The Bookshop on Rosemary Lane

By: Ellen Berry

Narrated by: Gabrielle Glaister

Take a trip to the Yorkshire village of Burley Bridge, where a very special little cookbook shop is about to open its doors…

In the beginning…

Kitty Cartwright has always solved her problems in the kitchen. Her cookbooks are her life, and there isn’t an issue that ‘Cooking with Aspic’ can’t fix. Her only wish is that she had a book entitled ‘Rustling Up Dinner When Your Husband Has Left You’.

Forty years later…

On Rosemary Lane, Della Cartwright plans to open a very special little bookshop. Not knowing what to do with the hundreds of cookbooks her mother left her, she now wants to share their recipes with the world – and no amount of aspic will stand in her way.

But with her family convinced it’s a hare-brained scheme, Della starts to wonder if she’s made a terrible decision. One thing’s for sure: she’s about to find out…

Lose yourself in Della’s world of food, family and friends. The perfect read for fans of Trisha Ashley and Carole Matthews.

Critic reviews

‘Warm, funny and poignant.’ The Daily Mail

‘A novel as comforting as a slice of homemade apple pie.’ Red

’Brilliant…manages to capture family life perfectly.’ Chick Lit Reviews

Wait for it!

The story is slow to start, and it feels like the real action of the story just gets hold when it’s suddenly over! The author gets a little bogged down with inner dialogues and over-emphasizing the main character’s state of mind at the beginning of the story. So much more of the bookshop experience could have been included! However, once Della finds her strength, the story picks up and moves along.

Easily enjoyable, for a while

If you could sum up The Bookshop on Rosemary Lane in three words, what would they be?

Confident woman waking, then inflating.

Any additional comments?

This started out like my kind of book. A nice pick-me-up to lift my spirits and inspire me to lift my feet. Unfortunately the book lost me somewhere along the way as I felt the logic fail. It might be just me, and towards the end it completely lost me.

extremely slow progress

Very see through plotline, with glaziallike unraveling of the story. I only finished because I wanted to see if she finished with a twist, or if the story really was that predictable. It really was that predictable.

Loved it!

I loved this book, being a cook book enthusiast myself. I really enjoyed the characters and that her husband got what was coming to him.

The Bookshop on Rosemary Lane

What I love about this book is how the author wove the story of the heroine, Della's life (our collective story & journey as women) infusing all the surprises, hardships & disappointments with a stronger, personal intention and inspiration. In other words, in the face of each trial (and this story is laced with a myriad of relatable circumstances we face every day) Della chooses to focus ahead on her goal, put it first, and not wallow in life's distractions. I found myself inspired and introspective.