Christmas At Rosie Hopkins Sweetshop

With Christmas just around the corner, I've been devouring light-hearted Christmas novels while I enjoy the holiday season. I decided to read Christmas at Rosie Hopkins' Sweetshop because I have read a couple other books by Jenny Colgan and really liked them. I have found that Jenny Colgan's books are perfect for someone who wants light-hearted and funny stories with a host of quirky characters. This book was exactly what I thought it would be and then some! Please note that there is a book that comes before this one called Sweetshop of Dreams with some of the same characters which I have not yet read. The author says in her note at the beginning of this book that you do not have to read Sweetshop of Dreams in order to enjoy this book and even gives a little rundown of the characters. I didn't feel like I missed out on anything even though I would like to read that book someday.Rosie Hopkins is in her thirties and from London. She moves to Lipton, England to help care for her elderly great-aunt, Lilian, and to take over running the sweetshop. Most of the story takes place in Lipton, a small, rural town where everyone knows everyone else's business. Personally I loved the setting because I was easily able to picture the beautiful English countryside and the small snow-covered town is like something on a postcard or a coffee table book. She lives with her boyfriend, Stephen, a primary school teacher who was a soldier in the war. I thought the two are funny together. The town is filled with a lot of hilarious people who just made me laugh and really come together when everyone needs it most. When Rosie's family comes to visit from Australia for Christmas, they bring a whole new level of laughter!This book was a wonderful, light, funny Christmas novel that I eagerly devoured within a couple of days. I could taste the sweets from Rosie's sweetshop and see the beautiful snow-covered town, which added to my holiday spirit! I highly recommend this book!

Okay, this is a romance. That's a given. It's enjoyable. I liked it. I like Rosie. The story is well written, there are no dreadful grammatical errors. It's just a nice story. I would recommend it to anyone (probably female) who's looking for a pleasant romantic read. It's not about sex, it's about love. I just requested another of Jenny Colgan's books from the library. 'Nuf said.

Loved this sweet and gentle read. As I was working on Christmas chores, I loved being able to pick up my kindle and learn a little more about what was going on with Rosie and her friends . Reminiscence of our beloved Mauve Binchey.

I got a kindle in june it is now octI have downloaded about 12 of jenny colgan books, I love them and can not get enough of them!So far I have yearned to have started my ownCupcake shop, lolly shop and book store amongst other dreamsThank you Jenny loving the characters and inspiration! Looking forward to the next one

I like to read Christmas stories during the season, and I expect romance to be the most popular genre. This story, however, was more than the story of "man and woman overcome reluctance to commit and find love under the Christmas tree." It was a romance of setting, and a small town coming together to overcome hardship ... the girl does get the boy, of course. A perfect Christmas romance.

About a year ago, I discovered Jenny Colgan. The first I read was the Bookshop on the Corner, and I was hooked. Since then I’ve read several more of her books, and although some are better than others, they never disappoint!Her books are well-written, and full of interesting characters whom the author infuses with personality. This one is the story of Rosie, the proprietor of the village sweet shop, who is oh-so-in-love with Stephen who suffers from PTSD and is sometimes hard to understand. Christmas is coming, and the whole village is caught up in preparations and anticipation for the holiday. If you love books with a Christmas setting, read this one!

Such a delightful story with very pleasant but not saccharin characters. Love and less than comfortable families plus a heartbreak here and there what more could you ask for at Christmas.

Who doesn’t enjoy a great Christmas story in merry old England, complete with lords and ladies, candy and carols, children and babies, and of course, romance!

