Member Reviews

Maddie and Sabi are sisters. Maddie wants to follow their late Father’s ideas for their nursery. Sabi has dreams of selling so she can buy her dream house. For most of the book the sisters are at odds and it seems like nothing will get resolved.
It’s a nice story,I found myself getting annoyed with both sisters. I wanted to shake them. It’s has a nice romance too. I didn’t realize it’s book one in a series so I’m excited to see what happens next
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy

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This is such a festive cosy story, a bit more than the average romantic novel it deals with a lot of issues and deals with them well.

Highly recommend to anyone wanting to get into the festive spirit!

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There is so much going on in this book, but it never fells like too much. You've got the big corporation coming in to destroy the small family business, friction between sisters, and two romances in their early stages. I liked Maddie from the beginning and felt bad for her that the universe seemed to be against her so often. It took until about 3/4 through the book for me to like Sabi. Her focus on getting her dream house no matter the consequences was so frustrating. I did like that Maddie and Henry confronted her about what she was doing but never really gave up on her. Of course so much of the conflict between Sabi and Maddie could have been averted had they had an open conversation. I'm hoping at some point in the series Maddie will tell Ed about the relationship that made her no longer trust men so that he has a little more understanding of why she sometimes pushes him away. Good thing for Maddie that he likes her so much and is willing to keep trying with her. The relationship between Jake and Petra was really sweet and I loved that they both pushed and inspired one another to go after what they want. I hope we get more from these two in future books. I'm sure there will be more confrontations between the Potting Shed and BIG and I'm hoping the Potting Shed always comes up on the winning side.

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This book sounded like my type of Christmas read. However, I didn’t feel much of what I wanted to feel from it in the Christmas way. It was a warm story, but just not for me. Thanks for the chance to read this NetGalley!

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Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I can see other readers have loved this book - it has obviously been the right type of read for them.

This book did not work for me. I had such high hopes - plants, romance, Christmas! My favourite things! Sadly, I found it really tough to get through - I prefer books that are faster paced.

My major concerns with this book:

- There were many POV changes, and sometimes it was hard to track whose perspective you were reading. At one point towards the end in a Sabi POV it switched from 3rd person to 1st person, which was odd! I think this might have been missed in proofing
- Maddie and Sabi had so many conversations with inanimate objects to push dialogue - I think some of this dialogue would have been better placed as internal monologues
- There was no chemistry in any of the romance storylines… and everyone felt very old. Ed did not read like a 33 year old man. I didn’t feel sparks between Maddie and Ed. Jake and Petra were cute, but apart from some handholding we didn’t get to see this develop
- Something was strange about the timing. Some of the conversations about the father’s death made it sound like it was very recent, which was confusing when it was marked as “two years ago”
- It was too too long for the plot concept - some of the planning scenes for the markets at the end took a long time to work through
- Not very Christmassy for a book promoted for Christmas

Things I did like:
- Petra and Jake’s discussions about Jake’s literacy skills
- Henry as a supportive husband to Sabi, even when she was doing some awful things
- Ed and Maddie’s quirky hobbies

I find it challenging to write reviews when there were many elements that didn’t work for me, but I wanted to show what missed the mark for me as a 34yo avid contemporary romance reader. I suspect I’m not the target audience, and the target audience will love it.

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Maddie and her dad had big plans for their nursery The Potting Shed. But before these plans could be set in motion and a will changed, their dad suddenly passed away and the global pandemic hit The Potting Shed.

Now Maddie and her sister Sabi clash over the future of The Potting shed. Sabi wants to sell The Potting Shed, giving her sister only until Christmas to make the nursery viable again. When a major garden centre puts an offer on the nursery, Maddie turns to lawyer Ed for legal advice.

I enjoyed reading this book, Maddie is one of those protagonists you are rooting for the whole way through. She is kind and determined to prove her sister wrong with the help of her employees Jake and Petra. I didn't care for Sabi though, I found her thoroughly annoying and entitled. But when she and Maddie start working together, she does help save The Potting Shed in the end.

This is a very cozy Christmas read!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher Aria & Aries in return for my honest review.

