Ollie Spencer has started a new life in the idyllic Cornish seaside town of Port Karadow. Throwing herself into her job at the town’s bookshop, A New Chapter, is one way to make friends. The shop is glitzing up for first Christmas and Ollie hopes her inspired ideas will give the shop the edge it needs to dazzle the town.

But far from being the Sugar Plum fairy the place needs, Ollie is fast becoming its Christmas pudding. With the bookshop’s success at stake, Ollie turns to twinkly-eyed café owner Max for help. Can he help Ollie to turn the page, and put the sparkle back into her Cornish dream?

Loved it! I've never read a book by this author before and it certainly won't be my last.

Love following the story of Ollie and I felt like it was beautifully written. The setting was gorgoeous and made me feel like I'd been transported there.

This is such a sweet book. It is so cosy. The main characters were so lovable. The romance story was so cute. Another excellent book

Ohh wow another great read from Cressida McLaughlin. I love the Cornish Cream Tea series books. I have read all the other books in this series and I really enjoyed being back in Port Karadown with characters new and old. A lovely story line with likeable characters, I could not put this book down, These books just get better and better. I can’t wait for the next one in series. A joy to read. If only real life were like this. Love a happy ending. Highly addictive. I would definitely recommend. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. I have chosen to write this honest review voluntarily and it reflects my personal opinion.
I have read other books in this series and it's nice to read more about some of the characters I've already 'met'. The romance is prioritised, realistic and heartwarming, and the festive elements are threaded throughout making it feel very christmassy. It was interesting reading about the bookshop, as a dedicated Kindle reader I appreciate the difficulties of making this sort of shop stand out and the ideas for events were creative. Some elements of the plot were predictable and I didn't like the swear words although these were much less frequent than in other contemporary novels. Overall this was another lovely story from an English author who has successfully created an image in my mind of a beautiful place with interesting characters. These would make a superb box set to binge-read!

This was a fun easy read which delivered a cute predictable romance. Nice to read if you're looking for an easy romantic book.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
#NetGalley

Cosy, festive and bookish - what more could you want?

This book is actually the seventh in a series of Cornish based books, but it works very well as a stand alone - I haven’t read the previous six and I didn’t feel at a disadvantage at all. They are all now going on my wish list though!!

Following a freak accident where a piece of scaffolding fell on and injured our main character Ollie, she is leaving London and heading for a new life in Cornwall. As well as helping to type up the memoir of her best friend’s Grandad, Liam, she also secures a job in a local bookshop, where she is brimming with new ideas of how to put the shop on the map. Ollie is very forthright and knows what she wants, and so it takes some of the characters a little while to warm to her. It took me a bit of time as well as she is the complete opposite to me, but I envied her personality and how brave and outgoing she was.

As Ollie settles into Cornish life, she starts to make friends with the locals, and encounters cafe owner Max. Their chemistry is evident straight away and they are flirting right from the off. I thought that their personalities worked really well together and that they really complemented one another. They were a great match and I loved how they were straight to the point with what they wanted from their relationship. No miscommunication, no silly misunderstandings - from very early on they and either clear that they liked each other, and I really loved the author for that!!

I loved the build up to Christmas and how much most of our characters were in love with Christmas too. I loved all the ghostly additions too, I was as invested as Ollie was!! Great characters - I did feel like Becky maybe wasn’t a necessary character but that might just be me! Overall, a lovely, cosy read to curl up with on this rainy day!

This was a nice enough read. It was a simple plot and had a nice range of characters. Nothing stand out but still enjoyable.

Another fantastic part to the series, I had a lot of fun with this one and enjoyed meeting new characters and returning to old.

Well I loved this one. Yes it is a part of the series, but it works also as a stand alone.
This was a 4 stars read for me

Absolutely love this series set in Cornwall. It was great to visit the Old Post House, now the home of A New Chapter, the town's independent bookshop. I loved the new characters of Ollie, Max, Henry and Liam, but it was also great to catch up with Thea, Ben and the rest of the gang. Having said that, you don't need to have read the rest of the series to enjoy this book. A great read based on new starts, hope, community and love.

