A Little Love

by Amanda Prowse

[Leah]

Amanda Prowse seems to be a new author on the Chick Lit block (although her novels probably err more on the side of women’s fiction than Chick Lit, but y’know, it’s all the same, isn’t it, so let’s not get into THAT debtate again). She self-published her novels initially before being picked up by Head Of Zeus in the UK and her novels have since been published by them. I’ve seen her novels out and about, but never actually picked one up so when I was noticed her new novel, A Little Love, I was very intrigued – an older heroine (rare in Chick Lit), about a bakery (I love cakes) and I really adore the cover. It really is a beauty to look at, so simple but so effective and I adore the fact they’ve put the Plum Patisserie logos on the bakery windows, that’s a very nice touch.

A Little Love is a very surprising novel, it had strands to it that I never expected. If I’m telling the truth, I expected a nice tale about a lady who owns a bakery and falls in love during her twilight years. The end, happy ever after. That was not the case at all! There was a lovely little romance cooking up – which definitely put me in mind of two grandparents falling in love, despite neither Pru nor Christopher being grandparents, but the book was about so much more than that. Pru and her sister Milly had to do something pretty terrible to be able to get Plum Patisserie off the ground, something Pru fears will one day come to light, and I have to be honest, I wasn’t all that bothered about what they had done. I don’t mean that carelessly, I cared a lot, I just think you can’t judge someone because of their past. Everyone deserves a chance at happiness, and I appreciated that Pru and Milly did what they had to, to make their dreams come true.

There was also a very sad strand to the book, which I’m loathe to spoil, but which occurs fairly early on. It was entirely unexpected, and it sort of shaped the way the book went forward from that. I was a bit disappointed – not in the incident, but in the fact we lost a really great character who I pretty much loved from the moment she appeared. She was sparkly and vivacious and the book was a bit lost without her, I will admit, but the book moved on from that very well. I really enjoyed getting to know Pru and Milly, and I liked the addition of young Meg, she was rather sweet and I thought it was really lovely of Pru to take her in, knowing how much she and Milly struggled when they were kids, too. It’s that kind of payback that really makes a book so warm and inviting and you always hope that if you’re down on your luck, there will be someone there – even if it’s a kind stranger – to help you out!

A Little Love was a wonderful read. Amanda Prowse is such a talented writer and easily sucks you into her stories. I loved hearing about Plum Patisserie, although it regularly made me feel hungry, and when you don’t have fresh pastries at hand, that can be super depressing. (And I didn’t have!) The characters were so great, and the novel, despite some really hard, sad times, was really sweet and uplifting. I will definitely have to read Amanda’s other novels now, because she’s so great at telling a story, so good at keeping you reading, and knows how to give you characters you will care so much for. It’s a really great, sweet read, and I very much enjoyed it.