The Sunshine Sisters: Skye (Little Duck Pond Café)
The Sunshine Sisters: Skye. This is BOOK TWO of a TRILOGY in the popular Little Duck Pond Café series: Skye Sunshine has a theory that workmen, when in your house, should be seen and not heard. But Saul, the annoyingly sexy handyman clearly hasn’t received the memo! He’s far too cheeky and irritating for her liking. But when Skye’s peace of mind and reputation as an actress is threatened by hacks desperate for a story, can she really afford to turn down Saul’s offer – to whisk her away from the limelight to the privacy of his rustic cabin in the woods?
MY THOUGHTS
I have been reading the Little Duck Pond Cafe series for quite a while. I always look forward to a new novella length book coming out. This is one thing that I love about the series too, that each book is novella length so I can read it in an afternoon and not feel bogged down by not having time to read it. Each book has a full story.
The characters, I love them. Each one of them feels like friends and we still have some from the older books but meet new friends in each book too. This trio of books is the Sunshine sisters, and this is Skye’s story.
Skye Sunshine shows her vulnerable side when she must go into hiding because she is being threatened with blackmail for past secrets that are being threatened to be spilled. There are some serios subjects touched on in the book and the author does it in an understanding way.
The characters are relatable and fun and I’m enjoying meeting them all. Family relationships, drama, misunderstandings and secrets are explored. I did enjoy seeing how the sisters are all there for each other and look forward to reading the last sister’s story, Blossom.
Purchase Links
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rosie’s series of Little Duck Pond Café novellas is centered around life in a country village cafe. Skye’s story is the second in a trilogy called THE SUNSHINE SISTERS. Watch out for Blossom’s dramatic and emotional story, which completes the trilogy and is out in early June 2024!
A brand new and utterly enchanting series by bestselling author Jaimie Admans.
A picture-perfect town, a place where dreams come true. Welcome to Ever After Street…
There’s always time for tea… unless you’ve lost your teapot…
Cleo Jordan has only ever wished for one thing – to open her own teashop in memory of her lovely gran. So when she accidentally fools the interview board into thinking she’s a brilliant baker and is offered a prime spot on Ever After Street, she knows her dream is about to come true!
Stepping into The Wonderland Teapot is like falling down the rabbit hole – magical! But there’s a catch: Cleo has completely lost her love of baking! With her little white lie ticking in her ear, it seems her dream is over before it’s begun.
Until she meets her very own Mad Hatter. Loved by everyone on Ever After Street, magician Bram brings an energy to the teashop that lifts everyone, and slowly, with his encouragement, Cleo is getting back to doing what she loves best.
But with Bram hiding secrets of his own, Cleo isn’t sure she can put all her faith in him. And when things start going wrong at the teashop, Cleo wonders if the culprit sabotaging her dream is someone closer than she thinks?
If Cleo wants her wish to work, she has to learn to trust again before she loses her head and heart completely…although it might already be far too late for that…
Perfect for fans of Holly Martin, Kat French and Caroline Roberts!
A Wonderland Wish on Ever After Street is the third book in the Ever After Street series and my first read in this series but not my first read by the author. This is the most fun I’ve had reading a book in a long time. The book is Alice in Wonderland Themed, now I’ve never actually read Alice in Wonderland completely through but after reading this I’ll need to make that a priority.
Cleo Jordan’s gran had a tea shop serving the most delightful baked goods, the customers loved it and gran. After her death Cleo wants to honor her memory and open her own teashop. Now there’s just a few things standing in her way, Ever After Street is a very highly sought after street and open shop rentals are very hard to find, Cleo counts her lucky stars when she’s offered an interview for an open store front. Running late to the interview she grabs store bought cupcakes to represent her own baking, no one will ever know, right? Problem number two she’s lost her love of baking and doesn’t seem to have any luck in rejuvenating it. The stars align and she’s able to call the shop hers.
