Last day of the blog tour today, and it’s a real pleasure to share my review of Finding Love At Sunset Shore by Bella Osborne. Published on 18th July by Avon Books, it’s now available as an e-book – for kindle via Amazon, for KoBo and Apple Books – in paperback, and as an audiobook. My thanks 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).
After a few years when I – quite wrongly – thought Bella wrote books for readers who were rather younger than me, I’ve rapidly become a real fan of her writing. My first was The Promise of Summer – fantastic characters, touching and hilarious, warm and uplifting, and I really loved it (you’ll find my full review again here). The next one I read, The Library, wasn’t one of her usual romantic comedies – both my book club and I adored it, and I chose it as one of my 2021 Books of the Year (you’ll find my review here). The Girls was a bit different too – with mature characters I really took to my heart, and sheer enjoyment from beginning to end (you’ll find my review here). And then, a couple more romantic comedies that I thoroughly enjoyed – A Wedding at Sandy Cove (you can read my review again here) and An Invitation to Seashell Bay (review here). And I really mustn’t forget her lovely Christmas book, The Perfect Christmas Village – the most gorgeous festive hug, and one you really need to add to your list for this year if you missed it (review here). So, let’s take a closer look at her latest…
Sometimes, you have to fake it until you make it…
Ros is too busy for a boyfriend; between work and looking after her poorly father, there’s no time left for a relationship. But when she overhears her dad’s dying wish is for her to find love, Ros is determined to make it happen – or at least, make it look like it has.
Enter Cameron, a struggling mature student with a mountain of debt but a zest for life.
Ros, driven by love for her ailing dad, reluctantly agrees to the simple business transaction: paying Cameron to play the role of her boyfriend. Ros meticulously plans their fake relationship – but when Cameron decides to go off-script, chaos ensues.
As Ros and Cameron navigate the ups and downs of their faux romance, their differences drive each other crazy. But they may just need each other more than they think…
In the world of work, Ros is a risk management expert – but she applies the principles to her life too. She keeps the people she works with at arm’s length – they’re colleagues, not friends – but best friend Darla has somehow managed to get through her defences. And when Ros overhears her terminally ill father worrying about her being alone when he’s gone, it’s Darla who comes up with a plan – introducing her to Cameron, in need of money to finance his studies as a mature student, and the whole idea of making her father believe that they’re in a relationship. Ros approaches it all like a project, getting out her home whiteboard and flip charts – but Cameron prefers to play things by ear, which might make her uncomfortable but certainly seems to work, as father Barry (and his exuberant dog Gazza) are entirely convinced and welcome him as part of the family.
Meanwhile, we have Darla’s story – on her uppers after a failed business venture with a former boyfriend, she’s homeless until offered some housesitting in a place going through probate. She’s done some pet sitting before – but the menagerie she finds herself responsible before is wholly outside her experience. Thank goodness for local farmer Elliott – rather tasty, a bit of a misery who rarely cracks a smile, but who comes through for her a few times when she desperately needs him to.
So, two tropes in one book – the fake boyfriend, and the enemies-to-lovers story – and I’ve rarely seen them done so well. Cameron is the loveliest man, but as Ros becomes increasingly attracted and relaxes a little, it seems there are real obstacles in the way of it ever being more than a commercial arrangement. And Darla – she adds a lot of the humour as she wrestles with the livestock, and gradually discovers that there’s rather more to Elliott than just helping out in times of crisis. The supporting cast is so well drawn too – including Ros’ mother, whose reappearance threatens to put a spoke in the wheels.
The character development is excellent, the slow burn romances entirely believable, the emotional elements perfectly handled, and the whole story – with a few surprises along the way – a thoroughly enjoyable read. Entertaining, escapist, uplifting and filled with warmth – I loved it, and highly recommend you add it to your summer reading list.
About the author
Bella Osborne has been jotting down stories as far back as she can remember but decided that 2013 would be the year that she finished a full length novel. Since then she’s written eleven best-selling romantic comedies, two best-selling bookclub reads and won the RNA Romantic Comedy Novel of the Year Award.
Bella’s stories are about friendship, love and coping with what life throws at you.
She lives in Warwickshire, UK with her husband, daughter and a cat who thinks she’s a dog. When not writing Bella is usually eating custard creams and planning holidays.
For more about Bella, visit her website or follow her on social media:
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