Everyone can change, despite their past

Synopsis

Welcome to Pepper Bay. A small close-knit community where you’ll find chocolate box cottages, quaint shops, love, drama, and a happily ever after.

Snuggle down with this cosy, feel-good, comfort read that whisks you away to a beautiful bay on the Isle of Wight – Perfect for fans of Christie Barlow, Phillipa Ashley, and Holly Martin.

The Pepper Bay books are standalone stories, best read in order, that intertwine with recurring characters.

The Post Office Shop: Tilly Sheridan is fifty, perimenopausal, a widow, and pretty much lives in dungarees. Her daily life consists of running her family’s small shop on Dreamcatcher Farm, where not much goes on. The last thing she expects to happen in her life is to fall in love with an ex-criminal.

Rory Murphy has just finished a fifteen-year sentence for robbery, but he is not the man who first walked into that prison. With the help of a mentor, he changed his life whilst still behind bars, and now he has been given the opportunity of working on a farm to help him integrate back into society. He’s expecting early starts, long days, backbreaking work, and lonely nights, but he finds friendship, family, and love in Pepper Bay. Is it possible for him to finally have a good life? Not if his past has anything to do with it.

My review

Rory Murphy didn’t have an easy life and he is the first to admit that he has made mistakes in the past. Now he has finished his fifteen – year sentence for robbery, and he isn’t the same man anymore.
In prison he had a mentor that changed his life, and being a free man again, Rory hopes he can integrate back into society. With the help of the organisation Shine, with its focus to help ex – criminals, Rory ends up in Pepper Bay, helping on the Sheridan’s farm. Working on a farm means long days and hard work.
But what Rory didn’t expect was to meet Tilly Sheridan. She runs the small shop on Dreamcatcher farm in her dungarees.
Tilly is fifty, widowed, premenopausal and the last thing on her mind is to fall in love, especially with an ex – criminal.
But the heart wants what it wants, so will these two people have their own happily ever after, even after their past?

It’s not a secret that I love returning to Pepper Bay. But for me, this was the sweetest, funniest book of the whole series!

I loved the positive message in this story. Because no matter what mistake you made in your past, the people of Pepper Bay don’t hold it against you if you have changed your life.
Especially the whole Sheridan family shows how to give second chances without any prejudice.
And Tilly even proofs that everyone deserves love in their lives.

From the start, it’s obvious what an amazing person Tilly is. Not only because of her acceptance of Rory in Pepper Bay, but also how she is independent and strong on her own. She has loved but also lost and she doesn’t need a new man by her side.
She is easy on welcoming new people, she doesn’t judge someone based on their past. She sees you for who you are now.
And seeing how she accepts Rory and easily befriends him, shows again what a great character Tilly is.

I have to admit, Tilly is a very sweet and kind person, but also a very funny one, even if it’s unintentional.
Each time she has a hot flush, her ways to cool down are so awkward for her but so hilarious for us to read! I can understand her embarrassment, but I couldn’t stop laughing when one of those flushes came!

And Rory… he for sure changed his life around. He didn’t have an easy young life, which obviously made him made mistakes, for which he has paid his dues.
I liked it how he turned that page and has changed his life for the better. Even if I don’t agree with his past actions, I could understand where he was coming from, and obviously seeing how he redeemed himself, warmed my heart.
He is a selfless man, not afraid to risk his own life for others.

I just loved reading how these two lovely people are getting closer. They deserve to be happy together. It was marvellous to see how people, even after a certain age can fall deeply in love. Add a level of hilarity over needing some help at the more passionate moments, honestly, this book couldn’t be any better!

Of course, there are some moments that were saddening and heart – breaking, because somehow Rory’s not totally freed from his past. And wrong assumptions and decisions are being made, making me a bit angry.
I understood where those assumptions and decisions came from, but they were just wrong!

This was a wonderful return to Pepper Bay, with unexpected main protagonists. But these characters were very quickly in making me fall in love with them.
This book is filled with lovely people, but also with love, hope and showing us that everybody makes mistakes, some on a bigger scale than others. But it’s important to learn from those mistakes and change your life. And with people with an open mind and heart, you can find a place to call home, even if you never had it before.
And love can come at any age and in any shape, even in an unexpected way. But it’s up to us to dare to open our hearts again and even dare to fight for our love.

Maybe this book is the furthest away from my own situation/ life, but I think that this may be my favourite until now of the whole series! It’s such a positive book, putting a smile on my face!