The Little Shop of Hopes and Dreams review

The Little Shop of Hopes and Dreams by Fiona Harper




Synopsis

Nicole Harrison is planning the proposal of the century. Too bad its not her own…
Nicole, a born organiser and true romantic, has created her dream job when she sets up the Hopes & Dreams proposal agency – staging YouTube worthy proposals…until she’s hired to plan a proposal by gorgeous photographer Alex Black’s girlfriend.

Alex is the New Year’s kiss that Nicole hasn’t been able to forget – and now she’s planning his wedding to someone else! But if she lets herself fall for Alex’s charms, her reputation and business will be ruined before it’s even got off the ground! Suddenly the girl whose always prepared is at a loss…and falling head over heels.




Lisa's Review - 3 out of 5 stars

Nicole runs Hopes and Dreams, a wedding proposal agency, putting together the most romantic and amazing proposal scenarios. It is a business that she has to make work, not only for her own future, but for the monetary investments from her two best friends. Since being dumped by her ex for a safer option, Nicole has thrown herself into her career, with men off the cards, except for one drunken slip up on New Years Eve.
When famous It Girl, Saffron, stumbles through the door of her office, Nicole is thrilled. Helping Saffron plan the perfect proposal could help Nicole and Hopes and Dreams become huge. Until Nicole discovers that the Saffrons boyfriend is her own midnight kiss, and as much as she couldn't stop thinking about him, he spent months trying to find her before giving up.

I was ready to really throw myself into this book, the synopsis made me think I would really enjoy it, but I found myself struggling sometimes to pick it up and carry on. I was expecting to read lots about Nicole having to plan Saffrons proposal, but felt it was more overshadowed by Nicole spending time with Alex and almost helping him to discover his own real dreams when it came to his photography. When it came to the actual proposal, it felt rushed and skimmed over, like it wasn't a detrimental part of the plot line after all. The middle of the book seemed to drag on for a long time and the ending, which became rather predictable, was over and done with very quickly.
That said, there were parts of the book that were very enjoyable to read, I loved the steam punk wedding Nicole helped Alex photograph, and the beginning of the book was really good and promising. The characters who were all very different were all likeable, even scatty Saffron, who I couldn't help but pity most of the way through the book.

The Little Shop of Hopes and Dreams was a good read, I just wish there had been more focus on the ending rather than the filled out middle.

Links

Goodreads        Fiona Harper

Purchase Links

Amazon UK         Amazon.com          kobo