Upcoming Release: 'The Canal Boat Cafe' by Cressida McLaughlin

Summer Freeman returns to the waterside village of Willowbeck to rescue the Canal Boat Café, her late mother’s picturesque narrowboat, which has run into choppy waters. A family friend, Valerie, has been trying to keep things afloat, but the coffee machine is jammed, the cake offerings are paltry, and not all of the locals want to see the café succeed.

Help comes from the boat next door, in the shape of handsome wildlife photographer, Mason and his naughty Border Terrier, who are showing more than a passing interest in Summer and her adorable Bichon Frise, Latte. But is Mason being honest about himself? Or does he have something to hide?

As her life and the community of Willowbeck begin to entwine, Summer finds herself setting sail on a new adventure. Will the anchor of a steady life on land be too strong, or can Summer learn to cut loose and embrace life afloat?

Cressida McLaughlin's 'The Canal Boat Cafe', which will be released as a full-length novel on 28 July, was actually first introduced to all of us as a four-part e-book series. I've read many positive reviews and am really curious to finally pick up this read myself as soon as the paperback will be released at the end of this month. I've had the pleasure of reading some of this author's work before and really enjoyed it, so have a good feeling about this summer read!

Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com / Goodreads

 

Review: 'Wellies and Westies (Primrose Terrace #1)' by Cressida McLaughlin (2015)

Catherine ‘Cat’ Palmer realises, too late, that bringing an adorable puppy into work at the local nursery was a bad idea, especially after the ensuing chaos gets her the sack. Determined to turn a negative into a positive, Cat decides this is the perfect opportunity to get her dog-walking business off the ground with the help of her flatmates, Polly and Joe. After all, Primrose Terrace where she lives, is full of home-alone hounds…
Wellies and Westies is the first part of a serialized novel told in four parts – all set in Primrose Terrace.
Over the past year or so we've been treated to some really fabulous serialised chick lit e-book novels, such as Lisa Dickenson's 'You Had Me At Merlot' and Cathy Bramley's 'Ivy Lane' and 'Appleby Farm.' No wonder I got really excited when I heard about the upcoming release of another fun and promising serialised e-book, namely the Primrose Terrace series by Cressida McLaughlin. The first part, 'Wellies and Westies', was released on the 30th of April by Harper and I was lucky enough to receive a review copy through NetGalley. I couldn't wait to check it out and had high hopes for a great read!
Catherine Palmer, to her friends and family known as Cat, has been fired from her job working as a nursery assistant after bringing a puppy with her to work. She's not quite sure what to do next in her life, but decides to stay positive and try turning one of her hobbies into her profession by starting her own dog-walking business. The area she lives in, Primrose Terrace, is filled with people who have dogs and Cat is sure her flatmates Polly and Joe will help her spread the word. It doesn't take long before Cat finds her first customer, but will she really be able to get her own business off the ground? And what else will Primrose Terrace have in store for her...?
An incredibly promising start to a new serialised romantic comedy novel! I already had a good feeling I would end up enjoying 'Wellies and Westies', the first part of the 'Primrose Terrace' series by Cressida McLaughlin, and I'm really happy my feeling was right! Cat is a great protagonist whom I liked straight away. She definitely has her head in the clouds and doesn't always think about her actions, but this, combined with her bravery for starting her own dog-walking business, makes her a perfect chick lit heroine. I'm not too much of a dog fan myself, but I loved reading about Cat's passion for dogs, the different dogs that make an appearance in the novel and how Cat deals with them and their antics.
This story is also a promising start to this series because of the wonderful collection of characters we are introduced to. There's Cat's flatmates Polly and Joe (who hates dogs...), famous author Jessica who lives in the neighbourhood, and mysterious and handsome stranger Mark who seems to suddenly pop up everywhere Cat goes. This introduction to them and their stories has definitely made me curious and I can't wait to read more. Cressida McLaughlin has a great, warm, well-paced writing style which suited the story well and which I personally really enjoyed. 'Westies and Wellies' is a promising start to a lovely, warm, and hopefully pretty amazing new chick lit e-book series and I definitely look forward to picking up the next part, 'Sunshine and Spaniels', as soon as possible!

Rating:10/10

  For more information about this book: Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com / Goodreads

Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.