Book Review & Giveaway | The Gift of Cockleberry Bay by Nicola May

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Book Description

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From the author of the #1 BESTSELLING The Corner Shop in Cockleberry Bay

All of our favourite characters from Cockleberry Bay are back in this final, heart warming story in the series. Including Hot, Rosa Smith’s adorable dachshund and his new-born puppies.

Now successfully running the Cockleberry Café and wishing to start a family herself, Rosa feels the time is right to let her inherited Corner Shop go. However, her benefactor left one important legal proviso: that the shop cannot be sold, only passed on to somebody who really deserves it.

Rosa is torn. How can she make such a huge decision? And will it be the right one? Once the news gets out and goes public, untrustworthy newcomers appear in the Bay . . . their motives uncertain. With the revelation of more secrets from Rosa’s family heritage, a new journey of unpredictable and life-changing events begins to unfold.

The Gift of Cockleberry Bay concludes this phenomenally successful series in typically brisk and bolshy style and will delight the many thousands of Rosa’s fans

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My Review

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Tessa Talks Books rating: Mention

Rosa Smith’s journey of self-discovery comes to a close in this new novel by Nicola May. She has found her biological mother and that side of her family. Still, now that she is trying to get pregnant, it has become more vital for her to find her biological father – a man her mother has never mentioned. Along this critical journey, she also decides to give away the corner store she inherited. She is not allowed to sell it, by the terms in the will, but she is allowed to give it away to someone that she feels deserves it. So, she sets up a contest to find the most deserving person.

What I Liked

I enjoyed the setting – a quaint street on the water. The beach is my happy place, so any book that has it as a setting brings up the same feelings in me as looking at pictures of the beach. Any beach– I’m not picky. The environment puts me at peace and makes me want to vacation very soon.

I loved the mystery plotlines in the story. There are 3
(1) who is trying to sell the store to a big store chain
(2) who, if anyone, killed Sheila and
(3) why does Nate seem so familiar – who is he?
These plotlines kept the pages turning for me as I wondered how each would conclude. And those conclusions did not disappoint. Rosa’s quick mind instantly determined things that no one else even thought to question. And her big reveal at the end was so much fun.

The dachshunds in the story are cute. Hot, Rosa’s crazy, happy boy and Titchie’s two little dachshund puppies often seen curled up sleeping in their box under Theo’s seat in the stroller add a bit of whimsy to the story. Nothing warmed my heart more than puppies and kitties.

What I Wish

I wish there had been less telling and more showing of the characters’ emotions and flaws in this story. It makes it easier for me to relate to a character if I must read between the lines and judge their body language and reactions to events rather than being told what they are feeling and why.

To Read or Not to Read

Readers who have enjoyed the previous two books in this series will be sure to love this satisfying conclusion to Rosa’s journey of self- discovery.

Thank you to Rachel’s Random Resources for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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About the Author

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Nicola May lives in the UK, five miles from the Queen’s castle in Windsor, with her black-and-white rescue cat, Stan. Her hobbies include watching films that involve a lot of swooning, crabbing in South Devon and devouring cream teas.

Her bestselling The Corner Shop in Cockleberry, the 1^st book in the Cockleberry Bay series, went to #1 on Amazon and stayed there for an unprecedented 6 weeks. She classes her novels as ‘chicklit with a kick,’ writing about love, life and friendships in a real, not fluffy kind of way. She likes burgers, mince pies, clocks, birds, bubble baths and facials – but is not so keen on aubergines.

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Giveaway

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http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/33c69494366/?

Giveaway to Win a signed copy of The Gift of Cockleberry Bay (Open INT)

*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box above.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.