I think if I could have given this book 4.5 stars, I would have done so, because it really was a fantastically enjoyable book. However, as Jenny's note points out, this book started out because everyone wanted to find out what happened next and the storyline bears a lot of signs of building castles in the air. Some of the plot-lines really are ridiculous and could only work in a Christmas special. Moreover, (admittedly because I enjoyed it so much), I started re-reading the original book and immediately spotted some continuity errors that undermined the plot of the sequel. Unless Australia changed their immigration system in the year or so since the start of the first book.That said, it does work, largely because the writing is so warm and confident. It makes for a lovely read.It's a very different story to the first book as well. Sweetshop of Dreams was more of a rambling book, set over a longer period of time and describing how a lot of the characters' lives slowly change over the course of several months. This book presupposes that we know the characters, the village and the issues in the background. Roy Blaine, the dentist, for example, shows up all of once in person and the book relies on the colourful impression he made in the previous story to get the point across. It makes for a tight read - the hard work of establishing the characters has already been done and we can just enjoy the snapshot of their lives at Christmas.This is not to say that there isn't anything new. Rosie's family are wonderful, and I've grown to love Stephen almost as much as I love Rosie over the course of this novel.Spoiler - (It's down to the dog, it really is)It's a lovely book, though. It is very much a Christmas special, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. It's the long, detailed epilogue to a wonderful story.

I absolutely love the Rosie Hopkins series of books - they are my favourite of Jennys books so far. I read the first Rosie book early last year and couldn't wait to read more about life in Lipton with Rosie, Lillian, Stephen etc so I was thrilled to get the next two in the series for Christmas! I read this book and the third book back to back which you might think would be sugar overload but not for me! Yes the stories are fantastical and completely far fetched but who cares?! These books are a great escape from the harsh realities of the world we live in today - I am very happy to spend a couple of hours transported to this cosy world and I hope a fourth book might happen. I also think that these books would make a fantastic tv series and I'm constantly trying to cast Rosie and Stephen in my head!

Review: I loved Rosie Hopkin's Sweetshop of Dreams, it was one of the best books that I read last year and so I had very high expectations for this one. Unfortunately my expectations were not really met. I loved revisiting the characters and the settings, especially Lillian but this books had a completely different feel for me to the last book and that just made it a bit of a tricky read. I understand that books need to feel different from one another, the wold has evolved, time has progressed but i was expecting the same feel-good factor as Rosie Hopkins had and I just didn't feel it with this one.It was great to see all the old faces again and find out how they were doing, what they were going to get up to next but some of the characters seem to have changed beyond recognition, especially Stephen from the big house. He seemed to thaw out considerably in the last novel but seemed uptight and distant once again in this novel. Lillian was a lovely as ever and she has her own love interest in this book, however storyline is very predictable and so really didn't add an awful lot of depth to the overall story for me.There is a dramatic incident fairly early on in this book and, for me, it just didn't fit with the rest of the novel, it was as if someone else had written that bit or that it had been added in at the last minute, The incident itself had me feel anxious and worried for quite a large proportion of the book and not warm and cosy and comforted like the original novel did. I know I'm comparing again, but i think if you've read the first Rosie Hopkins book then that is something you will definitely do. This book would work well as a standalone though because you are reminded of scenes and story lines from the first book, this could be a little patronising if you've marathoned the two books together however...I did finish this book and I enjoyed how everything came together at the very last minute and I will definitely be reading The Christmas Surprise which is the third book in this companion series but it just didn't live up to my expectations. Perhaps if you do read this as a standalone or if you're not a big Jenny Colgan fan then this book will hit your festive read buttons but it really wasn't for me and I'm a little disappointed that it didn't seem up to the usual Jenny Colgan standard. There is certainly the right balance of festive cheer versus realistic storyline though and so this book should definitely be read at this time of year!

I adore this series of books! I loved the first book in this series so much, and as usual when a good book finishes you feel a bit sad. They end on a high point and that's it, but you want to know more. Such was the case with the first Rosie Hopkins book, so I was delighted to find not only a sequel, but one with a Christmas theme that I could read at Christmas: sheer bliss! It didn't disappoint and I really loved it, and all the characters. Yet again, a little bereft at the end and on the hunt for a similar theme for another seasonal read, only to find that the unbelievable has happened and there is a third! Looking forward to finding out what happens to Rosie and Stephen. Might have to ration this one, but there again I have the Christmas sequel to the cupcake cafe wait in in the wings too. What more could you wish for? Love Jenny Colgan's books.

