BUY LINKS: Amazon: http://amzn.to/2l0gGtn Kobo: http://bit.ly/2l0pnnn iBooks: http://apple.co/2l0rdF3 Google Play: http://bit.ly/2ly3YQC BLURB Second chances, new loves and scrumptious cakes, in this heart-warming novel. Perfect for all fans of Fern Britton, Katie Fforde and Cathy Bramley. Following the tragic death of her beloved husband, Anna Hemingway decides it's time for a fresh start. So Anna and her three-year-old daughter Ellie move to a picture-perfect cottage in the beautiful village of Little Somerby, and when she takes over the running of the village tea shop, Ellie and Anna start to find happiness again. But things get complicated when Matthew Carter, the owner of the local cider farm, enters their lives. Throughout a whirlwind year of village fetes and ancient wassails, love, laughter, apple pie and new memories, life slowly blossoms again. But when tragedy strikes and history seems to be repeating itself, Anna must find the strength to hold onto the new life she has built. This beautiful, life-affirming debut novel marks the beginning of the Little Somerby series, and promises to make you smile, cry, reach for a cream tea, and long for a life in the perfect English countryside. MY REVIEW Having lost her husband suddenly two years ago, Anna Hemingway is ready to make a fresh start for herself and her little girl Ellie by returning back to the village of Little Somerby, her childhood home. Being close to her family and her best friend, Charlotte, feels right, and managing the local tea shop will keep her busy and give her something to get her teeth into. But as she starts to settle into her new home and her new job, there will many unexpected changes around her, and as she begins to feel the flutters of attraction for the local sexy cider-maker, who knows what the future holds. But Matthew Carter is also carrying around grief and feelings from his past and has his interfering, teenage daughter to think of. Can they survive the local gossips, move on from their past heartache, and forge something new together? THE SECOND CHANCE TEA SHOP by Fay Keenan is a delightfully entertaining romance that is perfect for an afternoon's reading. Little Somerby is a picturesque setting that I instantly fell in love with, and I became invested in Anna and Matthew as they tried to navigate emotions of grief, loss, hope, and attraction. The kids in this book shone bright from the beginning and made me laugh throughout. This book was just so easy to get into and read, and time flew by as I got lost in its pages - with cake, love, and laughter this is a book for all romance fans. BOOK RATING - 📖📖📖📖📖 5 Author Bio: Fay Keenan was born in Surrey and raised in Hampshire, before finally settling back in the West Country. When Fay is not chasing her children around or writing, she teaches English at a local secondary school. She lives with her husband of fourteen years, two daughters, a cat, two chickens and a Weimaraner called Bertie in a village in Somerset, which may or may not have provided the inspiration for Little Somerby. For more information: Website - www.faykeenan.com Twitter - twitter.com/faykeenan Facebook - www.facebook.com/faykeenanauthor/?fref=ts Instagram - www.instagram.com/faykeenan/ *I would like to thank Yasemin, Aria fiction, and author Fay Keenan, for the opportunity to review this great novel, and take part in this blog tour. I am so excited to share this guest post with you all. Enjoy!!! GUEST POST FROM FAY KEENAN
Finding the real toad in the imaginary garden of Little Somerby… The first question I get asked by readers tends to be ‘are your characters based on real people?’ and I can always honestly answer no. I have vague notions of who I’d cast in a film version of the book, but that’s another post! However, that doesn’t mean that real experiences, and real places and people haven’t had an influence! Although none of my characters are actually based on anyone, I, like the majority of writers I suspect, do keep my eyes and ears open for little snippets of things that could work their way into a story. Conversations, events and the funny goings on of village life are all rich seams for a writer, and the landmarks of Little Somerby and its world are rooted in Somerset reality. A good example is what I now know was a catalyst for writing The Second Chance Tea Shop. I grew up quite close to a cider making business, and I have a very clear memory of being a teenager and going on a tour of the cider farm one day. There was something about standing in the main barn next to a collection of extremely large cider vats that felt almost magical. Thirty feet high and made of rich, dark coloured timber, they seemed timeless, eternal, and to my dreamy, imaginative teenage mind, permeated with history and romance. While the other girls on the tour giggled and jumped out at each other from behind the vats, I remember being very still, thinking, dreaming of the stories these huge vats could tell if they could speak. I suppose it might have been destiny! I remembered that moment, many years later when I was a fully grown mother of two small children of my own, albeit still a bit of a dreamer, and that memory was what made me think about writing the novel. There was just something about it that called to me, and the next thing I knew I had fully realised characters walking through my mind, populating the imaginary world in my head. And while that world, especially the village of Little Somerby, is in some ways very familiar to me, and will be to anyone who knows the Somerset area, it’s imaginary enough for readers to lose themselves in, I hope, and enjoy the rural idyll for themselves! I’m pleased to say that, when I stood next to the vats again, some twenty years later, they still seemed just as magical, and I’d like to think that the tale I created from that memory is magical, too.
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WelcomeHi fellow bookworms. My name is Linda and I'm a reviewer & blogger, wife & mother who loves all things books! Currently ReadingUPCOMING BLOG TOURS
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