The Café at Marigold Marina by Tilly Tennant
Published: April 8, 2022
Bookouture
Pages: 371
Genre: Romance
KKECReads Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.
Tilly Tennant was born in Dorset, the oldest of four children, but now lives in Staffordshire with a family of her own. She also works as a freelance fiction editor and part-time lecturer. Hopelessly Devoted to Holden Finn was her debut novel; published in 2014, it was an Amazon bestseller in both the UK and Australia. In 2016 she signed to the hugely successful Bookouture and is currently working on her fifteenth Tilly Tennant novel. Christmas bestseller A Very Vintage Christmas has just been made into a movie for Lifetime Channel. Tilly also writes young adult fiction as Sharon Sant.
When Rosie inherits the café on Marigold Marina after her husband’s tragic death, she is determined to pour her heart into his dream. Nine months later, as she serves coffee and cakes to customers, she is all smiles and laughter. But when the sunshine-yellow doors of the café are closed, she allows her heart to break all over again.
Rosie doesn’t have much room in her life for anything but the café. But when Kit, the mysterious owner of a bookshop barge, starts to come by regularly for lunch, she finds it difficult to ignore his dark eyes, dishevelled curls and the fact that he has his own sorrows. Rosie finds it easy to talk to Kit and as they swim together in the sparkling marina waters she hopes she can help Kit the way he has helped her.
But just as she is letting herself open her heart, she learns the shocking secret that the husband she loved for so many years kept hidden from her. And when she discovers that Kit is hiding things too, she fears she has been foolish to trust again. Should she close her café and move away from the marina? Or should she take a risk and give love another chance?
“Time to let go.”
Rosie is in a village far from home and family. But her mate husband had decided that the Marigold Marina and the cafe were their dreams. Rosie is still trying to process and heal from Fergus’s sudden passing, so she continues with the cafe. What else could she do? The last thing she ever expected was just how welcoming and supportive the Marina community would be. And the warm brown eyes that belonged to fellow business owners, that made her heart flutter.
This was such a sweet story. I enjoyed how it expanded as the plot moved along. This novel had a lovely pace, and I enjoyed the characters.
Rosie is a shy, sweet, loyal woman who is attempting to continue on after the sudden death of her husband. She is our main character, and it is her journey we follow.
I enjoyed the writing style and the storytelling. This was such a well-done book, and I love that hindsight was such a prominent aspect.
The life Rosie thought she loved with her husband was not all sunshine. Then there is Tabitha, the intelligent, kind, hardworking woman who applied to work at the cafe with Rosie.
She brought sunshine and laughter back into Rosie’s life, and with that, she also brought her brother, Kit. With warm, dark eyes, and a genuinely kind heart, Rosie is more conflicted than ever.
This was a beautifully written love story about second chances and falling in love with yourself. Finding value in your heart, your desires, your wishes, and wants.
I loved the last half of this book. The way things were discovered, the life-changing realizations, and the pursuit of a fresh start. Such a beautifully written novel, set in a stunning locale, with quirky characters and a love that can last.