Rating: 4.5 Stars

Jessica Redland’s Spring Tides at The Starfish Café is a lovely uplifting tale readers will adore losing themselves in.

Spring is finally here and Hollie is the happiest she’s been in a very long time. As the owner of The Starfish Café, her business is thriving, her relationship with Jake is going great and her dog Pickle is absolutely adorable. Everything seems to be coming up roses for Hollie until a face from the past turns up that threatens to jeopardise her life and put the business in jeopardy. Hollie needs to stay strong to protect her family’s legacy, but can she safeguard everything she loves? Or is she about to lose everything she holds dear to her heart?

Tori has just left a very unhappy relationship and is looking for a fresh start, but with no job, no home and nowhere to go, she doesn’t know where to start putting down roots and begin her new life. Her past continues to weigh heavily on her shoulders – until a chance encounter with Finley provides her with the opportunity to open up and start healing and vanquishing old ghosts. However, Finley has secrets of his own. Secrets that could end up putting paid to any hope of a future with Tori…

As Hollie and Tori’s lives collide at The Starfish Café, the two of them become fast friends and they begin to realise that anything is possible – if you have the right people by your side. Will Hollie and Tori find the courage to take a chance on themselves and fight for their happiness? Or will they always be held hostage by the past?

I love Jessica Redland’s books. She writes gloriously uplifting, wonderfully emotional and highly satisfying page-turners that never fail to raise a smile and brighten up my day and Spring Tides at The Starfish Café is the latest in a long line of terrific books that I couldn’t resist reading in one sitting.

A stellar tale about drawing a line under the past, the importance of female friendships and starting over, Spring Tides at The Starfish Café is a lovely read about two wonderfully believable heroines readers will relate to and root for.

A gorgeous spring read I loved curling up with, Spring Tides at The Starfish Café is another winner by Jessica Redland.

Another beautiful book by the lovely Jessica Redland!

I was so excited for this book to come out because it's the second book in the Starfish Café series (review for the first book is on my feed).
The first book was a beautiful story about overcoming pain and heartbreak from the past and this one was all about learning how to live with it and continue your life.
I absolutely love the story of Hollie and Jake and it warms my heart so much but it was so lovely to hear from Tori in this book and her journey was just as inspiring.

I love Jessica Redland books and will always post reviews of them and rave about them.
I am currently reading the 5th book of the Hedgehog Hollow series and will be posting this review as part of Jessica's blog tour which is SO EXCITING!

What a joy it was to read the sequel to Snowflakes over the Starfish Cafe. All the old characters were back, together with some new ones who soon became friends. The story was credible and I highly recommend this book to anybody who likes a good ‘easy read’ - but do read the series in order the. You see the development of the characters and their relationship with each other.

Spring Tides at the Starfish Cafe by Jessica Redland

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books and I am leaving this review voluntarily

As winter turns to spring, Hollie - owner of The Starfish Café - is feeling content as she settles into her new life with her loving boyfriend, Jake, and their adorable dog Pickle.

But when an unwelcome visitor threatens the future of her café, Hollie must stay strong to protect her family's legacy...

A leap of faith...

Emerging from an unhappy relationship, Tori finds herself with nowhere to stay and nobody to talk to. The long-hidden secrets of her past weigh heavily on her until a chance encounter with Finley, struggling to come to terms with his own secrets, provides an opportunity to open up.

It was great to be back in the Starfish Cafe following my initial visit at Christmas. In this sequel, Jessica introduces new characters as well as building on existing characters so I would recommend reading the first book before this one. A wonderful, sweet read that has me eagerly awaiting for the third book in the series.

Rating 4/5

It was lovely to catch up with the familiar characters at the Startfish Cafe and to learn about the new ones. This was a lovely read beautifully written which had me captivated from the beginning.

Back for another visit to The Starfish Cafe, and it's just as captivating as the first visit in Snowflakes over the Starfish cafe! But this can easily be read as a standalone if you missed out on the first in the series.

Hollie is the owner of the Cafe, alongside her beau Jake and the ever cute Pickle the dog! Her and Jake found each other at the right time and are living their best lives, whilst supporting one another through heartbreak from the past. And in moving on they face new challenges and facing fears is one way of helping mend those scars.