The shop is a Alice in Wonderland themed teashop. I loved the descriptions of the shop decorations and Bram who is the Mad Hatter and who has the part down pat from his costume to magical tricks to the voice the customers and children alike love him. The shop is so whimsical I just loved it, can I visit this tea shop now, please?
Cleo and Bram start to form a friendship and start baking things for the shop together as her love of baking returns. All isn’t well as some of the baked goods get sabotaged that are being served to the customers, nothing poisonous but some are too salty or spicy.
With Bram hiding a few secrets of his own could Cleo’s fairy tale dreams be going up in smoke just as she’s starting to learn to trust again? Fun, whimsical and magical this is a heartwarming tale we all need on our reading list.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
VISIT OTHER BLOGS ON THE TOUR HERE
AUTHOR BIO
Author Bio –
Jaimie is a 32-year-old English-sounding Welsh girl with an awkward-to-spell name. She lives in South Wales and enjoys writing, gardening, watching horror movies, and drinking tea, although she’s seriously considering marrying her coffee machine. She loves autumn and winter, and singing songs from musicals despite the fact she’s got the voice of a dying hyena. She hates spiders, hot weather, and cheese & onion crisps. She spends far too much time on Twitter and owns too many pairs of boots.
She will never have time to read all the books she wants to read.
Krystle has always yearned to live a different kind of life, so when she hits the jackpot, quite literally, she’s over the moon. At last she’ll get the chance to live in a gorgeous house, drive the car of her dreams and maybe even track down that elusive soulmate at last! It all sounds perfect – but can reality ever live up to your dreams?
My Thoughts
The Lottery Win by Rosie Green is number 28 in the Little Duck Pond Cafe series. This one focuses on twins Krystle and Carrie but mostly Krystle. The book is short, a novella length one. This doesn’t affect the story though as there’s quite a fun story packed into fewer pages. The sisters have made a pact with each other to share their lottery winnings with each other if they would win it one day and never thinking they actually would. After Carrie wins, she splits it with twin Krystle. Now Krystle is having financial difficulties and this win is just what she needs to straighten things out, or is it? In some ways the win is just what she needs but she’s not good with money and hurriedly buys frivolous things. When others know you have money you also attract unscrupulous people. I could feel Krystale’s many emotions from her despair at owing so much money to her fear when the money loaner comes after her, the bewilderment when a possible romantic connection is not who they seem to be and her joy when things are finally looking up. Money doesn’t buy happiness; real relationships is where the happiness is. This little book packs a punch and I’ll be looking forward to more in this series.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
Rosie’s series of Little Duck Pond Café novellas is centred around life in a country village cafe. ‘The Cheesecake Challenge’ is out now. Look out for ‘A Kiss under the Stars’, out in August 2023.
An irresistible story of love, friendship and the power of Games Night, perfect for fans of Holly Martin and Christie Barlow.
When Emily loses her job, house and boyfriend all within a matter of days, she’s determined to turn a negative into a positive and follow her dream of running a small cafe in the gorgeous Yorkshire village of Essendale.
But she quickly finds she’s bitten off more than she can chew when the ‘popular’ cafe she takes over turns out to secretly be a failing business. Emily desperately needs a way to turn things around, and help comes from the unlikeliest of places when she meets local board game-obsessed GP Ludek. But when a major chain coffee shop opens on the high street, Emily is forced to question if she’ll ever be able to compete.
Has she risked everything on something destined to fail? Or can a playful twist, a homely welcome, and a sprinkle of love make Emily’s cafe the destination she’s always dreamed of?
