Every so often a book comes along that you just fall in love with and want to tell everybody to read.
This is that book. I wanted to read it from the minute I laid eyes on the cover, it looks great. And luckily the story contained within is even better. I picked it up earlier wanting to read a bit of it and finished it within a few hours. I am now left feeling happy that I finished a good book but sad that it is over.
The premise for the book isn't that original, in recent years we have had family members being left cafes, cake shops, sweet shops etc however I did find the actual story and the characters very original and would say that this isn't just a rehash of similar books from other authors. I took to the two characters Anna and Imogen straightaway and loved them throughout the whole book. They both felt very realistic and you really root for them throughout the book. With this being chick lit certain elements of the story were pretty predictable, the obligatory boyfriend who is distant and makes the girl wonder whether she should be with him. The perfect man waiting in the wings (for Anna) and the mysterious stranger who the girl argues with but secretly likes (for Imogen).
I was salivating reading about the ice cream recipes (though perhaps not the batch that Imogen created!), and wishing I could be in Italy with Anna trying some of them out. There are recipes in the back of the book which I would like to try out but to be honest it wouldn't be the same as being in Italy or being in a lovely little ice cream shop near the seafront! I found myself so engrossed in the story and enjoying reading about the characters that I was gutted as I turned each page and neared the end. With a certain cafe and sweetshop from another author having second books written set at Christmas time part of me wishes that the author of this book would write a second book featuring these fantastic characters and the wonderful ice cream shop. The ending was a satisfying one but I would say it was kind of left open for a sequel,
please let there be one.
I also loved this book enough to check out the author's other book which has been on my tbr list for a while but I just haven't got round to it. This book is the perfect summer read to while away a few hours on the beach, just make sure there is an ice cream van/shop nearby! This is one of those books you will fall in love with and reccommend to everybody you can. Don't miss it.