whirl!
{Thank you to #NetGalley and HQ Digital for the free copy of #RosiesTravellingTeaShop and for giving me the opportunity to provide an honest review.}
I received this book "Rosie’s Travelling Tea Shop" from NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own. This is a fun quirky book. I enjoyed reading this. I found myself smiling and smirking at the storyline. What a fun book! Loved the adventures. I wanted the story to continue a bit more though.