Suzy Turner

I had not read anything previously by Suzi Turner, but the blurb sounded interesting, and I loved the cover, which I thought was very attractive, suggesting the 1920s.

The main character is Agatha Trout, or 'Aggie' to her friends. She has just lost her job at the library of mythology because it is being closed. At the same time, she becomes a beneficiary in her Great Aunt's will where she inherits a corner shop and the flat above it. From this point, we watch her evolve from a mousy, retiring individual, into a confident and attractive young woman with the help of her best friend Coco Watson.

The friends decide to open the shop as an adult shop, and with financial backing from Aggie's sister, Christie, the three friends get the building restored, and the shop up and running.

There is some resentment about the nature of the business locally and threatening letters are received. Someone wants the shop to close badly, and there are a couple of incidents in the shop leading up to an arson attack. Undeterred, the girls muster family and friends to help clean up the mess and get the shop open again.

This is a lovely story with a bit of crime, some romance, forgiveness and the healing of family rifts, and even a spirit visitor! It moved along at a good pace, and I found it funny and easy to read. I look forward to reading more from Ms Turner in the future.

My thanks to the author for a free digital copy of this book to review.… (altro)

This is not my usual sort of book. I guess I grew out of chick lit novels three decades ago. But this book made me laugh. So I’ll put a warning up front for the sensitive: the book starts with a sex scene. But don’t let that put you off. Yes, this is a fun read as author Suzy Turner takes her eponymous character Summer on a relationship road trip.
For a year she has been manless and therefore sexless, and when she does meet a nice guy it goes wrong for an unexpected reason [I did see this coming, but it still made me smile]. So, Summer and her best friend Gwen fly off to the Algarve for two weeks of intended flirting, laughter and girly gossip. Of course when she isn’t looking for a nice man, she stumbles over one.
Turner is good at writing physical comedy scenes. Summer is a likeable klutz, we all have/had a friend like her at some point in our lives. She is prone to misunderstandings and is rather gullible, accepting the most obvious explanation of a situation rather than thinking ‘what if?’ This is a coming-of-age story, Summer learns to look beyond the surface and look for the less obvious answer.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-reviews-a-z/… (altro)