‘A heart-warming romance perfect for curling up with. I absolutely loved it’ – Kitty Wilson
Purchase Links
My Thoughts
What a delightful story by a debut author. After losing her fiancée and home in quick succession she knows she needs to do something. Moving in with her friend seems to be the best thing for Emily at the moment. When a big upset happens in our lives it can sometimes be the change we need and in this case it is. What seems like a lifetime ago Emily and her mother wanted to open up a little cafe together, unfortunately her mother passed away and Emily threw herself into other endeavors. Now with change out of her control it seems the perfect time to implement this change she can control, opening a cafe. Finding one in her price range hasn’t been easy but she does it, now to get more foot traffic and fix up the inside without it costing an arm and a leg. With no romantic relationship to hold her back timewise she gives it her all and starts living her dream of baking and running a little cafe all the while looking on YouTube for new coffee drink recipes. And still very few customers. A man she meets while out running and gets to talking to has an idea to have a game night at her cafe because the venue he uses has been double booked and the game night needs to go. Will the game night be enough to draw customers into her shop when she adds a few new items to her menu? I adored the idea of a cafe having a game night, it sounds so much fun while drinking delicious specialty coffees. The only thing needed would be to have a few cats lounging around in the cafe. Love and life start picking up. Can it last though at the fast pace it’s on? Delightful and a gem. I’ll be on the lookout for more by this author.
Pub Date 13 Apr 2023 I was given a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
Visit Other Blogs On The Tour
The Author
Author Bio – Jennifer Page wrote her first novel – a book about ponies – when she was eight. These days she prefers to write romance. When she isn’t writing, Jennifer can usually be found playing board games which are the inspiration for her first novel. She has worked as a television producer, a music teacher and has even run a children’s opera company. She now lives near Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire with her husband and his large collection of games.
320 pages Montlake publisher June 28,2022 publish date
About The Book
A talented baker and a small-town sheriff forced into a fake relationship decide whether to take a chance on love in this delectable romance from Joy Avery.
Baker extraordinaire Rylee Harris has a recipe for everything—except love. It’s been five years since she lost her husband, but romance is still a struggle for Rylee. In her small hamlet of Honey Hill, North Carolina, Rylee knows she’ll be the talk of the town when she finds someone new.
To ease her mother’s worries about her love life, Rylee impulsively invents a fake relationship with the only man who’s caught her eye: the town sheriff, Canten Barnes. It’s supposed to be a secret, but secrets don’t last long in Honey Hill. One bit of gossip leads to another, and soon the whole town thinks Rylee and Canten are an item.
As Rylee and Canten embark on a make-believe relationship to save face, they slowly realize that their feelings for each other aren’t fake at all. Can Rylee and Canten keep the charade going—or will the town’s prized baker and respected lawman take a real chance on love?
Sweeter than Honey is a book you just need to read. I fell in love with Rylee Harris, a baker in Honey Hill, North Carolina and sheriff, Canten Barnes. Both have lost a spouse and though not ready to move on romantically they “secretly” have been attracted to each other. Rylee’s mother tries to set her up with other people, so she tells her she is dating, Canten. Canten agrees to it for his own reason, the ladies in town just won’t leave him alone. The sexual tension is there when they are together. Will this “fake” relationship last much longer before it becomes “real.” The book is filled with humor. I loved seeing the camaraderie between Rylee and her best girlfriends. Talking about laughter, oh the things these ladies talk about and get into. The book is so charming, I just loved the characters. You’ve got to love Canten, as the sheriff he arranges his schedule so he’s able to drive past the bakery when Rylee is working at 4:30 a.m. just to be sure he safe. Canten and Rylee each have a dynamic relationship with their parents and each other’s parents. This couple is sweet, sassy and everything in between and I will now need to read more by this author.
Pub Date 28 Jun 2022 I was given a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
About the Author
By day, Joy Avery works as an engagement manager. By night, the North Carolina native travels to imaginary worlds–creating characters whose romantic journeys invariably end happily ever after.
Since she was a young girl growing up in Garner, Joy knew she wanted to write. Stumbling onto romance novels, she discovered her passion for love stories; instantly, she knew these were the type stories she wanted to pen.
Real characters. Real journeys. Real good love is what you’ll find in a Joy Avery romance.
Joy is married with one child. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading, crafting, collecting glitter and Sharpie markers, and driving her husband insane.
Vegan Book Blogger 