I’m delighted today to be joining the blog tour for The Tanglewood Bookshop by Lilac Mills, and sharing my review: the fourth standalone book in her Tanglewood Village series, it was published by Canelo on 12th September, and is now available in paperback and on all major ebook platforms. Thank you, as always, to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for the invitation and support, and to both her and the publishers for my advance reading e-copy.
I haven’t read a book from Lilac Mills before, and I have no idea why I’ve never been to Foxmore Village, or Applewell Village – or why this is my very first visit to Tanglewood. But I have read quite a few books independently published by her alter ego, Liz Davies, and thoroughly enjoyed every one – the latest was The Cottage in Sweet Meadow Park, the first in a really lovely new series (you’ll find my review here), and I’m very much looking forward to following other characters’ stories as we hopefully see the neglected park getting the new lease of life it deserves. I’ve also spent many happy hours in the village of Ticklemore – you’ll find the series here – but I only realised very recently that Liz and Lilac were the same person. So many books to catch up with (and what a treat…!) – but let’s take a closer look at the latest…
A rural book shop. A chance to start over. But can she make her dream a reality?
Kazz used to love the excitement of her London life, but lately her passion for expensive city living has begun to wane. So when she’s given the opportunity to open a bookshop in picturesque Tanglewood, she jumps at the chance.
But village life is much quieter than she anticipated – is she actually suited for rural living? Resigned to a boring and uneventful Christmas, when she meets gorgeous Saul she is more than ready to have some fun and enjoy the festivities. If only Saul didn’t have a reputation for being a player…
Will Kazz become the heroine in her own Christmas romance, or will he love her and leave her under the mistletoe?
This gorgeous festive romance is perfect for fans of Kiley Dunbar, Rachel Lucas and Sue Moorcroft.
Just about everything in Kazz’s life has gone wrong. Living in London, she’s lost her job as a chef, and has found out she’s about to be homeless too – and, once they’ve set in motion the clearance of her grandfather’s house, her mother’s moving to Spain, so she doesn’t feel able to share her awful news. And what on earth is she going to do with all those books – her grandfather had a bookshop, sold twelve years before – that the clearance company refuse to take away?
Just to give herself some breathing space, she goes to stay with best friend Stevie, who runs a tea shop in rural (and rather beautiful) Tanglewood, a small market town on the Welsh-English border – and ends up staying rather longer than she expected, when her new friends (well, it was mainly Betty really – you’re going to love her!) convince her to open a bookshop. Saul – considering his own future, now his father’s decided to retire from farming – is roped in to pick up all her stuff (including all those books…), and despite their very different lives and backgrounds (city girl, farmer’s boy) it’s clear there’s a real spark between them. But she’s been firmly warned about his reputation, and that she should steer clear – which proves rather more easily said than done.
I have to say that I loved everything about this book – and not only that gorgeous slow burn romance, with its many obstacles along the way. The story is told from both Kazz and Saul’s viewpoints, and I really enjoyed sharing their thoughts and fears and doubts, and getting to know them better. The character development is so excellent, the author’s emotional touch just perfect – I really fell for them both as they grew to understand what they both needed from their lives, so wanting them to have their unlikely happy ending.
Tanglewood itself is beautifully drawn, with its community filled with very real and quirky characters who play their parts in the story – with real warmth in their welcome for the newcomer in their midst (and I really must read the earlier books in this lovely series, that tell some of their stories). Getting the bookshop ready for opening, followed by the uncertainty of success (along with a few other uncertainties and missed steps along the way) made for such an engaging read – as did the ups and downs of Saul’s life back at the family farm. There’s plenty of humour too, always perfectly judged – I’ve already mentioned bossy Betty (with her heart of pure gold), but stroppy Donald (that’s him, on the cover…) certainly has his moments too. And, of course, it’s Christmas – with all the feels, and all the lights and tinsel I could possibly have asked for.
The whole book was an absolute delight – read in one sitting, and finally set aside with a smile on my face and a satisfied sigh at its perfect ending. I’ll be very much looking forward to returning to Tanglewood – and if you share my taste, this is a book I’d very highly recommend. I really loved it…
About the author
Lilac Mills lives on a Welsh hillside with her very patient husband and incredibly sweet dog, where she grows veggies (if the slugs don’t get them), bakes (badly) and loves making things out of glitter and glue (a mess, usually).
She’s been an avid reader ever since she got her hands on a copy of Noddy Goes to Toytown when she was five, and she once tried to read everything in her local library starting with A and working her way through the alphabet.
She loves long hot summer days in the garden, and cold winter ones snuggled in front of the fire, but whatever the weather she’s usually writing, or thinking about writing, with heartwarming romance and happy-ever-afters always on her mind.
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Definitely another one for my Christmas reading list, thanks Anne !