Synopsis: When Josh Strachan, newly returned to his home in north Cornwall from sunny California, first meets Sophie Wells, he’s immediately smitten. Sophie’s pretty, she’s funny, she has lots of friends and she clearly loves her job as a photographer, despite the sometimes tricky clients. There’s just one problem: Sophie has very firmly turned her back on love. It’s nothing personal, she tells Josh, but she just doesn’t do dates. And no one – even Sophie’s scatty best friend Tula – will tell him why. Josh is sure Sophie likes him, though, and he’s just got to find out what’s put her off romance. And then put things right…
Jill Mansell has a magical ability to transport you into the worlds she creates and by the end of the book I found myself wanting to go and visit the hotel in Cornwall and meet the characters she has lovingly created. Each character has its own flaws and the most major one, seems to be Sophie. As the story unfolds we see everybody’s issues start to jump to the forefront and as time went on and I realised what Sophie’s issues were it made me like her even more. There were plenty of plot threads going on too, but I can assure you this wasn’t overdone and the characters all made their own mark on me.
I was so engrossed in this book that by the time I finally got around to starting it (two weeks later than planned)! I finished it the same day. Jill’s last two books were 5 star reads and this one is no different. I found myself totally absorbed, and this book gives you everything you could want from a book in this genre. It has fantastic characters and an interesting storyline that takes you straight into their world without pausing for breath. In my eyes, Jill Mansell is a legend! I kid you not people; the lady has been writing books for over two decades and the only way I can describe her (in the nicest possible way) is like a fine wine. She just gets better with age! Do yourself a favour and pre-order this one, I don’t think you will be disappointed.