We all want to save what we care about…

Synopsis

Zoe has a special talent for saving lost causes…but she’ll need a miracle to save herself from this mess!

When her biggest advertising account cancels their contract, single mum Zoe Taylor’s Good News Gazette – Westholme’s pre-eminent feel-good news source – faces an uncertain future.

Determined to save her paper, Zoe strikes a bargain with millionaire developer Daniel Lewis – he’ll help her find advertisers and in exchange she’ll spearhead his campaign to save the Art Deco cinema from destruction.

But with her boyfriend Sam no fan of her new business partner, an unexpected job offer from her old boss, and an unshakeable feeling that there’s something more between her and Daniel than there should be, Zoe’s future soon feels as uncertain as her paper’s…and she’ll be forced to make a decision that changes everything for her and her son Charlie.

My review

Zoe Taylor has achieved the impossible not so long ago. So when the biggest advertiser cancels its contract, Zoe needs to do once again whatever she can to save the Good News Gazette.
But also the inhabitants of Westholme need her once again, to save the Art Deco cinema from destruction. And even if her boyfriend Sam isn’t happy about it, Zoe again needs the help of millionaire Daniel Lewis. If Zoe accepts the job offer of being in charge of the restoration of the cinema, Daniel will help her to find new advertisers.
However, no matter how well the ideas are and how the works proceed, there is a local gang jeopardizing everything. And with Sam’s reluctance, her own insecure future and whatever is going on between her and Daniel, Zoe knows that decisions need to be made, for her and her son Charlie. 

Starting this second book the series felt like I never left the place. Even if it was a while ago since I read ‘The Good News Gazette’, it was easy to catch up again! 

We are now a year later, and we see how Zoe and Sam are still happily together, even if there are no signs of them taking any next step in their relationship.
But that didn’t bother me, because every relationship is obviously different, and when things are working, why rushing into that next step? 

I loved seeing how Zoe still had her spark, trying to be a good mother to Charlie, trying to keep the Good Gazette a success and having several other balls in the air.
But just like in reality, Zoe doesn’t have a perfect life… she is struggling to keep all those balls in the air, doubting herself, doubting the choices she is making.
That makes her a more realistic and recognizable character. 

Zoe is also the kind of person who wants to do the right thing, no matter what… the cinema was never really on her radar, but once she hears how many people care about the place, she wants to put her weight in.
And also as a friend she wants to help out her struggling best friend, even if there is no straight solution for that. 

At first I was happy to see how Zoe and Sam were still happily together, but I have to admit that the Sam in this story is not the Sam I liked in the first book. He says the right things at right times (mostly…) but there is just something lacking in him in this book.
And it saddens me to say it, but whenever he made an appearance in the story, I was already annoyed by him before he even did something. 

This only shows that getting together isn’t necessarily the recipe for a happily ever after. Being in a relationship still needs effort, a lot of work and understanding. It needs communication and openness. And the next step should be taken for the right reasons and not (because of…’. 

Somehow, it made my initial feeling, or rather preference, resurface. Because that preference once again delivered what I expected from him. But also just like a real person, he also dropped the ball a few times, making him not a flawless person, but a person like you and me. 

Once again, it was amazing and heartwarming to see how a community can work together to achieve the impossible. What starts as a small group, ends up with every inhabitant putting an effort to resuscitate the cinema. Of course it doesn’t go without a glitch, but most glitches, especially whenever Norman and Starr were involved put a smile on my face! 

And I found it inspirational to see how the ‘gang’ was being handled. Even if Sam showed his reluctance to help out when the shenanigans were getting out of hand, the way Zoe and everyone of Westholme found a way to turn the tide.
With the right incentive changes can be made for the better, and even the biggest rascals can turn into committed members of the community. 

Now, there is one elephant in the room that I need to address… the story ends on a cliffhanger. Or rather a few cliffhangers… And I am not a fan of cliffhangers. Does Jessie Wells knows what she is putting me through??? How can I just be sitting down patiently and wait for the next part to come out? Tell me, HOW???? 😊 

But leaving the ending aside, I truly enjoyed reading this book, as once again we see characters that don’t have the perfect life, don’t have everything run smoothly. Characters that are having doubts about which direction their lives should take.
And that makes this book so recognizable for everyone who reads it. Because even if we aren’t in exactly the same position Zoe is in, there is something we have in common with her that we have been through. We know and understand the struggles and seeing how even a fictional character may not have all the answers, makes us love her even more.
But no matter what happens, to Zoe or even to us, the author shows us that when people put their differences aside and put their good will together, a lot can be achieved to get a little bit closer to that well – deserved happy ending.