Stella Hutton has everything under control. Her high-flying career as a lawyer relies on her keeping a calm, rational head on her shoulders. She hasn’t got time for love, or space for a man in her glamorous new apartment, a converted warehouse overlooking the rugged cliffs of Micklewick Bay.

But when a handsome stranger walks into the Jolly Sailors pub, with a sparkle in his blue eyes and a head of dark curls, everything changes. Making a beeline for her, Alex Bainbridge introduces himself while a gorgeous labrador waits at his feet. Electricity instantly sparks between Stella and Alex, as her heart flips inside her chest and her usual strict rules about men fly out the window…

I enjoyed this story. It isn't your typical lovey dovey romance and it is filled with real human struggles. Also the primary character also doesn't have it perfect... I like it because it makes it relatable! I would describe it at a closed door romance and very easy to read.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC #FindingLoveinMicklewickBay #NetGalley.

This was a pleasant read and perfect for a summer break. The characters were lovely as was the setting. 4 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley, author and publisher for this ARC

Finding Love in Micklewick Bay by Eliza J. Scott

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to Rachel's Random Resources and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Blurb

Welcome to your happy place…

Stella Hutton has everything under control. Her high-flying career as a lawyer relies on her keeping a calm, rational head on her shoulders. She hasn’t got time for love, or space for a man in her glamorous new apartment, a converted warehouse overlooking the rugged cliffs of Micklewick Bay.

But when a handsome stranger walks into the Jolly Sailors pub, with a sparkle in his blue eyes and a head of dark curls, everything changes. Making a beeline for her, Alex Bainbridge introduces himself while a gorgeous labrador waits at his feet. Electricity instantly sparks between Stella and Alex, as her heart flips inside her chest and her usual strict rules about men fly out the window…

Stella thinks her crush will pass. But every time she bumps into Alex - on her daily jog along the promenade, at the supermarket, inside the Happy Hartes Bookshop - her feelings only grow stronger. Her close-knit group of friends have never seen her like this before. After thirty years of being happily single, has Stella finally met the one? Or will her cherished independence sabotage her chance at a forever love?

My Opinion

My third to visit to Micklewick Bay has been lovely. This was such a uplifting read, and it was great to be around some familiar characters whilst also getting to meet some new residents. I read this book over a few days and it was so easy to just keep turning the pages - I really struggled to put the book down.

For me this was an entertaining read. With some great descriptions you will really want to visit Micklewick Bay - it does seem like a lovely place.

Rating 4/5

I would firstly just like to say a big thank you to Rachel’s Random Resources who very kindly forwarded me an arc copy of this book, for my kindle, in return for my honest review…

Finding Love In Micklewick Bay is actually book number three from the Micklewick Bay series but can very easily be read as a standalone without any problems at all.

It is billed as an uplifting and utterly heartwarming page turner to escape with and honestly, this sums it up perfectly.

This book was a wonderful addition to the series and it pulled me in right from the very beginning as it was such an easy read.

In this book we get to know Stella, who has grown up in Micklewick Bay and Alex who is new in town.

I loved this wonderful, small town romance and now i am left eagerly waiting for the next instalment…

Cute story line and it was interesting towards the end. This book took me a while to get through and I thought about DNFing it a few times but I hate DNFing. Took me a while to understand the way it’s written but I think that was just the country difference given that the author is from Yorkshire England I believe. So the speech just wasn’t as common to me. Definitely a cute lil book but probs not one I’d read again.

This was a sweet comfort read. The characters were authentic and relatable. It was a cute romance read and has me intrigued to read other books about the characters in Micklewick Bay.

A nice summer read. Easy, and light. Recommend as a palette cleanser. The characters and setting are enjoyable. An easy series to get into.

This is book #3 in the Micklewick Bay series. Whilst it is part of a series, it can easily be read as a standalone book as each book focusses on a different character. So, in book one we met Florrie, in book two we met Maggie, and in this book we meet Stella. I love Stella's character - she's so likeable and easy to relate to. She spends a lot of time working due to her being a high-flying lawyer and, apart from her mum and her friends, she doesn't really have time for a relationship with anyone else. However, when charming Alex Bainbridge moves to Micklewick Bay could this all change?

I loved this book, just as I have done with the other books of the series. It's always a pleasure to return to Micklewick Bay and I enjoyed going back for Stella's story this time. Whilst her life seems happy now, Stella's background of not knowing who her father was is quite sad and you just know that all the secrets surrounding this will eventually appear as the book moves on. I did like Alex's character (who sounds gorgeous!) and would have been quite happy to be bumping into him around the Bay as Stella did!! There was obviously some chemistry between the two of them and it was fun following their story to find out if anything comes of it! It was lovely to see again some of the other characters which we've already met from the previous books and when Stella and her friends are all together there are certainly plenty of laughs to be had!