The local RNLI is a big part of the community and it's a rescue that brings Tori to the attention of the reader, and her relationship with Leyton. They've been together 8 years and you begin to wonder how it has lasted that long! But the more you learn about Tori, the more you understand how her past has shaped the person she has become and it's only through talking to others that she starts to see that changes need to be made.

The cosy community feel always puts a smile on my face, and it was lovely to be reconnected with characters from book 1, alongside meeting the new faces. The story takes you all over the place emotionally - there are highs and lows for many of the characters - and I was just swept along for the most enjoyable of rides!

This is a story about building bridges, and respecting and understanding others and their needs. There's so much going on that you feel totally immersed in the community and I'm still dreaming of the scones!! Wonderful series!! Cannot wait for the next installment!

I confess, I haven’t read the first book in this series and it’s obvious Hollie and Jake have a back story, but it didn’t stop me from enjoying this book. I felt enough information was included to fill in the gaps.

Following on from her mother and grandmother, Hollie is the third generation to own and run the Starfish café, set in a picturesque location on the North Yorkshire coast. She also has a sideline, crafting objects from driftwood. She and Jake (a talented photographer, although he doesn’t think so) are living happily together with their cute rescued dog, Pickle.

She would always miss her family but Hollie was learning to embrace life again, much of that was due to Jake. It would be almost perfect if it wasn’t for slimy Sebastian Smythe, an underhanded acquirer of properties in the area who had his sights set on the Starfish Café.

Tori’s relationship is going nowhere, it’s time to make some changes and not only in her love life. Her relations with her parents and past issues also need to be resolved. Hollie and Tori meet in an unexpected and dramatic fashion but find it’s to their mutual benefit and a firm friendship is formed.

Spring Tides at the Starfish Café is a delightful story with a wonderful sense of place. Told in the first person from the perspectives of Hollie and Tori, giving a good insight into the realistic and relatable characters through their thoughts and actions as they negotiate the highs and lows. I enjoyed following their daily lives — the community and friendships, the seal watching and RNLI sections, and the fun addition of local folklore, its relevance to the story and the outcome. I’ll be looking out for the next instalment.

Although I have read quite a few books by this author and some continuing and connected series', I have a hit and miss with some of them. In the previous series that I tackled, I abandoned it after two books even as the other fans of her work continue to adore the books that are coming out with further narratives there. I am mentioning it here because Jessica Redland continues to surprise me, and I love to give every new set of books a shot. I am glad I picked this one up.
In the first installment, we saw the Starfish Cafe, its owner and her lingering issues. She meets a man with his own hefty burden of his own, and their chance meeting leads to a very positive relationship.
We have an additional voice this time, with only Hollie keeping us up to date on the original couple's end. Tori is an intriguing new addition. On the surface, she seems to be the standard partner in a relationship which has lost all colour and is actively impacting her happiness; on further exploration, it is her past that takes a very unexpected route.
Hollie and Tori met at just the right time, and I kind of knew how their relationship would benefit each other, but it was still satisfying to see it unfold. There is a mystery angle in the background that is quite new.
The pacing is slower because we see individual interactions of the different businesses, and the overall supporting cast we have previously encountered make brief appearances.
There is, however, one small, tiny niggle. I wish Tori's relationship had not altered by the end. I did not think her story needed the man in her life. I would have walked away even more satisfied if she could manage to be happy with a friend and the role they played in the other's lives without it turning it into anything else. I am probably in the minority here, but I had to comment on it because it lingered with me a while after I set it aside.
This is an author, and this series in particular (the whole extended one), is something that most readers of this genre will enjoy.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

Wonderful story, wonderful characters. Set on the Yorkshire coast in the fictional town of Whitsborough Bay. love this series and can't wait for the next book.

Part 2 in the series of this series so far, and i loved this just as much as the first one.
Not just your typical romantic summer chick lit read - there was so much going on, but not in a complicated way.
Would highly recommend and can't wait to read this authors other books.

I love the setting of this Starfish Cafe series with all the sights and sounds of the Whitsborough Bay coast. By this book, I knew Hollie's back story and ! did think that although you can read this as a standalone, you get more out of it if you have read its predecessor. I also enjoyed meeting up with some familiar characters from other Whitsborough Bay stories and seeing what they had been getting up to!

