The third part of the Ottercombe Bay serial ramps up on romance and hilarity. Daisy Wickens has finally opened her chocolate and gin bar with the help of her friends and supportive locals.

While the bar seems to be a roaring success the dynamic between Daisy and her friends is shifting. Things are heating up between Tamsyn and Jason, and even Daisy and Max explore their attraction. But this wouldn't be a Bella Osborne story without a series of quirky mishaps that will either make or break these characters. In the previous story, Bug caused Daisy a lot of stress. This time Daisy faces a blast from the past and a lot of head butting with Max. Even though the stories are short, I feel invested in these characters. I hope everything goes well for them even if I enjoy their screw ups along the way!

Raising the Bar feels like the climax leading up to an amazing conclusion. Daisy is still thinking about a future far away from Ottercombe Bay, but will the success of her gin bar and the desire to learn about her mother's past keep her there? Maybe there's a little romance in her future to tie her down. Whatever happens, I am so eager to read the final leg in Daisy's journey!
*ARC provided in consideration for review*

A wonderful story with strong and likeable characters, including, Bug the pug with a mind of his own, Tamsyn, whose innocent but quirky nature will make you smile. Then there’s Max the life guard/volunteer lifeboat crew who is the moody love interest and not forgetting nice Jason, the policeman.
The story so far, Tina inherited a railway station, she has to stay in Ottercombe Bay for a year to honour her uncles request, she’s turned it into a successful specialised gin bar, (I even had a history lesson about my favourite tipple Gin!) she has employed her friends to help, add a few more characters and this intriguing, fun adventure starts
Guaranteed unputdownable and I can’t wait for part 4 Who stole the locket and will we learn what really happened all those years ago?

I am so looking forward to book four after reading Raising The Bar, the third book in the Ottercombe Bay series. If you like a good cliffhanger like I do, you will enjoy this. It begins on a cliffhanger and ends on a cliffhanger. I like how quick, light and engaging these books are. The Christmas season backdrop adds to the coziness along with the flourishing family ties, friendships and romance.

Another fantastic instalment. Really looking forward to the next one to see how it all ends for Daisy and friends

Another fabulous read in the Ottercombe Bay series and one that has left me wanting more yet again. It's all getting rather mysterious in Ottercombe Bay and I can't wait to see how the story unfolds in the 4th book. Brilliant writing as ever, with likeable characters and a great plot.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the Publishers, Avon Books, for this review copy given in exchange for an honest review.

This is part 3 of the Ottercombe Bay serialisations, aptly named ‘Raising the Bar’. I do recommend that you read the previous 2 parts first. It is a serialised novel and is published in 4 parts, with the entire novel being published as one book at some point in the future. For information, the book is based in the fictional town of Ottercombe Bay in Devon.

In this series, we visit Ottercombe Bay and meet Daisy Wickens. Daisy returned to the town for the first time since she was a little girl to attend the funeral of her Great Uncle. Whilst here, she was told that her Great Uncle had left her something in his Will, but Daisy would need to stay in Ottercombe Bay for twelve months before she would get the inheritance – an old derelict railway building.

I love this series so far and so was very excited to be given Part 3! The tagline of ‘Raising the Bar’ was most apt as Daisy is in the process of renovating the old Railway building into a Gin Bar! This installation gives us a bit of a ‘will it happen-won’t it happen’ as Daisy keeps running into various problems. There are also romantic encounters aplenty but I will leave you guessing as to who between as I wouldn’t want to spoil it. I love Daisy’s character, who has come on leaps and bounds since we first met her in the first instalment. The relationship she has with people is just wonderful, and we also can’t forget the relationship she has with Bug the dog. I laughed so much at the parts that featured Bug, he certainly is a character – just when you think she is warming to him, he does something which takes their relationship two steps back!

As in the other instalments, we are left with a mini cliff-hanger at the end and I’ll will have to wait with baited breath to find out what happens in the 4th and final part. A wonderfully funny and romantic read, not just for this instalment but for the previous two also. I love this author’s work and can’t wait to read more! It’s a lovely easy to read book that’s short enough to fit in snuggled under a blanket for a couple of hours. And I know I say it every time, the cover for these books are absolutely amazing! I would read these books based on the covers alone!!

It has the 3 L’s in this story – love, laughs and location….oh and Gin! Okay, so that’s 3 L’s and a G but honestly, what more you could want!! This series is highly recommended!! Roll on Part 4!

As we come to Part 3 of Ms Osborne's delightfully paced and told story, Daisy's hopes for being able to convert her disused train station into a bar are on the knife-edge. With it, her future plans for going back to the nomadic existence she'd enjoyed previously are equally up in the air.

Written with a confident assurance, Daisy is already vying for my nomination for most engaging character of the year. Her interaction with all the personalities the books are populated with is always believable and we feel all her emotions as she builds relationships and then sees them begin to crumble, and we feel for her.

What will Part 4 bring? I wait with bated breath on another terrific cliff hanger.

Third part of this series. After the ending of book 2 I was looking forward to seeing what happened in this book. The gin bar opens, but things are not going well for Daisy and Max, leaving you wondering if she will leave the Bay once the year is up. Can't wait for part 4 to see what happens in the end.