Review: Love Blooms at Mermaids Point

Love Blooms at Mermaids Point by Sarah Bennett
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Ivy Fisher has never felt more alone. Her beloved mother has died of cancer and her father may live in the same small village but they haven't really spoken since he ghosted her and her mother one day to move in with his girlfriend Wendy.

Alex Nelson is moving back to Mermaid's Point to be closer to his brother (the local doctor) after the break-up of his marriage. He wrote a self-indulgent, barely-disguised account of his marriage break-up which the publisher then edited to make it even more bitter and spiteful. Now he has a contract for two more books in a similar vein but all inspiration has deserted him.

Alex decides to use the proceeds of his house sale to buy the local bookshop, something that Ivy was hoping to do until the truth about her mother's will emerges. But the two of them decide to go into business, with Ivy helping in the shop but also selling her knick-knacks, re-purposed furniture and hand-made clothes. After his disastrous marriage, Alex knows he needs to be less impulsive and to take things slow, but everything seems so right with Ivy .. until his secret identity comes back to haunt him.

This is the third book in a series and it shows, there is a definite feel that the reader has walked in a on a conversation and missed half the story. We don't see how Ivy and Alex first meet, or even why Alex is already half in love with her when the story opens. Similarly, references to Alex's brother's wife who died and his new romance all expect the reader to have some knowledge of the previous books. This can be read as a stand-alone but be prepared to be updated about a whole load of people you don't know.

This was a cosy, small-town romance featuring an evil cat called Lucifer and a bookshop fer crissakes, but I just have this niggling irritation that there's a bit of female misogyny creeping in, from the tittle-tattling gossip Bev, to the leopard-print and tango-tanned Wendy, and even Alex's ex-wife Jo who is needy, a snob, money-grabbing, and wears so much make-up it makes Ivy's face itch. In contrast ,I can't think of a single man (other than Ivy's no-good father) who is anything other than kind and generous. Even Ivy gets a bit of subliminal bashing (from me as a reader) because after Alex supports her through one personal crisis after another she promises to be there for him, no matter what, then bails when his identity is revealed.

Overall, maybe I found it all a bit twee and, dare I say it, I thought Alex was a bit wet.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

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