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Lovely book. Maddie's father had agreed with her and her sister Sabi that he was changing his will and that the Potting Shed would go to her and their mother's furniture would go to Sabi. Unfortunately before this could happen her father died. The Potting Shed needs major work to turn it into the garden centre Maddie wants but her sister wants to sell

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Thank you to NetGalley and Aria and Aries for the eARC of this title. All opinions are honestly given and are my own.

After the death of her beloved father, Maddie Willand always assumes that she will continue his legacy at the family plant nursery and nurture it for the next generation. When her pragmatic older sister, Sabi, shocks Maddie by saying she wants to sell the nursery, Maddie is determined to do everything she can to show her sister the importance of keeping The Potting Shed in the family. With a new potential love interest and sale deadlines looming as the weather turns to frost, will Maddie be able to keep The Potting Shed past the festive season and maybe find new love in the process?

I had the loveliest time reading Frost Falls at The Potting Shed! It was a wonderful heart-warming read to prepare me for the holidays, with warm characters, festive spirit, and a moving story of family. This is the perfect read for lovers of cosy women’s fiction and romance, and it’s sure to be a hit with fans of Kate Forster, Linn B Halton, and Rachel Burton. 4 stars.

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The book was very well written and flowed well. The plot was great. Everything I thought it would be from the description

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This was a book about family, loss and coming to terms with the ways we mourn those losses. I had gone into this expecting a serious and sad tale, but was pleasantly surprised by the warmth this book encapsulates.

Ultimately it was an enjoyable read, definitely worth picking up if you're looking for those comforting holiday vibes.

Thank you to the publisher for kindly providing me with an ARC via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

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When family are involved nothing is simple. Two sisters inherit their dads potting shed. It was well written even story does jump a lot.

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Jenny Kane is a new to me author and I loved the story especially the setting that of an independent nursery. It was easy to keep turning the pages and root for the underdog.

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Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher, Aria and Aries for providing me with an Arc!

This book gave me the warm fuzzies, of course it's a bit early for christmas (the book only comes out in October) but it still put me in just the right mood for the season to come. This story gave me the warm fuzzies.
It's not my typical read, a bit simplistic for my liking.. but if you're looking for a sweet read and a few hours of escapism this might do it for you! The characters are endearing and the setting is so lovely but I did hope for something more christmas-y..

Decent book, 2.5 stars!

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This novel is set in Devon and shows the two very different POV two sisters have about selling their farther company. They end up being joint owners of 'the pottery barn', Maddie the younger of the two sisters lives on the land and runs the business with the help of one part time member of staff Jake. His story is an interesting one and is told throughout the novel, he started working at with Maddie's father when he was 16 and is now 20 years old. You also see POV of several other characters so this, I feel, is the author attempt to build more layers more than your average  romance novel. 

Maddie dreams of turning the simple nursery into a garden centre and you can imagine it just by the extensive  descriptive narration, her run down nursery with it fences thaf are in need of painting, faded sign posting and desperate need for a presence on social media. This was a dream that she shared with her father and we are told how her father 'taught her everything she needed to know about plants and love I'd nature'. She went onto do a degree in horticulture and made it her first career choice.

However in stark contrast we meet Sabrina the older sister, she dreams of owning a holiday home and living off the income she wishes to sell the pottery barn. So this would enable her to buy her second home and have a more lavish lifestyle like her friend has, we are told she has an ' ability to persuade her husband to do anything she askes' so she can make him get the second home and rent out their first. Maybe she feels she has this power over her sister and that's why she makes decisions with our information Maddie.
Oh and I almost forgot about the love interest that comes in the form of Ed Tate the solicitor cute but he is not the main focus of this novel.

I enjoyed how this book,  it was set in the aftermath  of the covid pandemic in 2020, as it explains how the businpess has lost money and need to build itself up again. This placement and explanation will be good to look back n in ten years time. It states how 'shaking hands is not into vogue after lingering affects of the pandemic', nicely put it was awkward to know what to do!

