Review - The Little Flower Shop by the Sea by Ali McNamara

The Little Flower Shop by the Sea by Ali McNamara
Publisher: Sphere (30th Jul 2015)

Blurb:
The blossom is out in the little Cornish harbour town of St Felix.

But Poppy Carmichael's spirits aren't lifted by the pretty West Country spring. Inheriting her grandmother's flower shop has forced her to return to Cornwall, a place that holds too many memories.

Poppy is determined to do her best for the sake of her adored grandmother, but she struggles with the responsibility of the more-shabby-than-chic shop. And with the added complication of Jake, the gruff but gorgeous local flower grower, Poppy is very tempted to run away..

The pretty little town has a few surprises in store for Poppy. With new friends to help her and romance blooming, it's time for Poppy to open her heart to St Felix and to the special magic of a little flower shop by the sea!

Gather your sunnies, choose a holiday destination and load up on ice-cream because summer is coming! Well, so is Ali McNamara’s latest book, The Flower Shop by the Sea which is such a delight from start to finish! With a sparkling new cover and summer story that will make you laugh and root for the heroine, get ready to be swept away by this gorgeous novel.

So what can you expect from an author who has been writing Christmas-themed novels for the past years? Would her venture into feel-good, sunny summer reads be a success? Yasssss, gawd. I adored The Little Flower Shop by the Sea mainly because it’s utterly delightful and incredibly enjoyable. The book follows the story of Poppy Carmichael, who inherits her grandmother’s flower shop in a quiet seaside village in Cornwall. Coming from a family that owns a successful chain of flower shops, she feels out of place and completely bewildered to be given a flower shop.

From the prologue itself, I was immediately drawn in by this captivating story of a young girl who spent her summer holidays at St Felix with her older brother to visit her grandmother. Fifteen years after her last visit, this girl has grown up and life hasn’t been a bed of roses for her (no pun intended!) – mind my unsuccessfully attempt at word play on flowers – Poppy finds herself in a place that holds her most memorable childhood memories as well as the horrific incident that derailed her future.

For someone who hasn’t been to the beach for quite some time, reading The Little Flower Shop by the Sea has been such a wonderful experience. I relished the descriptions of the beautiful, idyllic seaside village of St Felix, especially when Poppy reminisces about her holidays in St Felix. You could really smell the scent of nostalgia emanating from the pages.

I think the characters in The Little Flower Shop by the Sea are a fabulous bunch – a signature by Ali McNamara as I love her characters – and my favourite has to be Miley who made me laugh with her adorable and silly antics. Poppy, on the other hand, was a hard nut to crack. However, as the story flowed – very nicely, if I may say so – I began to warm up to her and accept that there were circumstances that made her that way and I was flipping pages faster than someone counting bank notes after winning the jackpot to find out what happened to poor Poppy!

With the idyllic setting of a serene Cornish seaside village, characters with big hearts and a heroine's journey to finding her feet by facing the roots of her past, The Little Flower Shop by the Sea is a truly magical story about self-discovery and letting go of the past to give yourself a chance to have a blossoming future. Hugely captivating and evocative. A delightful ray of sunshine, this book and it guarantees a feel-good feeling after flipping the last page. Anyone wants to book a trip to St Felix? COUNT ME IN!

I'd like to thank Sphere for sending me a copy in exchange for a review. The Little Flower Shop by the Sea is out on 30th July 2015 on paperback and eBook.