Guest Review: The Village Shop for Lonely Hearts by Alison Sherlock

After losing her job in New York, Amber Green isn’t looking forward to visiting her godmother in the sleepy village of Cranbridge. With its empty lanes and rundown shops, it’s hardly a place to mend her lonely heart.

But when Amber discovers that Cranbridge Stores, owned by her godmother Cathy and son Josh, is under threat of financial ruin, she realises that her skills as a window dresser might just be able to help save the struggling shop.

When disaster strikes, Amber and Josh must unite to save both the shop and the village from flooding.

Can Cranbridge Stores become the heart of the village once more?

And as the village begins to come back to life, perhaps Amber will discover a reason to stay…

Review: This is book 1 in the Riverside Lane series by Alison Sherlock, an author who is new to me. I loved the book’s cover and liked the sound of the storyline, so I looked forward to reading this work from an unfamiliar author.

The story centres on Amber Green, a successful window dresser who has fallen victim of job cuts at the large New York store where she worked. At the request of her mother, she is making her way to visit her godmother in England before joining her parents in their new home in New Zealand. Her godmother has a general store in the tiny village of Cranbridge that she runs with her son Josh. However, on arrival, Amber finds that the store, and indeed the village itself, has become run down and is facing closure. With time on her hands, she decides to put her skills to good use, and sets out with Josh to attempt to turn round the store’s fortunes. As they gradually begin to see results in resurrecting both the store and the village, a storm sees much of the village flooded, and Amber and Josh find themselves at the centre of rescue operations. When it eventually seems like time for her to continue her trip, Amber begins to wonder if she can leave Josh and the village behind after all.

I thought this was a really lovely story, truly heartwarming. I was really taken with Amber from the start and was delighted to see her develop from a rather demoralised woman to a strong and confident character as the story progressed. I also liked Josh, but felt sorry for his situation and glad when he found someone as kind as Amber to help him. The village of Cranbridge was an idyllic setting, with the little river running through it, although, of course, this became a not-so-pleasant feature when the floods came. I also loved the sound of the revamped Cranbridge Stores; I just wish I could go and have a nosey around. I would certainly recommend this book; perfect to escape from the real world and its problems. I very much look forward to the next book in this series.

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