The story flowed along well, and I enjoyed every bit of it, unable to put it down until the end. It's such an easy book to read and is full of heart-warming and light-hearted moments! Of course, there are a few bumps in the road in Stella's life as we move through her story, but these fitted into her storyline perfectly! A truly lovely read, which I would recommend! Will there be a book #4?...I do hope so!

This visit to Micklewick Bay features Stella, she’s the one in the friends group that’s the barrister and is like a dog with a bone when questioning anyone interested in her friends . Stella dosnt do love or relationships or does she? She meets Alex and her perspective on relationships change especially when her mum seems to have found the one. But she feels she needs to find out more about her father to make her understanding complete.
Her journey follows her looking for her father and her hilarious times spent with Alex.
Great read and hope to read more from the Bay.

Finding Love in Micklewick Bay is an easy read, entertaining, and well-written. It has romance, the hard truth sometimes one faces regarding parents and partners, and the need to relax a little and live a little.
I thank Ms. Scott, her publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC.

If I'm completely honest, I'd say that this was much ado about nothing. It was crammed with incident but without much depth. Stella was quite a contradictory character and I found her management of her personal life a little unlikely. Having said that, I enjoyed reading the book well enough.

A good story of Stella, starting with her unhappy birth and becoming a lawyer and finding romance. While I did like this, it felt a bit confusing at time, and found out this is book 3 in the series (I have not read the others), which may be why I had a little issue. Still though, enjoyed it enough to want to see how it ends, and would recommend.

This is the third book in this series. It’s Stella’s story.
It was nice checking in with everyone we met in the previous book. I liked Stella and Alex together.
It’s a sweet romance that moves fairly quickly. There are some side stories that add extra interest.
Another good beach read

Having just read part two of this series, this is another excellent book from Eliza. I will be having a look for more of this author's books. Again, this one ticks all the boxes for me and didn't disappoint.

Thank you to NetGalley, Storm Publishing and author Eliza J. Scott for this eARC.

After reading book two of this series and not loving it I decided to give it another chance. My main problem with the last book was the characters and this one focuses on other people.
Unfortunately it was not much of an improvement.

While I can relate to our mc Stella much better than Maggie, from book 2, she still very much infuriated me. Her jumping to conclusions and her reactions to certain situations were too extreme and I feel like she barely had any character development. Also our mmc forgave her way too quickly, on multiple occasions which made him seem like such a doormat.
The father storyline was kinda interesting but again left me wanting more - more character development, more depth... is was just all very shallow.

I think I have learned my lesson and will not read any further books in this series.
3.5 stars

I was looking for something light and easy to read and this book worked nicely. Some of the British vocabulary was new to me but it didn’t distract me too much from the story. I also felt there were some scenes that were overly descriptive. For example, I could’ve done without every meal being described in excruciating detail. Still, this was an enjoyable, well written, book and I would definitely read more by this author.

In this book we get to know Stella as she finally may have found the one and no-one is more surprised than Stella herself. She has always been single and her friends thought that she would never fall in love. All that may be about to change when she meets Alex. Once again another dog stole my heart and it was nice to add more characters in the mix. The plot of this one has family relationships between Stella and her mother and father. Stella takes after her mother when it comes to relationships with men and I can understand why and it was enjoyable to unravel the mystery of Stella. I hope there are going to be more books in this fun loving series.

I would Love more time to read this book, I didn't feel I could finish it in time before the archive date.

Another refreshing Micklewick Bay read! This is the third installment and in this book we follow Stella. Stella and her mother are just alike when it comes to men and relationships. They never let them get too close because all they will do is hurt you. Alice has learned this through experience, after she got pregnant with Stella at the age of 18 and her then boyfriend and child's father abandoned her. Not only did he abandon her, but so did her own parents. From that moment, Alice swore to give both herself and her daughter the best life, even if it means keeping men at bay.
Growing up, Stella has seen and learned from her mother, and has become successful, but has also avoided serious relationships with men. She's a fling kind of girl, until she meets Alex, who suddenly has her heart going flips and skipping beats. Stella doesn't want to get too close to him, however she can't help it. He's different. Stella struggles with her approach with Alex, but also with her approach to her mother's new boyfriend, Rhys. Stella has never seen her mother with a man, let alone this happy. Rhys is not like Stella's father, he is different. Although Stella wouldn't really know this because her father's identity has been hidden from her for over three decades. In the middle of dealing with work as a lawyer and a new relationship, Stella decides it is time to find out the truth about her father.
I really enjoyed this book! It is, yet again, another breath of fresh air and the perfect light read!

Thank you NetGalley. Storm Publishing, and Eliza J Scott for this read!

This is the second book from the Micklewick Bay series that I've had the pleasure of reading and I loved it as much as the first. This book is Stella's story although we do catch up with her group of friends on their regular Friday night in the Jolly Sailors pub. Stella is a astrong independent career focused female and although she is happy to enjoy the company of men on occasion, she isn't one for pursuing a full-time relationship or that is until she claps eyes on the handsome stranger Alex Bainbridge. An absolute joy to read. Thanks netgalley for an advanced copy of this book