Jenny Oliver

I'd already read Winter's Fairytale as a stand-alone so I'll discuss that elsewhere.
Both the other novellas focus at least as much on family dysfunction as on romance, which I found quite refreshing. The Little Christmas Kitchen was especially enjoyable because of the descriptions of luscious Greek food. A nice break from the 689 page book about Brexit politics!

I received a copy of The Vintage Summer Wedding by Jenny Oliver in exchange for an honest review.

Anna’s dream of being a world famous ballerina was shattered after she left the small town she grew up in and years later she finds herself returning to the place she swore she never would go back to. This time around she’s engaged to Seb, and a wedding that was supposed to be the talk of London is on hold, and nothing is working in her life the way she wanted. Oh boy, reading about Anna in show more this story so frustrating, she was so self absorbed and she actually thought she had the right to be bitter about the situation that she and Seb were in, a situation which she made! Seb’s patience was commendable to say the least, obviously even some adults need to grow up. I like the connection of past and present with the characters, and how her perspective began to change once she started to let go of her dream and the bitterness that made her unable to relate to just about everyone in her life. This story is where Anna finds that sometimes what you wish for, is not exactly what’s good for you. show less

One Lucky Summer by Jenny Oliver is a 2021 HQ publication.

Oops! This one was a miss for me- so I’m not going to spend a lot of time with the review. Why didn’t work?

The premise was kind of intriguing- I liked the Manor house- the cottage, etc. But every single character grated on my nerves, some more than others. All the adults were immature, but the child was entirely too advanced, with the insight of a trained psychologist.

The ending was a bit too abrupt, but there is a pleasant show more conclusion, though the chemistry was no more palpable than it had been through the entirety of the book, but at least the treasure was worth the hunt and the characters were able to air old grievances and forge ahead with the air cleared and hopefully, with more emotional maturing to come.

Overall, one of the least enjoyable of my summer reads so far, but looking at the rating average, it looks like I’m in the minority on that- so you might have better luck with it than I did.

2 stars show less

This was a delightful story full of romance, family life and some humour. Apparently it is the fifth book in the Cherry Pie Island series which brings the main characters from the previous four books together, but I have not read any of them and I still enjoyed this book

The main character in the story is Hannah. She is a talented dressmaker/dsigner, who has just finished getting her degree, and is offered the chance to make Annie's Christmas wedding dress. Based on this success, she gets show more further commissions with weddings. Hannah's Christmases tend to be extremely busy with Christmas wedding dresses, but with the help of her family she always pulls it together. Christmas is very important to her family and they always take time to celebrate, with daughter Jemima, 5, and all the extended family around her. Harry, a chef in New York has caught her eye as well as her daughter Jemima's. It seems they might get together, but things seem to get in the way. Harry is part of a dysfunctional family led by his father, somewhat a tyrant. Due to this, he does not spend a lot of time in England. Even though Harry and Hannah are very different after several chance meetings at the various weddings of their mutual friends, they start to get under each others skin.

This story does not take place over one Christmas season, but it does play an important part in bringing Hannah and Harry together. The main focus of this book is romance and weddings, and all the weddings are very different. Hannah's dresses that she designs are also very different, but when she sees the vision within, she does an amazing job. I absolutely loved Annie's kitschy themed Christmas wedding.

All the characters are also very different, yet they are friends and they compliment each other. Jemima, Hannah;s daughter is only 5 years old, but tends to steal the show when she is involved in the story. She takes a real liking to Harry, and the seafood BBQ scene is very entertaining. Their interactions are laugh out loud, considering she is so young.

If you enjoy romantic comedy, you must read this book. In fact, I need to go back and read the rest of this series.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Carina for this review copy. This is my honest and unbiased opinion. show less