Book Review - Rosie Hopkins' Sweetshop of Dreams

Were you a sherbet lemon or chocolate lime fan? Penny chews or hard boiled sweeties (you do get more for your money that way)? The jangle of your pocket money . . . the rustle of the pink and green striped paper bag . . .

Rosie Hopkins thinks leaving her busy London life, and her boyfriend Gerard, to sort out her elderly Aunt Lilian’s sweetshop in a small country village is going to be dull. Boy, is she wrong.

Lilian Hopkins has spent her life running Lipton’s sweetshop, through wartime and family feuds. As she struggles with the idea that it might finally be time to settle up, she also wrestles with the secret history hidden behind the jars of beautifully coloured sweets.

Welcome to Rosie Hopkins’ Sweetshop of Dreams – a novel – with recipes.

I have read so many chick lit books over the years, for some reason I am a very quick reader - I think it has something to do with not wanting to put the book down until I find out what's happened but some of this style of books are so hard to get into with irritating characters that you can't relate to.  I really felt like if Rosie were a real person she would be a friend, her man problems are things that a lot of women can relate to even if they haven't been in the same situation themselves and she is funny and very likeable.

The first Jenny Colgan book I read, meet me in the cupcake cafe, was so funny and sweet that Jenny's new book was the first I looked for when I hit up Gatwick airport's WHSmith before my flight. I NEED books on a flight, I watched The Vow but literally all of the rest of the films on Virgin's list were a load of boring rubbish so I definitely needed a backup of books and music - I did also purchase Simon Cowell's book but Matt nabbed that and I haven't got it back yet!

The book also has recipes at the beginning of most chapters, so if the talk of sweets leaves you craving some, why not put the book down and make a few marshmallows?!

Have you read Rosie Hopkins' Sweetshop of Dreams? What did you think?