HARDBACK FORMAT - I don't very often buy books in hardback format due to being so much more expensive compared to paperbacks ..... but on this occasion after reading the first book in the Rosie Hopkins Sweetshop series I decided to take the plunge .... and I'm so pleased I did as it was worth every penny... and much more from the pure entertainment and pleasure it gave me.This wonderful book gave both laughter and tears by the bucket full as well as dealing with very sensitive issues in a most caring way .... plus all the snow .... if I could award more than 5 stars I would .... Please tell me we will be hearing more of Rosie's exploits in the future, I do hope Jenny has another absorbing book on the back-burner set in Lipton ....(less)

Lovely book, as always, by Jenny Colgan. I eagerly anticipated reading this after the thoroughly lovely prequel, and I felt so warm and Christmasy when I finished it.We pick up a year after the other one finished, with Rosie and Stephen still together and Lilian in her lovely care home. There is, of course, the usual wonderful feel from the lovely sweetshop and we meet up again with some much loved characters and find out what has happened during the last year.There are, of course, some funny moments and quite sad ones but all in all a great read and I am now in the Christmas spirit, so to speak.I am so glad I found out what had happened to Rosie, Lilian and Stephen etc.

Rosie Hopkins is looking forward to spending a cosy Christmas with her boyfriend Stephen, and when she gets round to telling him, her family, who are flying over from Australia. A tragic event hits the village with far-reaching consequences, not least the potential closure of Rosie's shop. Will the community and Rosie be able to overcome the tragedy and be able to enjoy this Christmas and look to the future? This is the sequel to the very popular Welcome to Rosie Hopkins' Sweetshop of Dreams and definitely does not disappoint. A great read; with the true sense of a community pulling together in a crisis.

My mum gave me the Jenny Colgan book 'Meet me at the Cupcake Cafe' and from then on I couldn't read enough of her books and this one didn't disappoint. I bought the prequel to this book and of course I just had to read 'Christmas at Rosie Hopkins' Sweetshop' I loved it and no point in me telling you about the story because the book's synopsis can give you that info! By the time I was almost at the end I was bawling my eyes out.......all good because I became entrenched in the storyline, the emotions and the feelings, the sad bits, the happy bits. I am working my way through all of Jenny Colgan's books and have pre-booked her March release. If I used social media I would follow her but I'm not so I won't!!

Jenny Colgan spins an easy read that is perfect when you want to escape the daily grind but without having to think or go any further than the words on the page.When she first started with this 'series' of books I was pleasantly surprised and found them enjoyable, now I find myself a little tired and wanting a bit more from the book and characters.There is nothing wrong or that I really dislike about the book but it is what it is and that is a bit of 'candy floss'.

I love Jenny Colgan’s writing and have all her books. I bought this one to keep my 93yo grandma entertained in lockdown and she loves it too, so I think I’ll be buying her the rest!

I loved the original Rosie Hopkins sweetshop of dreams, so it was really lovely to "meet" up with all our old friends in this beautiful Christmas book.I always look forward to reading jenny's books and this one certainly doesn't disappoint, it is festive, fun, poignant and a little sad in parts, but full of Christmas spirit and love.I can recommend this highly and many other of Jenny's books such as the cupcake cafe books and the loveliest chocolate shop in Paris.

Lovely story of the character Rosie who leaves her life in London to care for her great aunt in Derbyshire who Owns an old fashioned sweet shop. The shop has been closed because of her aunt's health but Rosie falls in love with the shop and is determined to make it profitable again. She makes friends and also the man who eventually becomes her partner. A most enjoyable story.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book! I read the first story quite a while ago and had wanted to read this for a while and it certainly didn't disappoint. Think most girls have been in Rosie's position and felt like running off to the other side of the world at some point!

I actually preferred this book to the earlier Rosie Hopkins Sweet Shop book, and thought the author really padded the characters out much more. It made me laugh, made me cry and I just loved it! The only downfall is the proof-reader couldn't make her mind up if Edison's mum was Hester or Esther *lol* Will certainly be reading more of Jenny Colgan in future.

I had pre-ordered this as soon as it came out as I loved the first book. I read this is one sitting and could read it again now just while I'm writing about it! I loved reading about the relationships that started in the first book and most of them are still going strong - had a bit of a fright when.....Sorry, not going to spoil the book for any readers - you'll just have to buy it.