Title: The Café at Marigold Marina
Publisher: 8th April 2022 by Bookouture
Pages: 312 pages
How I Read It: ARC book
Genre: romance, fiction, contemporary
My Rating: 3.5 cups
Synopsis:
Welcome to the café on Marigold Marina, where the smell of freshly baked cakes fills the air, the boats bob merrily in the mellow evening sun and an unexpected meeting means the chance to love again…
When Rosie inherits the café on Marigold Marina after her husband’s tragic death, she is determined to pour her heart into his dream. Nine months later, as she serves coffee and cakes to customers, she is all smiles and laughter. But when the sunshine-yellow doors of the café are closed, she allows her heart to break all over again.
Rosie doesn’t have much room in her life for anything but the café. But when Kit, the owner of a bookshop barge, starts to come by regularly for lunch, she finds it difficult to ignore his dark eyes, dishevelled curls and warm smile. As the pair grow closer, and Kit teaches Rosie how to swim in the sparkling marina waters, Rosie begins to hope that she might get a second chance at happiness.
But just as she is letting herself open her heart for a second time, she discovers the shocking secret that the husband she loved for so many years kept hidden from her. And when Kit disappears when she needs him the most, she closes her café for good and leaves the marina. But has she cut herself off too quickly? Will moving away allow her to move on? Or can she only find true happiness if she learns to trust again?
An absolutely gorgeous and heartwarming read about what can happen when you leave your comfort zone and listen to your heart.
My Thoughts
What an interesting read Tilly’s latest proved to be. The Café at Marigold Marina was a story of discoveries in every sense of the word. It was from these realisations that life changing decisions were to be made and fresh starts embarked upon. All of this with a cast of solid characters in a beautiful locale.
‘… if she was going to move on, she had some old wounds to heal too. She had to start by putting things right that she had made wrong.’
The story revolved around Rosie, a thirty year old widow who, nine months on, is still grieving for the loss of her husband. She makes the decision to continue on with what had been a dream for her husband to run a cafe at the Marigold Marina. But is everything as they had foreseen? Drama and secrets unfold as Rosie learns of many new things with some surprises along the way.
‘The root cause doesn’t go away just because you try to stop life upsetting (you), and you can’t control everything that happens, no matter what you do.’
So whilst there is the second chance at love, it's not all flowers and romance. First, Rosie has many issues to wade through - and not all of her own making - with many obstacles along the way. Whilst I am sure that is the lesson Tilly was hoping to convey - we can be our own worst enemy at times - it was still hard to understand Rosie and her actions at certain stages. She comes good towards the end of the novel but at times it was a struggle for Rosie and the reader!
‘The longer she was at Marigold Marina, the more she believed it herself. Going there had changed her life in so many ways.’
The Café at Marigold Marina is a story about second chances, not only in love with another but, more importantly, with yourself. To find what is true for you and your heart's desires and life path.
This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.
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