Kellie Hailes

Actual rating: 2.5/5

Sometimes a cute, easy story is all you need, and was exactly what I needed to tide me over a book hangover. This is a light, easy read that does exactly what it says on the tin.

Paige owns a second-hand bridal boutique in a small English town. She loves giving things a second life and brides a happy day, but she herself doesn't believe in love, not one bit. Enter Cy, a handsome and charismatic wedding planner who has taken on the task of planning Paige's mother fourth wedding. This is a romantic book, so you can pretty much guarantee how the story will develop and end and there were certainly no surprises there. But, as they say, joy is to be found in the journey, not the destination.

The romance itself was cute enough, especially the one between Paige's mother and her fiancé. In contrast, I wasn't all too keen on our main characters. Cy, in particular, rubbed me the wrong way with his manipulative behaviour, lying straight off the bat and engaging Paige in a bet to win a date with her. The whole thing just got worse from there, in a series of half-truths, unreasonable and immature behaviour, and incomprehensible choices coming from both of them.

Both characters have loads of emotional baggage which, if handled correctly, can be extremely interesting and add nuance to any romance. But here they both appeared to be extremely one-dimensional, both letting one traumatic incident define them entirely in their personality and life choices.

Overall, a quick and easy read with some potential. It definitely was light-hearted and heartwarming but lacked enough nuance to engage me. Cute, but not the best romance I have read.


I received an e-arc of this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way.… (mais)

Sophie Jones loves her little bookshop at Herring Cove. She’ll never give it up to big property developer, Alexander Fletcher – no matter how handsome he might be…

Yet beneath Alex’s sharp suit and persuasive manner, there’s something about him that makes Sophie want to trust him.

So when he offers to help make her little shop a success again, she wonders whether this could be the start of something wonderful for both Sophie and Alex – together?

I got exactly what I expected out of this. It was a sweet romance with minimal plot moving it forward.

*Book received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*… (mais)