One thing I think that was not needed in the novel  was Maddie's incessant talking to the plants, all plants over her house and the nursery it is just not required. There are other ways of expressing a characters on internal monologue.  Also there is really no need to set this as a Christmas novel, it's just that's when the nursery sells Christmas tree's at this time of year and that is the date to sell the lottery barn by. So if it's a Christmas book you want to cuddle up with and drink not chocolate by the fire This book is not for you.

This is one book in a series of three books so if you enjoyed the characters it's great.This appears to be the style of the author as all book are written in three books series which I find endearing. 

Many thanks  to NetGalley and the publishe as I recieved a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

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This book was such a cute read to put you in the holiday mood. The audience is put through a lot of emotions and you are introduced to a ton of characters and a brand new world and each character has their own problems however they defeat them in the end. However, one of the most frustrating parts about the book was the miscommunication between each character. Like if they were able to sit down and talk, then the book would’ve been over a lot sooner. Overall 3.25 stars. Thank you netgalley for allowing me to read the ARC of the book.

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Combine my love of reading (listening thanks to Siri text to voice) and gardening and in my opinion Frost Falls at the Potting Shed is a winner.

There have been a tremendous number of "save the local library" books, Frost Falls at the Potting Shed has the a similar feel except substitute "library" with "local garden shop".

A sweet little book that is inspired by Jenny Kane's local garden shop (The Old Well in Willand, Devon) ... how cool is that!

I do have a comment/suggestion that I'm going to make to the author/publisher, but I'll keep it between us. Just a little tweak would really make a difference to me. Rounding up to 5 stars, probably really this is 4-4.5 stars.

Once again, I thank NetGalley for introducing me to a "new to me author"; Jenny Kane has published a several books ... glad I finally had the opportunity to read one. Thank you to NetGalley, Jenny Kane the author and the publisher in the UK by Head of Zeus; the advance read copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

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I love Jenny kane's books they all so feel good, cosy books that really lift your heart and make you smile. This book is no exception.

In this book we meet Maddie Milland whose big dream has always been to take over the running of her father's plant nursery. However she thought that it would be along time in the future when her father was living life in luxury having a grand time in retirement.

However when Maddie's father dies suddenly. She is thrust into running the plant nursery. Buy things aren't as easy as Maddie thinks it might be and she is devastated to discover that she might lose the potting shed forever. All thanks to the fact that her older sister Sabi who is the joint owner of the nursery. Is convinced that the beat thing for them to do would be for them to sell up.

But Maddie is convinced that she can make a go.of it and start turning over a profit. Maddie is determined that she wants no distractions and that she has to stay focused. Just as Maddie thinks that she might be getting a hang of this a major chain garden centre puts in an offer for the potting shed. Maddie needs legal advice fast. In walks lawyer Ed who is a very big distraction.

Will Maddie be able to keep the potting shed going and to make her dreams come true?

This is another really gorgeous uplifting, feel good, romantic and slightly Christmasy book. I really enjoyed it.

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This was the first book that I read by Jenny Kane. I adore this story! It is filled with many misunderstanding since the characters do not speak to each other as they should, but that is how life is sometimes. The two sisters at the heart of the story are dealing with the death of their father, two years prior, and the fate of the family business, a garden nursey. Also, as in life, the sisters who were so close as children, have grown into very different people. I appreciated the honesty in the story to explore their relationship and why it has become fractured.

I am a gardener, so reading a story about a gardening business was a true delight! I have been known to talk to plants, just as Maddie does.

The plot was well thought out. The characters were developed perfectly and I have definite likes and dislikes with them. The descriptions of scenery and surroundings made me feel as if I were there with the characters.

I totally enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more of Ms. Kane's books.

A huge thank you to Aria & Aries and NetGalley for giving me the pleasure of reading the advance reader copy, with no obligation to write a review. My review is written freely as a hobby, and is totally my own opinion, not influenced by receiving the ARC.

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A sweet, fun story. I enjoyed the storyline and connected with the characters. I thought the book was great. A fast read for me!

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I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a bit of a hard read for me to get invested in. Sweet story though.

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