Series Name: Travelling Shops, #1
“I can actually hear the cogs ticking over in your brain, you’re beating yourself up, I know you are. Listen, this is going to be the making of you. So you married a pig? It happens. It happens a bloody lot. But it’s not like you’re 80 years old, is it? The right person is out there, you just have to take the leap and find him. But first you need to figure out what makes you happy, and then have it in spades’”
Rosie Lewis thinks she has her life figured out. She has a swanky job as a Michelin-Starred Sous Chef, has a loving husband, and is planning on having kids soon. Her life comes crashing down when she comes home one night to see her husband has packed his bags and is leaving her for another woman. While trying to drown her sorrows in a glass of wine (or three), Rosie wakes up to find that she has bought a bright pink campervan called Poppy. This van is the ticket for Rosie, following her dream of travelling the country and opening up her own travelling tea shop. This trip of a lifetime will be the fresh start Rosie needs and maybe along the way she will find out what truly makes her happy.
I could not put this book down! Rebecca Raisin has quickly become one of my favourite authors. Her books are just so charming, sweet, and up-lifting exactly what my soul needed during COVID.
This book follows Rosie who finds out her husband is leaving her and has been sleeping with another woman behind her back for months. He accuses her of being too rigid and that her need to plan every aspect of their lives is one of the reasons why he had the affair. This accusation from her husband really hits Rosie hard; she is afraid that she will wind up alone and missing all that life has to offer. She buys a bright pink camper-van called Poppy and starts up her own little travelling bakery and tea shop. As Rosie joins the world of van lifers she meets Aria who owns Little Bookshop of Happily Ever Afters, which is a travelling books shop. These two become fast friends and Aria becomes a life-saver for Rosie who is trying to navigate the whole van-lifer world. I love the friendship between Rosie and Aria. They are so different in their personalities and their life-styles. Rosie likes to keep things clean and decluttered and Aria is all about the clutter and chaos. But their differences don’t push them apart, rather they bring them closer together. They are an “opposites attract” trope for friendships. Their friendship really warmed my heart and I loved reading about the adventures they had while travelling across England.
Rosie is such a fun character to follow, she is quirky, sweet, and I just love her tendency to think that every new experience will result in a horrible gruesome death. It was wonderful watching her step out of her comfort zone and try new things, and also follow her dreams when it comes to running her own little bakery and tea shop.
There definitely is romance in this book and if you are a fan of the opposite attracts trope then you will love this book. Rosie and Max (who looks like Jason Momoa, yummy, yummy) couldn’t be more different. Rosie needs a schedule to function, needs to keep her feet on the ground and loves to eat sugar, cheese, and meat. Max is a big cuddly giant who loves extreme sports, is a vegan, and likes to go where the wind takes him. These two should not work as a couple, but they really do. The cute banter and moments that happened between these two had me swoony constantly. They are so sweet and cute. They also are really good for each other: Max helps bring Rosie out of her shell and Rosie is the woman he can see having a family with.
I love the whole van life concept in this book. While reading this book, I really started to think, could I do what Rosie and Aria have done? Sell almost everything and hit the road and travel the country? Then I realize there is no way my books will fit in a van, or my shoes and the thought of parting with them makes me panic a bit. But who knows, maybe someday that panicky feeling might change into excitement. Readers will love the van lifer world that Rebecca has created. It is a world that has fun diverse characters, beautiful places and wild adventures. Readers will easily get sucked into.
If you are looking for a fun, sweet, romantic read than you need to pick up Rebecca Raisin’s Rosie’s Travelling Tea Shop.
Read our review of Aria’s Travelling Book Shop here.
