I recently saw Sharon Booth’s upcoming release, Coming Home to Tuppenny Bridge [out July 8 from Storm Publishing] and I thought I would go back to the beginning of this series to catch up. Or so I thought!
Summer Fletcher is enjoying a summer in the Dales. Working at her family pub and the local horse refuge, she loves her life and is looking forward to all her family getting together as her mom walks down the aisle to the love of her life, Rafferty. However there is about to be more to Summer’s life when her path collides with local vet, Ben Callaghan, who she has a crush on.
I adore British romances. I don’t know why but there is something about a small village and romance that go together. Well… like toast and marmalade! Summer in Tuppenny Bridge was my first book by Sharon Booth and it most definitely won’t be my last. I instantly fell for this cute little town and it’s inhabitants. While the main story features Summer and Ben, the readers learns more about the other village folk, and I just fell head over heels for all of them. Especially the Lavender Ladies, who put bets on anything and everything that happens in the village… including when Summer and Ben will get together!
While Summer in Tuppenny Bridge is a cute contemporary romance, the story also goes deeper with Ben’s family dealing with the grief of losing their father and eldest son, Leon, some ten plus years ago. The grief has held onto the family and Ben has to try to find the right path for his family to move on. This brought a tenderness to the story and one that absolutely pulled on my heartstrings.
This is the perfect book for anyone that loves a village romance… and of course James Herriot.
‘Never,’ Ben whispered deliberately slow, ‘disrespect All Creatures Great and Small. James Herriot was a god.’
In starting Summer in Tuppenny Bridge I thought I had started at the beginning of the series, but I didn’t. There is another series that leads into this series and starts with the story of Sally, Summer’s mom, and Rafferty starting with At Home. I will definitely be going back and starting that series as well, as I just can’t get enough of these characters!
It's a Literary Escapism 