Love, love, loved this! Devoured it in a couple of days. Great story, fab bunch of characters & a lovely setting in a bookshop at Christmas time. It was also nice that the drama wasn't the usual sort that throws a spanner in the works either. Highly recommend it.

I really enjoyed this book and enjoyed being back in Port Karadown with characters new and old . This is a standalone book, even though it is part of a series .
Ollie was a star, trying to make the most of her role in the bookshop, even though she had opposition from other staff members . A brilliant seasonal read, Halloween to Christmas, though it could be read at any time of year . I found myself transported to Port Karadow !
A great read which I can highly recommend
Thank you to Netgalley, and Harper Collins Uk for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review

This is book seven of eight in one of the Cornish Cream Tea series (Cressida has several Cream Tea Series), I hadn't read any of the other books up to this point but that did not detract from the enjoyment of this one.

This book follows the trials and tribulations of Ollie moving to Cornwall to a new job in a bookshop where she will be in charge of events that unfortunately, don't always go to plan. As well as feeling as an outsider that some people are suspicious of as she has come from London. Ollie is trying not to get into a relationship but that doesn't necessarily go to plan either!

This is a relaxing, enjoyable read that I highly recommend and I look forward to reading more from Cressida McLaughlin soon.

The second in this series
Love this one as much as the first
A real feel good story
With wonderful characters
You will not want to finish it
Thanks NetGalley

Works as a standalone although I have now got the others and been enjoying the series.

Always love a bookshop quiz. Lovely Christmas/winter read. Really lovely.

I loved this book. A really easy, heartwarming read which I highly recommend.. a real heartfelt feel good Christmas read. A book about a bookshop for book lovers.

Thank you Netgalley and the Publisher for my ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.

Ollie leaves London after an accident and relocates to Port Karradow where she gets a job in the New Chapter Bookshop. She lives into a barn conversion and strikes up an interesting friendship with the elderly owner, Liam, when she offers to type his memoirs.

I loved Ollie. She was bright, enthusiastic and determined to make the bookshop a success despite some disasters befalling her. Max was such a lovely strong and comforting presence to Ollie and I enjoyed their chemistry. Liam was a great character.

The book is set between Halloween and Christmas but there is so much packed into a short time fame. There is friendship, love, drama and a mystery to solve.

Another excellent book by Cressida McLaughlin in this series.

The characters are beautifully explored and the descriptions superb. Sadness, mishaps and triumph all in one glorious bundle. A book to snuggle up to with a log fire burning, delicious hot chocolate and a snoozy labrador. This series just gets better and better.

I always know when I start a Cressida McLaughlin book that I'm going to be a part of something wonderful. Her settings are idyllic and they always give me a sense of belonging, of knowing I'm involved with the residents and their lives. It has a way of drawing you in like a warm hug and not letting go.

Ollie was such a lovely character, so full of hope and ideas, despite the demoralising treatment from her previous employer and the unenthusiastic manner of one of the bookshop staff. Ollie kept on trying to make the most of her role and bringing people in. Some of her ideas were not the greatest but she did succeed with others and slowly started to bring the sceptics around.

It always helps to have a handsome man on hand to lend support and Max did just that. He was such a gooey cinnamon roll of a hero that you couldn't fail to adore him. He never seemed to have a cross word to say about anyone and was always lending his support, not only to Olly but to other villagers too. I won't say what happens in his own particular piece of the story but he didn't deserve it, I didn't expect it and glad it worked out.

The Cornish folklore mystery writer was a good side plot, although I have to say I did figure it out pretty early on. That didn't stop it from being interesting, just a slightly different mystery. Not so much who but more why.

Once again, Cressida McLaughlin succeeds in producing a wonderful seasonal read, just the ticket for a cosy afternoon by the fire with a coffee (and a cinnamon roll).

A brilliant read and one I really enjoyed. The characters are loveable and varied, the plot is one that is engaging and medium paced. I found myself completely drawn into the story and enjoyed the writing style.