Kellie Hailes has done it again with this gorgeous Summer read about Sophie and Alexander. I fell in love with the two immediately and enjoyed watching their journey from hate to romance blossom.

The story-line is entertaining throughout, the characters are all absolutely wonderful and if this book cover is anything to go by - who wouldn't pick up this book!?

This is a great summer read. Well-written, entertaining, adorable, and quick to get through. Also, I love the cover. It's bright and graphic, and certainly sets the tone for the rest of the novel.

I had to DNF this at 56%. But, it's not a bad read at all, truly. I had to DNF this because i just wasn't feeling the book.

I started this expecting some intense conflict. However, we're barely a few chapters in before the main character was already melting for the love interest and showed no genuine signs of self conflict. And the characters were just so happy all the time!

I need the drama. I need the impression she was miserable and her life was going to the sh*ts and that she did all she could to resist the charms of Alexander and if she didn't, she will lose out on life.

I personally felt that the book didn't manage to procure that tension and i had to drop it and move on.

So, yes. I DNFed a Romance book because there wasn't piping hot tea spilled and it was happy.

3.2 stars

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I loved this book, loved the characters and most importantly of all it was a good read.

Sophie, a bookshop owner, is struggling to make ends meet. She does not want to have to shut her bookstore down but if something doesn't change and change fast she will have to shut the doors for good. Enter, Alexander Fletcher, who's father is wanting to build a resort in the quaint town of Herring Cove. Alexander tries to buy Sophie out but she tells him to get lost. Knowing that Sophie is hurting for cash he finds out all he can about her and her little bookstore. What follows is a lesson on how to follow your heart and be the person you are meant to be,

I really enjoyed this story of Alex and Sophie in their quaint Cornish village. The way that it was described and the sense of community made me want to go and live in a place like this. I liked that it was centered around a bookshop - and an independent one at that. Such a rare thing to find these days. I enjoyed the story that unfolded between Sophie and Alex - no spoliers here.

A perfect cozy read a sweet love story wonderful people Inwant to visit the town.Sorry to have to say goodbye to the people the town.#netgalley#hqdigital

This book is an easy read for some summer escapism for all chick-lit fans. It’s a read that left me a little on the fence. The romance story was enjoyable and the couple fitted well together. Our protagonist left me largely underwhelmed however. Her inability to do anything for herself was so frustrating that I just wanted to shake the stupid girl. Her bookshop wasn’t failing because of her poor choice in men but rather, her lack of doing anything about it! The prose was easy reading but there were words like ‘babealicious’ for instance that left me cringing. The setting however was lovely and I would love to read a follow up book on another character in Herring Cove.

The story of Sophie and Alex.

Sophie has lived in Herring Cove all her life, running the bookshop as soon as she was old enough. Now Alex is out to destroy that, wanting to knock down her shop and home to build a holiday resort.

As soon as they meet there is a connection between them, but Sophie has been hurt before, so will she let him in.

An easy read set in a great location.

Looking forward to the next book in this series!

I love stories set around bookshops. The premise of this story with Sophie fighting to save her shop and home and Alex struggling to live up to his family expectations and own wishes appealed to me. Alex and Sophie were cute but I didn’t feel as great an emotional connection to their love story as I wanted. Overall It was a pleasant easy read for the summer.

First off I'll admit to having a certain weakness for stories about bookstores and quaint English villages. That being said The Little Bookshop at Herring Cove is an enjoyable clean, easy read with wonderful characters and of course the perfect HEA. All around this is a solid 4 star book that's perfect fora summer beach read.
#TheLittleBookshopAtHerringCove #NetGalley

Loved it from start to finish.
The storyline was really interesting and entertaining.
I loved Sophie's character, she was hilarious and at some points I could even feel her desperation for her bookshop!

What a lovely book cover! So bright, so full of positivity. And oh, it's about a bookshop~ From the sound of 'Herring Cove', the images coming to my mind were of the sea, the beach and the friendly people residing there. It gave me the very same vibe as The Little Vintage Carousel by the Sea by Jaimie Admans, which I absolutely loved. But that's where the similarities end. I dived into this book, perhaps with too much expectation, and came out nearly struggling for breath.

Sophie is the owner of her own little bookshop situated (you know it) at Herring Cove, a little village with all the sights and ambience that have every power to pull anyone into its bubble. But there's trouble: Sophie's sales have been dropping over the years, and it doesn't look good. Overdue bills and taxes constantly nag at her mind. To make it worse, a property developer by the name of Alexander Fletcher has found himself on her doorstep, trying to get her to sell her shop. But she doesn't give up, and so Fletcher is here to stay.

