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Member Reviews
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You can't help but enjoy reading a Bella Osborne book, she creates a world that's so easy to step into and characters that are easy to connect with.
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i wouldnt buy this as just one part, am looking forward to reading the next, good start
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Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the Publishers, Avon Books, for these review copies given in exchange for an honest review.
This book was originally released in four separate parts for the Willow Cottage series, with the whole book released at a later date. This review is for the first two parts, Sunshine and Secrets and Christmas Cheer. They can be read as separate standalones but I would advise to read them all and in order of the series.
I’m ashamed to admit that I haven’t yet read the Willow Cottage series. I’ve had them sat waiting to read for absolute ages, but I gave myself a kick up the backside to get on with them after meeting the author, Bella, at an author event at the library that I work. I loved Bella’s stories that she told and was hugely impressed with the organisation that she puts into writing one of her books (I love organisation!!). I couldn’t believe that I had let these books slip past me and made an effort to get them read before her new series, Ottercombe Bay, is released at the end of the month.
First impressions and you notice how beautiful the covers are. I did hear that they are specially drawn for the books by an artist, and this definitely works as they draw you straight in. The books are set over the four different seasons and centre on Beth and her young son Leo. They are running away from Beth’s partner Nick, who has been abusing her. Buying Willow Cottage in auction without seeing it first, Beth discovers that the cottage needs a lot more work than planned. She also finds the majority of the residents in the small Cotswold village to be rather eccentric. She gets on the wrong foot with Jack, the village’s only young eligible male, but later finds out he has hidden talents which may prove useful.
This was a wonderful start to the series. I don’t usually like books that have been released as smaller parts, but found this one great as I was able to read through each part so quickly. It’s a nice easy read, it’s not complicated and there aren’t lots of characters to try and remember. The characters are all so loveable and I was hooked into the story from the first word. There are no sex scenes or bad language, which you do seem to find in similar books to these and you’d be quite safe in passing them on to your aged old relatives without worrying that Aunty Ethel’s hair would curl more than it already is ;-)
I really enjoyed the first half of this book, and have the second two parts already lined up. Why have I not already read these books is the only thing I don’t understand! I literally cannot wait for the new series now!
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Enjoyable read. Good storyline and likeable characters.
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Willow Cottage is a needing a bit of a makeover, so when Beth decides to buy the Willow Cottage she is in for a bit of a shock at how much work is needed to turn this small cottage into the home her and her son need. Beth's life in London has come to a sudden end, so coming to a small village in the middle of nowhere is a big change for her, having gotten use to the busy life of London.
Jack has lived in the small village for quite a while and it has become his home, so having a new person arrive is surprising and throws him completely off. I couldn't tell if Jack likes Beth as he gets easily frustrated with her throughout the book and then there is Beth who doesn't want another relationship, with her long-term relationship taking a sour turn which was her driving force in making a location change.
With how much work needs to be done on Willow Cottage, Beth needs all the help she can get which in this case is Jack. Throw in a crazy old man who is keeps appearing under the tree in her garden and not to mention the cost of how much Willow Cottage will cost to fix up properly. The issues at Willow Cottage is only just starting.
The book is told from two different locations, with Beth in the Cotwolds and with Carly in London. Carly is having her own relationship problems, expecting and wanting her boyfriend to propose to her is driving her crazy. So when he plans a nice weekend away from the two of them, Carly expect that this will be the perfect time for a proposal but things never do run smoothly.
Whenever there is animals in the book they always become my favourite character, this book is no different. Doris who is Jack's dog has a quirky personality, one that made me laugh multiple times from reading the antics that she get up to when she is staying at Beth's house.
Sunshine and Secrets is a brilliant first part to this lovely new series, with its dream like house that I would love to live in and the characters which have so much depth and emotion. I can't wait to read Christmas Cheer to find out what happens next.
Three Words
Brilliant, Charming and Moving.