Stirred With Love by Marcie Steele (Food fiction, Romance, 10E/10E)

Love the cover!

 September 2015, Bookouture, 304 pages, Ebook, Review copy from NetGalley 

Content: relatively clean romance, lots of humour, tissues needed

Summary from Bookouture

Sometimes the best friends can be found where you least expect them …

Still grieving after the loss of her beloved husband, Lily Mortimer is determined to do something with the time she has left.

After the end of her fairytale marriage, thirty-something Kate is trying hard to mend her broken heart.

Chloe, a young woman with the world at her feet, is struggling to know what to do with her life.

When Lily embarks on a new venture in the picturesque town of Somerley, the three women come together to open The Coffee Stop, the most charming café for miles around.

But opening a coffee shop is never as simple as it seems, especially when you add neighbouring competition, local heart throbs and heartbreak to the mix.

When tragedy strikes, can the three women pull together to make the new business fly, or will Lily’s last chance disappear down the drain along with yesterday’s coffee grinds?

Nayu's thoughts

I can't praise this story about a coffee shop changing 3 women's lives high enough! It is truly a spectacular tale, which made me cry with both joy, sadness, and regret on many occasions. Books that make me cry are special. While some details were understandably different, I was able to relate with Lily, Kate and Chloe. I got so many happy feelings when right went right for all three of them, as it so often went wrong. The pain Lily has in her heart gets pushed back with Kate and Chloe's growing friendship. However, initially there was a bit of conflict between the two, as at different stages in their life and with different opinions they inevitably clashed. However, with the help of Lily and by the usual help of some time and perspective they resolved the differences.

I absolutely adore shop themed books, which made this one idea. The concept which brings Kate and Chloe to Lily, the vision she had for her shop was something I could sense, even if I couldn't quite see Lily's vision. It's not just the characters having disagreements, there were external dangers for the cafe which got me seriously worried about what would happen at the end. I liked that Lily seemed to be a mother/grandmother figure to both Kate and Chloe. Chloe is relatively young and rash, but her ideas and thoughts aren't to be dismissed as simply youth – she nails certain situations which Kate needs help with.

I wish I could tell you the ins and outs of Lily, Kate, and Chloe's journey, but that would ruin the book! So please go read it, I'm definitely going to reread it and look out for it on audiobook!

Find out more on Mel's website - I say that because Marcie is in fact Mel Sherratt! 

Suggested read

Be sure to check out the first Food fiction Romance I read which has as many dramas, laughs and tears as Stirred with Love, Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe by Jenny Colgan (Fiction, Romance, 10E/10E)