The worst thing about this book is that... it doesn't make me feel anything. I was not drawn to the characters at all. Yes, there is potential in the plot. But there was no smile, no girly giggling, no butterflies and barely any sympathy from me. There was only indifference, and perhaps a little bit of annoyance. Even as a hopeless romantic, I find certain scenes and dialogues too cheesy to be natural.

Furthermore, the author's writing style isn't very compelling to me. It's like she's trying so hard to bring up emotions into her words through a 'poetic' manner, only to have them fall under the 'irritating to read' zone. Here I quote:

"...he wasn't going to go before giving Sophie fair warning of what was to come. Wasn't going to leave her without her knowing just how much she meant to him. How much of an impact she's had on him."

Sophie, for being the independent woman that she is, turns out to be rather unreliable after all. She may be independent, as they all say, but she doesn't put in a lot of effort to try to save her little bookshop (until Alexander comes along). It's like she can't even take care of herself. That's not a strong female character we have here. It's very hard not to see her as pretentious, reading all the words she has to say to Alexander as to why she refuses to sell, because I as a reader has this impression that she's not that passionate about her bookshop. Sophie also seems to have a tendency to blame someone else for her mistakes rather than to right the wrong she committed. She may be afraid, but so what? Making apologies naturally takes up courage, but that doesn't mean it's okay not to do anything about it. She's really not as mature as one might think, sadly.

And her two friends, Natalie and Ginny, are not any better. I find it very difficult to believe that not once did they tell Sophie of ways to improve her sales. One even had a secret she told neither of her friends, because she felt it was embarrassing when it could have helped Sophie all along to increase her bookshop's exposure. Come on.

In retrospect, the romance came a little too easy to be exciting. Alexander is too easily swayed. There's very little resistance on his side, unexpected for someone who grew up drilled into his life that he is a Fletcher. It's all very convenient when one would expect Sophie and Alexander to put up a lot more fight against each other instead.

All in all, a very disappointing read. However, for those who simply want a clean, easy read, this might be the book for you.

This review is written based on the ARC provided by the publisher through Netgalley.

Sphie has a book store that is slowing going under. She lives in a village where there is not a lot of tourist traffic and her debts are mounting. In addition a large corporation is buying property all around her to develop the area into a huge resort. Sophie will not sell and others in the village won't either, but they are not hanging on by a thread. Instead she does everything in her power to liven up the town, and get some good publicity for it. She is a one woman wonder and with the help of her friends manages to convince the developer to invest in the village as it is, making it bigger and better, without the resort. Amazing!

I love sweet, easy to read books with a happy ending. And this ticks all my boxes! It’s a David and Goliath story set in the peaceful village if Herring Cove. Herring Cove is potentially going to be developed into a resort and not all the villagers are keen!
It’s gentle, simple, easy to read and tranquil. Perfect summer reading!

Sophie owns a bookstore in a small English village by the sea. Alex arrives, working for his father as they buy up properties and install tourist destinations. Naturally there is a conflict between the two, even though there are sparks as well. Sadly though, I struggled to get into this story. He so quickly drops his hard edge business attitude, and helps her instead. The concept is nice, but didn't seem realistic. Also didn't like how at times I felt like I heard the author instead of the characters. Some dialog seemed a bit forced. Still though, if you are looking for a quick easy summer read, this is a nice fit. Would recommend at 3.5

A fab uplifting and romantic story. I loveddddd the setting of this novel and the cover drew me in immediately. I felt both characters complimented each other perfectly and I enjoyed reading about their relationship. This is the perfect novel to read on a rainy day or even if you're sitting by the pool!

Lovely feel good book. Great for a rainy day to curl up with. Likeable characters and the perfect seaside setting in a bookshop. The type of book you just have to read in one go. Thank you

This is such a beautiful book! I loved the main characters of Sophie and Alex and I was completely engrossed in their developing relationship. As a librarian, I'm always going to be a sucker for books that are book related and I fell in love with the bookshop. If you are looking for a happy and lovely romantic story, with a few twists - you are onto a winner here!

So what if her bookshop is not the huge success it once was; Sophie has no intention of selling out to bigwig developer Alexander Fletcher. He’s simply to good looking and to successful to trust, right? So why is she starting to develop feelings for him? Is his offer to help make her bookstore super successful too good to be true? And most important of all, can she trust him with her heart? This is a sweet, gentle little romance, perfect for those terribly imperfect days that we all seem to have