The Little Bakery on Rosemary Lane by Ellen Berry

I haven't read the first book in this series - The Bookshop on Rosemary Lane but I may pick it up after reading this book.  In fact, there is nothing about this book that screams sequel at you.  A couple of times I wondered if Della's story had already been told but they were just vague wonderings as this is very definitely a book about her sister Roxanne.  I also wasn't aware when I purchased it that Ellen Berry was a pseudonym of Fiona Gibson - there was a pleasant surprise as I am quite a fan of Ms Gibson's books.

I quite enjoyed this book.  In fact the first 40% I tore through but it seemed to really lose it's momentum once we moved from Rox's life in London to her arriving at her sister's flat above the bookshop in Burley Bridge.  The London sections are written with a vibrancy that is sadly missing once moved to a more rural setting.  This was disappointing as the whole point of the book, if the title is to be believed, is about Rosemary Lane.  In fact, there is not really that much about the bakery at all so slightly misleading there.  But I can see where it comes from.

The characters are well written and I particularly enjoyed Isabelle, especially the reveal at the end of the book.  She may be a very peripheral character but she is important to Rox and the reasons why she has made a firm friendship with a woman so many years her senior.  Some of them are not so appealing and I found it a little lazy that Sean was painted rather blackly whilst Martin was a seeming paragon of virtue - not really like characterisation I have come to expect from books under her normal writing name.

Despite this sniping and nit picking I did enjoy the book, although I was cursing myself for not reading something more festive due to the snow falling outside the window.  I will possibly give the other books in the series a try - particularly the first one as I feel that there is much to learn about Della and her cosy little haven.  I am pretty sure the third one will be about Rox setting up her little vintage shop on Rosemary Lane and will likely read that one as well - although there is nothing to indicate this is the truth or when this book may happen.

Nice compact writing in easy chunks that you easily pick up and put down so a good read for the commute.

**Review originally published December 9th, 2017**