There is something so warm and cosy about entering the world Giovanna has created for us, and to go to a world of characters we already know and love, is even more of a treat!
We re-enter the world of Billy and Sophie as they’re LA bound to visit Billy’s family. This is the first time Sophie has met his family in person and to say she is nervous is an understatement… but she had nothing to fear because they’re all lovely… or at least they are for the first few days!
Julie; Billy’s mother, plans the most incredible New Year’s Eve party were Sophie is introduced to some of the high flying movie producers that Billy has dreamed of working with. It’s an exciting night and with Sophie baking many of the treats on the dessert table – they say hello to the new year feeling content, full and excited by the possibilities the new year will bring.
After 10 days of the sun, the beach and the scrummy food, it’s time to go home… and Sophie ends up travelling alone as unfortunately Billy has to extend his visit for work reasons. This causes some unexpected strains on their relationship and Sophie’s mind fills with doubt…. but if you’ve read ‘Billy and Me’ and ‘Christmas with Billy and Me’, you’ll know that Sophie is a determined, hard working gal and when her mind starts drifting…. well she’ll bake a cake!
Whilst Billy works away on the set of the movie that will see him return to the big screens; Sophie is busy planning her mother’s wedding. It’s such an exciting time for them all and with Sophie hiring some help for the shop, she’s able to join in on the fun of wedding shop dressing! As the tension builds up within Billy and Sophie’s relationship and her mother discusses selling her childhood home, Sophie begins to wonder what the future holds and along comes another handsome stranger from her past to muddle her thoughts even further. Peter; Molly’s son (for anyone who has’t read the books – Molly owned the tea shop that Sophie inherited from her), is back in the country for a few months and is keen to be as helpful as possible in the tea shop… Peter has a kind, thoughtful and amusing personality… so similar to Molly’s which is a huge comfort to Sophie…
The wedding is the penultimate ending to the book, we finally see all the hard work come together and Billy returns to Rosefont Hill… but what the final chapters bring… I’ll leave that as a juicy secret!
I’m sure I’ve said in the past that I’m not the biggest fan of ‘rom coms’, they all seem the same; the overall plot follows a standard format; there’s always some kind of issue that gets in the way of the man and the woman and there’s always a happy ending. Reading too many of these books can frustrate my mind so I tend to steer away from them… but for some reason I keep picking up Giovanna’s books (this is her third novel and she also has two novellas out) and why is that?
- Giovanna has created the most incredible setting for her characters and you can’t help but fall in love with the idea of Rosefont Hill
- The thoughts that run through Sophie’s mind are so in parallel with how I’d be feeling in those situations that I couldn’t help but nod and ‘ahhhh’ with the book
- There’s some really cute touches in the book that you can’t help but smile at … a perfect example would be how I swooned when Billy started sending Sophie handwritten letters
- Fletcher’s writing style is honest, warming and real
Hmmmm answering that question is harder than I thought… I can’t seem to put my finger on what it is that I like … it’s fair to say her books have a certain ‘je ne sais quoi’
I wish there were more author’s out there that could make me become hooked on the ‘rom com’ genre…. let me know if you think there are any!!
Until next time, Chloé x
Reviews by Chloé 