It’s such a pleasure today to be joining the blog tour for the latest book from Jessica Redland, Summer Nights at the Starfish Café – the third and final book in this lovely series. Published by Boldwood Books on 6th April, it’s now available as an ebook (free via Kindle Unlimited), in paperback, and as an audiobook. Many thanks, as ever, to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for the invitation and support, and to the publishers for my advance reading e-copy (provided via netgalley).
I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who was sad to see that this latest book was to be the last in this series – but it was a sadness tempered a bit by the fact that there will be other things to come from this talented author. Ok, I know you’ll all have read the Welcome to Whitsborough Bay and Christmas on Castle Street books, most probably the whole Hedgehog Hollow series too, and fallen in love with her characters and wonderful writing – if you pop Jessica’s name into my search bar, you’ll find all my many reviews. This series has been so excellent too – the first book, Snowflakes Over the Starfish Café (you’ll find the review here) might have broken my heart at times, but also delivered the warmest of hugs, and Spring Tides at the Starfish Café (review here) proved a lovely opportunity to revisit Hollie and Jake’s relationship while discovering Tori’s story. I’m a little bit behind with my reading at the moment, and need to get a bit of a move on so that I keep up with my promised reviews – but I really don’t need a reason or excuse to cuddle up in a chair for an uninterrupted afternoon with one of Jessica’s books…
Welcome back to The Starfish Café for a glorious summer, but with a few dark clouds on the horizon…
A new beginning…
As her summer wedding to Jake approaches, Hollie is excited for their new beginning as a family. But when some unexpected news threatens the future she and Jake had hoped for, Hollie will need to find the strength to overcome heartache once more.
A fragile heart….
Single mum, Kerry, loves her job at The Starfish Café, but behind the brave smiles and laughter with customers there is a sadness deep within. So when someone from her past re-appears in her life, Kerry can either hide away or face her demons and try to finally move on from her heartbreak.
A summer to remember…
For Hollie and Kerry it promises to be an emotional rollercoaster of a summer, but the community at The Starfish Café will always be there to help them through – after all, with courage nothing is impossible…
Join top 10 bestseller Jessica Redland for a wonderful summer at the seaside, full of love, friendship and community spirit.
The perfect setting at the cliff top Starfish Cafe, doing brisk business as summer approaches – and you really must go down to the beach below, where Jake first found Pickle and they both became part of Hollie’s life, because the seals are proudly showing off their new babies. And it’s business as usual down at the lifeboat station – the regular call-outs (sometimes involving Jake and Hollie) needing to be supported by the tours and regular fundraising events. Have you visited before? You could just make this your first visit – there’s plenty of catching up on the back story – but I honestly think you’d enjoy this book even more than you will if you catch up first on the first two books. And that’s because it really helps to understand what this lovely couple have already been through – this book really is a considerable emotional rollercoaster as far as they’re concerned, beginning with the long-awaited wedding day (which is just glorious…), but then… and that’s as far as I plan to go in telling that story!
But, as always, another character also moves to centre stage – Kerry, who works part-time and term-time at the cafe, single parent to four lovely children who are the centre of her life. And we follow her story – finding out about her past, where things went wrong, and the reasons why she finds herself coping alone. She makes a friend among the crew at the lifeboat station – it might become something more (oh, I really wanted it to!) but first she needs to handle a really difficult situation, protecting her children from damage when her past unexpectedly resurfaces.
I’m very deliberately not telling any more of the story – I’d hate to ruin it for anyone – but there are a number of difficult issues and a lot of emotional content in this book, beautifully and sensitively handled as always, and both the storylines really deeply touched my heart. There’s plenty of well-written drama too, but also a lot of lightness and humour through the relationships between the many wonderfully drawn characters (many of them very familiar if you’ve read the author’s other books – including a few friends from Castle Street, and it was so lovely to see them again). But I really love the way the author takes her characters through some really difficult times, always focusing on the love that surrounds them and their sheer determination to survive. The warmth of this book is palpable – her books always feel like a hug in book form, and this one is certainly no exception, and it’s all just so beautifully done.
I’m really sorry to be leaving Jake and Hollie and all the other characters who’ve become friends and who I’ve really grown to care for behind – but, after this book’s quite perfect ending, I know they’ll be happy living their lives. And who knows, we might well see them again as part of a future story – I do hope so! This really was the loveliest read – and one I’d highly recommend to others.
About the author
Jessica Redland writes emotional but uplifting stories of love, friendship, family and community. Her Whitsborough Bay books transport readers to the stunning North Yorkshire Coast where she lives with her husband, daughter and sprocker spaniel. Her Hedgehog Hollow series, set in a hedgehog rescue centre, takes readers into the beautiful rolling countryside of the Yorkshire Wolds.
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Thank you for joining in the blog tour for Summer Nights at The Starfish Café, Anne, and for your truly gorgeous review. You say you get a warm hug from reading my books, but I get one from reading your reviews. Makes me want to rush out and buy the book myself! I’m delighted you loved this final instalment so much and particularly enjoyed the ending. Really appreciate your incredible support for my writing and your lovely comments. You are an absolute superstar xx