Nancy Barone

Thank you to NetGalley and Aria & Aries/Aria Publishers for a copy of "No Room at the Little Cornish Inn" in exchange for my honest review.

I love a sweet Christmas romance, and this one was wonderful! Rosie Anderson, the single mom to her son Danny, has her Christmas holiday plans upended by an over-demanding boss. Rosie works for Johnson Hotels, and her boss, Susan the Sacker, is sending her to the Old Bell Inn to sort out why the inn is receiving negative reviews, oh, and she has to fire the manager, Michael Fitzpatrick. Despite this mission ruining her young son's Christmas plans, Rosie agrees because she is anxious to earn a well-deserved promotion finally. There is only one problem when she and Danny arrive; they discover there is no room at the inn; they are overbooked!

While the staff at the inn are lovely, Rosie continues to deal with a demanding boss. Susan calls at all times, basically whenever she wants and demands an update. Rosie begins to realize there is more to this story than she realized. With random yet abundant customer complaints and the determined way Susan is behaving, Rosie starts to question the legitimacy of the negative reviews. Oh, and there is money missing from accounts, the whole this is suspicious.

On top of everything she is dealing with, Rosie’s' ex-boyfriend, Danny's father, decides to drop back into their lives after years of being gone. There is just a lot going on, including some romances, and things do ultimately work to a happy ending.
I enjoyed this book a lot. I love the writer's style and flow and found this book to be a delight, perfect read for the upcoming Christmas season.… (mais)

Excellent, intense and moving – this is a story that won’t leave me for a long time. It made me thankful for my parents, siblings and a childhood filled with love. This is not a light easy read but instead one that is deep, dark, thought provoking and filled with optimism for the much brighter future Valentina and Lucy Mancino so richly deserve.

The house they grew up in holds secrets – secrets that are gradually revealed as the story unfolds – secrets that deserve to be left locked within the walls of that house as the two women move forward with their lives at the end of the book.

The story is told from Valentina’s viewpoint in chapters that alternate between the past and the present with odd numbered chapters beginning when Valentina is nine and even numbered chapters beginning when she is thirty-two. It felt seamless moving between the two periods of time and almost a blessing to have the opportunity to regroup during the adult chapters before wading back into the horrors of childhood faced by the sisters.

I do not want to give the story away so will not write any of the details in my review. I will say that I enjoyed the book in spite of the heaviness of the issues dealt with. I love a book that makes me think and feel and keeps me invested in the story and this book did all of those things and more.

I would like to thank the author for the copy this marvelous book and say that this is my honest unbiased review.

5 Stars… (mais)