Meet Me in Cockleberry Bay

by Nicola May

The cast of the runaway bestseller, The Corner Shop in Cockleberry Bay, are back – including Rosa, Josh, Mary, Jacob, Sheila, new mum Titch and, last but by no means least, Hot, the adorable dachshund.
Newly wed, and with her inherited corner shop successfully up and running, Rosa Smith seems to have all that anyone could wish for. But the course of true love never did run smooth and Rosa’s suspicions that her husband is having an affair have dire consequences.
Reaching rock bottom before she can climb back up to the top, fragile Rosa is forced to face her fears, addiction and jealousy head on.
With a selection of meddling locals still at large, a mystery fire and Titch’s frantic search for the real father of her sick baby, the second book in this enchanting series will take you on a further unpredictable journey of self-discovery.

Purchase links

UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Meet-Cockleberry-Bay-Nicola-May-ebook/dp/B07QXD334Y

US – https://www.amazon.com/Meet-Cockleberry-Bay-Nicola-May-ebook/dp/B07QXD334Y

About Nicola May

Award winning author Nicola May lives in Ascot in Berkshire with her rescue cat Stanley. Her hobbies include watching films that involve a lot of swooning, crabbing in South Devon, eating flapjacks and enjoying a flutter on the horses. Inspired by her favourite authors Milly Johnson and Carole Matthews, Nicola writes what she describes as chicklit with a kick.
Follow Nicola May
Website – www.nicolamay.com
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/NicolaMayAuthor
Twitter – https://twitter.com/nicolamay1
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/author_nicola/

Giveaway to Win a signed copy of The Corner Shop on Cockleberry Bay (Open INT)

*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter link below. 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.

RAFFLECOPTER LINK

My Review

4/5 stars

This was a soap opera in story form – a whirlwind of a read covering many topics: birth, death, drunkards, falling off a cliff, a fire, a clairvoyant, a cheating husband – it all happened here … and more!

Rosa and Josh are now married, but his job in London keeps him away from Cockleberry Bay for much of the week, leaving Rosa to run her corner shop. Being apart does Rosa no favours, and her neuroses are offset by drinking far too much and possibly succumbing to the nefarious intentions of lustful Luke (I say possibly because she has no clue what actually happened). This is a step too far for Josh, who had asked her to stay away from Lucas, and he leaves for London while asking Rosa to get her act together.

I haven’t read the first book in the series, but had heard many great things about it. Whether not reading book one had an impact on my impression of the main character, Rosa, I couldn’t say for sure, but having read other reviews it seems it might have done. I’m not a fan of Rosa – I found her needy, whiny and reckless, and ready to blame everything she ever did wrong on someone else, usually her mother. I understand her background, she had a tough upbringing and all that, but so what? She wasn’t the only person alive to have issues, although from her behaviour you’d think she was unique. Meh, as I said – not a fan.

Luckily, there were many more characters that I absolutely did like. I loved Titch, for starters, and Jacob & Raff – in fact, most every other character. This felt like a proper community, a tight-knit group of friends and families who looked out for each other – of course, with the obvious “villains” of the peace over at The Ship – but even Lucas had some redeeming characteristics.

Naturally, I loved Hot – the hero saving the baby, and his shenanigans with Duchess should prove hilarious if there is a further book to come.

This was an easy book to dip in and out of as it felt quite episodic, much like a real TV soap opera but where the visual elements were beautifully defined, the humour was sharp and chuckle-worthy, and the feel-good factor came through in abundance.

Would I go back to Cockleberry Bay? That’s a yes from me. And I might just grab book one to see if I can get a better handle on Rosa 😉

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