@faykeenan @Aria_Fiction #BlogTour #Review: Fay Keenan – Springtime at the Cider Kitchen

#BlogTour #Review

Release Date:  1st January 2018 / Publisher:  Aria

Format:  Kindle / Pages:  292

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Series: Little Somerby

#1 The Second Chance Tea Shop

#2 Springtime at the Cider Kitchen

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Buy It Here!

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Caroline Hemingway can’t help but feel a little strange watching her ex sister-in-law marrying the owner of Carter’s Cider Farm, but she’s delighted Anna’s found happiness after the death of her late husband, and Caroline’s brother, James. If only Caroline could find her own love story…

Desperate to escape the rat race, Caroline decides to take the plunge and move to the idyllic village of Little Somerby, where she is given the task of opening and running a restaurant in one of the forgotten barns on the Cider Farm.

Opening and running The Cider Kitchen is no easy task, and there are many challenges on the way, but slowly Caroline feels she’s being accepted into the local community, and starts to believe she may have found her forever home. But secrets from her past seem destined to haunt her, and not even the attentions of the very dishy Jonathan Carter can distract her from all she’s left behind…

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Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the Publishers, Aria for this review copy, given in exchange for an honest review.  Also thank you to Melanie from Aria for organising the blog tour.

This is book #2 of the Little Somerby Series.  I didn’t realise when I started to read it that it was part of a series, but to be honest you could read this as a standalone novel.

It begins with Caroline attending the wedding of her ex-sister in law, Anna.  Awkward you may think, but Caroline is happy that Anna found happiness following the death of Caroline’s brother James.  Whilst at the wedding, she meets (and ends up having a one-night stand with) Anna’s new brother in law, Jonathan Carter.  The Carter family have a well-established business of a cider farm, and Jonathan persuades Caroline to stay in the village and become their new manager of a restaurant they are opening.

The setting of the book was wonderful.  You couldn’t help but get drawn into the village life, particularly with a glass of cider thrown in.  Obviously the story line for this book focusses around Caroline and Jonathan and there is a lot of “will they-won’t they” with regards to their relationship.  I also liked the characters of Anna and her new husband Matthew, and will definitely have to go back to the first book of the series to read their story from the beginning.

The story isn’t your typical ‘chick-lit’ type of book.  It was quite emotional at times, and I did feel for some of the characters at times such as Caroline and Anna, particularly for their loss of James, Caroline’s brother and Anna’s husband.  The cover of the book was particularly enticing with a fresh springtime feel, and whilst it was definitely unseasonal reading this book whilst there was snow on the ground, it is definitely a book that could be read at any time.

My first Fay Keenan book, and definitely won’t be my last!

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Fay Keenan was born in Surrey and raised in Hampshire, before finally settling in the West Country. When Fay is not chasing her children around or writing, she teaches English at a local secondary school. She lives with her husband of fourteen years, two daughters, a cat, two chickens and a Weimaraner called Bertie in a village in Somerset, which may or may not have provided the inspiration for Little Somerby.

Fay’s debut novel, ‘The Second Chance Tea Shop’ is available to pre-order and is published by Aria (Head of Zeus).

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Fay Keenan was born in Surrey and raised in Hampshire, before finally settling in the West Country. When Fay is not chasing her children around or writing, she teaches English at a local secondary school. She lives with her husband of fourteen years, two daughters, a cat, two chickens and a Weimaraner called Bertie in a village in Somerset, which may or may not have provided the inspiration for Little Somerby.

 

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