Kellie Hailes

Mel has opened a coffee shop in Devonshire, but pub owner Tony has installed a coffee machine that threatens her new business. Tony is desperate to bring new business to his flailing pub. The two negotiate for Mel to help Tony learn to cook if he'll act as her boyfriend since her mother is coming for a visit and expects her to have a significant other.
It's a cute story. I love the setting in the small village of Rabbits Leap (or Rabbit's Leap, I was never quite sure). Mel and Tony are a fun show more couple; he's more of a playboy and she's not really looking for romance, but they fit pretty well together. And the secondary couples are eccentric in the manner one would expect for a small English village. It's a fun read. show less

I got to the end of this book and said a big "awwwwwww". It's the kind of read where you know how it's going to end but that didn't mean it wasn't a completely satisfactory - it was.

The heart of the story is Rabbits Leap where Jody lives. It's a quaint little Devonshire village and it's where she grew up. Despite big dreams, she's been there all her life with her twin boys. For reasons that become apparent as the story progresses, Jody is helping to organise a fundraising festival for the show more village and hires Christian, a high-flying events manager from London to help out.

They're drawn to each other immediately but the course of true love never runs smoothly, does it (well, not in books at least)? What follows is a love story with lots of fun moments and sad ones too.

I thought The Big Little Festival was such a sweet read. I love books where they're part of a series but each time the focus characters are different yet the setting is the same and some of the same people appear. I haven't read the first Rabbits Leap book yet but a quick glance at the first chapter tells me it features a character that appears in a small way in The Big Little Festival.

I read this book in two days and couldn't put it down once I had got over the half way point. I enjoyed the tension and desire between Jody and Christian, the coming together of the festival and the Rabbits Leap natives, especially Mrs Harper and Mrs Hunter who are those kind of people who can't stand each other one minute and the next are all sweetness and light.

Lots of fun, lots of lovely moments and just a really pleasing, easy read. show less

Actual rating: 2.5/5

Sometimes a cute, easy story is all you need, and was exactly what I needed to tide me over a book hangover. This is a light, easy read that does exactly what it says on the tin.

Paige owns a second-hand bridal boutique in a small English town. She loves giving things a second life and brides a happy day, but she herself doesn't believe in love, not one bit. Enter Cy, a handsome and charismatic wedding planner who has taken on the task of planning Paige's mother fourth show more wedding. This is a romantic book, so you can pretty much guarantee how the story will develop and end and there were certainly no surprises there. But, as they say, joy is to be found in the journey, not the destination.

The romance itself was cute enough, especially the one between Paige's mother and her fiancé. In contrast, I wasn't all too keen on our main characters. Cy, in particular, rubbed me the wrong way with his manipulative behaviour, lying straight off the bat and engaging Paige in a bet to win a date with her. The whole thing just got worse from there, in a series of half-truths, unreasonable and immature behaviour, and incomprehensible choices coming from both of them.

Both characters have loads of emotional baggage which, if handled correctly, can be extremely interesting and add nuance to any romance. But here they both appeared to be extremely one-dimensional, both letting one traumatic incident define them entirely in their personality and life choices.

Overall, a quick and easy read with some potential. It definitely was light-hearted and heartwarming but lacked enough nuance to engage me. Cute, but not the best romance I have read.


I received an e-arc of this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way. show less

Unlike other books I’ve borrowed because they had “bookshop” in the title, this didn’t focus very much on books, nor did it describe its bookshop vividly. Sophie could have easily owned a different sort of shop without changing the plot, the setting or the atmosphere.

This is a light-hearted romance about nice people in a generic seaside town -- not what I was looking for. I wanted more about books and a stronger sense of place.