I am thrilled to be on the blog tour for this book, the latest in the Little Duck Pond Cafe series. I’ve read both previous books, though only reviewed one (you can find it here , so was delighted when I heard there was a blog tour happening for another in the series. Many thanks to the author and Rachel’s Random Resources for letting me be on the blog tour. You can follow the rest of the tour from the banner at the bottom of the post.
Blurb: Fen has always hated being the centre of attention.
She loves her new job, working behind the scenes at the Little Duck Pond Cafe and baking the scrumptious cakes that have helped its reputation soar. But frankly, she’d rather scrub the public toilet floor with a toothbrush than have to come out and talk to the customers. She’s always been happy to stay in the background as long as she has a good supply of books to escape into. That’s her kind of romance – the fictional sort where she can read about other people taking a chance on love, but she doesn’t have to risk her own heart. But that was before Ethan Fox arrived in the village and turned her world upside down. Ethan is a leading light in the local amateur dramatics theatre company and Fen knows he’s way out of her league.
But when the popular village Christmas pantomime hits a crisis, Fen and Ethan find themselves thrown together. Can Fen overcome her shyness and find the courage to step on stage and save the day?
Purchase Links
Amazon UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Little-Duck-Pond-Cafe-ebook/dp/B07DN5B1NL
Amazon US – https://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Little-Duck-Pond-Cafe-ebook/dp/B07DN5B1NL
My Review: Ok, so I’ve already mentioned that I’ve read the previous two books, and clearly enjoyed them otherwise I wouldn’t have been involved in this tour. I signed up for this because I was almost 100% certain I would enjoy this book too and I wasn’t wrong. Although all three stories are novellas, rather than longer length novels, a lot happens during the course of each one and this latest is no exception.
The focus is mainly on Fen, the previous two books being mainly about Ellie and Jaz, and we start with Fen being her usual shy self and not wanting to be involved in anything that involves her getting attention, all the while though she is also dealing with a massive crush on Ethan Fox, who starts the story playing Mr Darcy in a telling of Pride and Prejudice. I don’t do spoilers but this information is about 2 pages in and gives anyone who hasn’t met Ethan Fox, a clearer idea of why Fen is smitten with him.
Although Fen and the Christmas panto is part of the story there is so much more to it than that. Ellie and Jaz have their own issues to deal with, as do various other characters. There is so much depth in these stories; I’ve seen some full-length novels with less depth than is in these and that is one of the things that made me want to read this book. Real life situations are dealt with carefully but honestly and realistically and have you barely noticing you are turning the pages because you are so keen to find out what happens next. The characters develop during each story and the village and the people in it are so real and well-written that it makes you want to visit, until you unfortunately remember that it’s not real. I have such a vivid picture of the village and the people, in my mind, that when I started reading this book I fell right back in there as if I had never been away.
When I reviewed Summer at the Little Duck Pond Cafe I thought there was only one more book to come but I was wrong. I discovered at the weekend that there is a fourth out in November and I’ve already pre-ordered it! If you weren’t sure whether to try this series or not that last sentence should tell you all you need to know as it’s not often I pre-order books these days, given how many I already have at home to read.
About the author:
Rosie Green has been scribbling stories ever since she was little. Back then they were rip-roaring adventure tales with a young heroine in perilous danger of falling off a cliff or being tied up by ‘the baddies’. Thankfully, Rosie has moved on somewhat, and now much prefers to write romantic comedies that melt your heart and make you smile, with really not much perilous danger involved at all, unless you count the heroine losing her heart in love.
Rosie’s brand new series of novellas is centred on life in a village café. The first two stories in the series are: Spring at The Little Duck Pond Cafe and Summer at The Little Duck Pond Café.
Twitter – https://twitter.com/Rosie_Green1988
BookLoverWorm 