I loved this book and can't wait to read more from the Star and Sixpence series. Utterly charming this is a real feel-good read with great characters - I just wish the Star and Sixpence was real and I could pop in for a Gingerbread Martini.
First published in the UK: December 2016
When sisters Nessie and Sam inherit a little pub in a beautiful country village they jump at the chance to escape their messy lives and start afresh. But when they arrive at the Star and Sixpence, it's not quite what they imagined - it's pretty much derelict, ruined by debts, and it's going to be a huge job to get it up and running again. But they are determined to make the best of this new life and they set about making the pub the heart of the village once again. Their first year at the Star and Sixpence won't be easy, though nothing worth doing ever is.
But when the sisters' past comes back to haunt them, they start to think that the fresh start they needed is very far away indeed…
I loved this book but then it did have all my favourite ingredients - country village setting, love interest in the form of a hot single dad with cute kid, strong female lead characters and entrepreneurial spirit. It was also favourite type of narrative - charmingly innocent (ie romance rather than sex) but realistically modern (ie one of the characters has a PR/celebrity background).
Sisters Nessie and Sam inherit a little pub in a beautiful country village, giving them the chance to escape their messy lives and start afresh. Both sisters are extremely likeable characters, with Sam a feisty, creative, carefree city-girl whereas Nessie is warm, calm, practical and home-loving. Aside from the sisters there's other great characters in the form of the villagers including nosy, self-righteous post-mistress Franny, glamorous ex-starlet Ruby, brooding blacksmith Owen and cute kid Luke.
The story is really cleverly written split into four distinctive parts relating to the four seasons and a special seasonal event at the pub, ie a Halloween party or the Valentine's Celebrity Chef Dinner. This means that the story moves on and the characters develop but at a realistic pace, unlike some books where characters seemingly fall in love in the space of days/weeks, and without the unnecessary filler either. Although apparently this book was originally four separate novellas that have collected together as one for the first time - which makes sense.
Probably because I would love to run my own small business, I loved backdrop of the pub and the sisters learning a new trade and turning around the fortunes of the place (despite local opposition) with a variety of creative, entrepreneurial ideas. But, I guess the main story is that of family and relationships with both sisters surprised to find love again after previous disastrous relationships. Of course neither romances run smoothly with Sam's predictably a passionate, tumultuous, short-lived love affair and Nessie's more of a will-they-they-won't-they dilemma.
I can't wait to read more of author, Holly Hepburn, and in particular the Star and Sixpence series to see what happens next to the characters of Little Monkham.
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