New Starts and Cherry Tarts at the Cosy Kettle

Liz Eeles

Bookouture

March 12, 2019

---

Blurb: After yet another failed romance, twenty-six-year-old Callie Fulbright is giving up on love. She’s determined to throw all her efforts into her very own, brand-new café: The Cosy Kettle. Serving hot tea, cherry tarts and a welcoming smile to the friendly locals proves to be the perfect distraction, and Callie feels a flush of pride at the fledgling business she’s built.

But her new-found confidence is soon put to the test when her gorgeous ex reappears in the quaint little village. She’ll never forget the heartache Noah caused her years ago, but when they bump into each other on the cobbled streets of Honeyford she can’t help but feel a flutter in her chest…

As Callie and Noah share laughter and memories, she starts to wonder if this could be her second chance at happiness. But when Callie discovers that someone is mysteriously trying to ruin the café’s reputation… she has an awful suspicion that Noah knows who’s involved.

Was she wrong to ever trust him again? And can she find out who’s behind the lies and rumours, before it’s too late for the Cosy Kettle?

---

SASCHA DARLINGTON’S REVIEW

First off, Liz Eeles’ New Starts and Cherry Tarts at the Cosy Kettle is far, far better than the blurb might lead you to expect.

Callie Fulbright lives in Honeyford, a quaint village in the heart of the Cotswolds, where she works in a bookstore and is happy enough because she loves her village and her grandfather, who she takes care of, even if he’s become a bit of a handful now that he’s turned 80. On the day the novel opens is the first day Callie will work for a new bookstore owner, Flora, and that’s just the beginning of a whole world of changes in Callie’s future, one of which includes the return of Noah, a boy she once loved and who she may have never gotten over.

I loved this book. The writing was very good and once I started reading I did not want to put it down because not only did I love the characters but it raised all of the emotions, and you can’t beat a novel that makes you laugh and cry within pages.

“Good idea. It is pretty hot today.”

“Yeah, it’s quite close,” he says, panic flickering across his face.

“Absolutely. The weather’s been unseasonably warm lately and the river is low.”

Now it’s me that’s panicking. The river is low? I sound like a spy parroting codewords before handing over vital microfilm.

The heart of the novel is good-natured Callie who grew up with parents who were always bickering so it became her nature to not say much. She has a heart of gold and is willing to listen and help anyone. She’s smart but hasn’t really had a chance to prove herself and has never needed to take the initiative.

The village of Honeyford is home to some wonderful characters and some who don’t seem so nice but who change by the end and do some heartwarming things. And while there’s some quirk, it’s not superficial. Rather, it’s the quirk of how real people sometimes behave.

I have to admit that more often than not when I pick up a British chick lit/romance I know that I am going to be rewarded with a very good read, one in which something actually happens, in which characters change and develop and have real interests, have a sense of humor and actually do things as opposed to angsty navel gazing.

Who would like this novel? Anglophiles; readers who might want to be anglophiles; readers who enjoy women’s fiction and chick lit with a sense of humor and heart; readers who love second chance romances; and readers who like to read well-written chick lit. Who won’t like this novel? Readers of chick lit who enjoy reading bad books. 😉

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Purchase from Amazon  |  Purchase from Barnes and Noble

---

rating:

5 out of 5 butterflies

---