The Book: With help from the Little Duck Pond Café girls, Rosie’s Spice Kitchen is becoming a firm favourite at the Lockley Meadow farmers’ market. But when shocking things start happening and a face from the past stirs up memories she would rather forget, widow Rosie’s hopes for a better future for her and her little daughter, Amelie, are suddenly dashed. Has someone discovered her devastating secret? The secret that is preventing her from moving on and finding love again?
Meanwhile, new mum Ellie and step-daughter Maisie are both hiding emotional secrets of their own…
Purchase Links
The Review: Once again I’m reviewing another book in the Little Duck Pond cafe series, with thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources for having me on this tour.
This was a lovely book that I enjoyed reading. I liked Rosie as a character and enjoyed her story though I found her a little naive at times. However, learning about her and what she’s been through, and watching her building a new life for herself and her daughter was definitely heartwarming. I am also jealous of the people who can attend Lockley Meadow market as her curries sound amazing! There were a few dramatic scenes in the book, some of which were connected to Rosie’s past and some to other characters. They definitely grabbed my attention, especially when the scenes just before had been peaceful and calm.
I also enjoyed Ellie’s part in the story (though it’s understandably less as this is Rosie’s book). It was nice to see more of the realities of newborns and being a new mum being explored, rather than it all being glossed over as lovely and cute and full of cuddles. As I can attest, having been recently reminded by the 6 month old next door to me, babies cry a lot, and repeatedly – though to be expected as it’s their only form of communication at this point. What I really liked though, was seeing Maisie’s voice in the book. While she’s obviously been a character since the beginning she’s not usually that involved, only for a few lines here and there but this time we get a lot more of her and it was lovely to see how she’s grown, but also her getting support with her new situations. Being 11, dealing not only with school but also with having a new baby sister make for challenging times but she handles them brilliantly, with a little support from a few other Duck Pond Cafe characters.
This book was a lovely addition to the series and as cosy and heartwarming as ever. I’m excited to see what happens next in the following book which is out in a few short weeks!
The Author:
Rosie’s series of novellas is centred around life in a country village cafe. Look out for DAYDREAMS & DOUGHNUT CAKE, out in June 2025, and TEACAKES AND TANGOS, which will be published in August 2025!
Follow Rosie on Twitter – https://twitter.com/Rosie_Green88
