The Little Flower Shop by the Sea

By: Ali McNamara

Narrated by: Emma Powell

Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

The blossom is out in the little Cornish harbour town of St Felix.

But Poppy Carmichael's spirits aren't lifted by the pretty West Country spring. Inheriting her grandmother's flower shop has forced her to return to Cornwall, a place that holds too many memories.

Poppy is determined to do her best for the sake of her adored grandmother, but she struggles with the responsibility of the more-shabby-than-chic shop. And with the added complication of Jake, the gruff but gorgeous local flower grower, Poppy is very tempted to run away....

The pretty little town has a few surprises in store for Poppy. With new friends to help her and romance blooming, it's time for Poppy to open her heart to St Felix and to the special magic of a little flower shop by the sea!

Let Ali McNamara, author of the much-loved From Notting Hill with Love...Actually, bring some sparkling sunshine into your life.

©2015 Ali McNamara (P)2015 Isis Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"An endearing, romantic and fun read." ( Closer on Step Back in Time)

"An irresistible, feel-good story infused with infectious humour." (Miranda Dickinson)

"If you've got a soft spot for director Richard Curtis' romcoms, then you'll happily devour this book in one sitting.... Utterly enjoyable." ( Stylist)

Cute story and great narrator

One of McNamara’s best. Love the characters and the narrator does a great job bringing them to life.

Good chick lit. A fun read.

light and entertertaining. a good summer read but certainly not literature. it was fun nonetheless

Just what I expected

This book was light and some what predictable. Like everyone else I was also a bit annoyed that the narrator called the one of the main characters jack instead of jack several times. Just wonder how no one noticed that when the recording was being done.

Another good book from this author

Loved this book after hesitating if I would like it but kept me totalling loving it until the end. Love all her books except Step Back in Time

Great and fun story.

Fun story. Narrators need help with accents though. Horrible American accent! Why do Brits think all Americans have hick accents? Annoying!

Jake or Jack

I loved the story. BUT the narrator can't decide if the main character's love interest is Jake or Jack and she uses both names the entire story through. it drove me so nuts that it was distracting from the cute story.

fun book

too a couple tries to get started but in the end i enjoyed it a lot

Good story, but...

I enjoyed the story, though it was pretty easy to see where it was going...I still really enjoyed the characters and the book. My biggest complaint, however, is with the narrator. First, her American accent was painful to listen to and she kept interchanging Jake's name with "Jack". The first few times it happened I had to relisten thinking I'd missed something. As it kept happening, I just got annoyed.

Sweet story

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I listened to this when I had nothing else to listen to and it was OK to pass the time

Who was your favorite character and why?

The grandmother!

How could the performance have been better?

Please find someone who can do a good American accent - it was appalling! I cringed every time I heard it and it really put me off the book,

Was The Little Flower Shop by the Sea worth the listening time?

OK if you have nothing else to listen to. There was a certain charm to the story but it wasn't very well-executed, I'm afraid.

Sweet book...if you can get past the narrator

The actual story in this book was a gentle journey that leaves you with a smile on your face. I got the pleasant escape I was looking for in the setting and characters and I would recommend this as a light read. However, in the audiobook format, the narrator was so distracting that I almost didn't finish the book. Her style was so slow that I had a hard time paying attention at points. Also, I don't know how she managed it, but she called one of the main characters "Jack" instead of "Jake" multiple times throughout the book. I have no idea how someone didn't catch that (although, if I weren't diving while listening I might have turned this mistake into a drinking game- one shot for every time she calls Jake "Jack"). Finally, her American accent for one of the characters was so bizarre that I spent more time trying to figure out what she was doing with her voice than listening to the character. Since the American character was a more prominent character throughout the book I had the joy of listening to that bizarre accent for the whole book.