Tori and Finley are certainly an interesting couple with some surprising secrets from their pasts. There are several story strands to follow as lives overlap but family and friendship, with a community feel are strongly there. You are definitely invested in the fate of the Starship Cafe and the decisions which Hollie has to make. Although this is an uplifting story, it does have a few darker moments as certain characters come to terms with unhappiness and childhood bullying. Roll on Book 3!



In short: New starts for some, old ties for others.

Wow another brilliant book in this series
A lovely love story of two people who should be happy
And all the people who become entwined in their lives
Can’t wait for the next one to see what happens next
Absolutely love Jessica’s books if you’ve not read any of her other books you must
Thanks NetGalley

Jessica never fails me at this point - I was so ready to come back to Starfish Cafe, but that definitely didn't come without it's troubles. I really loved being introduced to the new set of characters, along with reuniting with others - it was lovely to see how everybody was doing and I was so pleased in the direction it was heading. There was of course some devastating moments, but all Jessica's characters are strong headed and very admirable, I knew they were going to pull through anything that tried to break them. Phenomenal read as usual!

This is certainly a book to escape into, another world, a café with not only good views but good food too. A place were friendships are formed and maybe even love to be found. This is a book for those who like a bit of romance as well as a story of life in general.

The two main characters, Hollie and Tori are so normal you can relate to them, the story follows their paths with a few twists and turns, a bit of fun, some emotional times and a few secrets just waiting to be revealed. It is well written and easy to read.

I enjoyed it, found it entertaining and would recommend.

I really enjoyed coming back to the cast of the Starfish Cafe. I love how the book starts reminding the reader of who everyone is so you don't get lost, whether you are returning to the series, or starting afresh.

Hollie and Tori were fantastic characters to be the speakers in the story - when you meet them to start off with, you would not realise they would meet. They end up helping each other out and their worlds mix in a wonderful way.

I love the story of Slippy Smythe which shows some of the importance of local history, even if Hollie though her brother was wasting his time looking into it. It brings so much intrigue and you cheer on the rest of the area to find out what he is doing!

I cannot wait for the next book!

I have definitely fallen for this series! I loved the dual storylines in this one, of Tori and Hollie. Jessica does an amazing job of being able to create and develop both of these characters, so that we end up with two likeable and sympathetic heroines who we are quickly able to identify with and invest in.

The storylines themselves are quite different, though there is a connection between the two ladies as they meet at Hollie’s Starfish Cafe & also when Tori needs help from the RNLI.

They have some overlapping themes which make this a heart-warming but also emotional read, for example coming to terms with your past, difficult family relations and taking risks to try and make past dreams for the future, more of a reality.

This makes for some dramatic scenes which really keep you hooked into the book and the storyline. For me, the “mystery” was an added bonus and not something that massively hooked me in. I could see how it worked to drive the narrative forward at times though and bring the characters’ insecurities and worries to the fore.

Overall, a great 2nd book in the series but also a worthy stand alone read. I am so looking forward to book 3! ♥️

Another book by Jessica Redland I loved.

Come to think of it, I loved it so much that only a day later I realise that Hollie had no flaws. Flawless characters tend to annoy me, but not so this time.

I liked that there were two main storylines and the character occasionally (planned and unplanned) crossed paths.

I really enjoyed this follow up to Snowflakes over the Starfish Cafe. It is always good to catch up with the lives of previous chatacters. The romance was still there and it felt good seeing how their story continued. There were of course a few surprises and problems along the way. The community spirit and friendships that develop are believable. The plot held my attention and I look forward to the 3rd part when it is published in due course. I would thorougy recommend this series.

First, I want to thank Jessica Redland, Boldwood, NetGalley and Rachel’s Random Resources for providing me with this book so I may bring you this review.

YES! Jessica Redland is back with the second installment of The Starfish Cafe Series! Spring Tides At The Starfish Cafe is an adorable story!

The graphic designers did an amazing job creating such a picturesque cover! It was so vibrant and colorful!

Jessica would like to dedicate this book to Sharon Booth who is a talented author, amazing friend and fellow lover of cake! Who doesn’t love cake lol.

I really appreciated how Jessica in the beginning recapped who her characters and the role that they play. This was a great refresher to jump into the story.

Pickles I thought was a very unique and cute name Hollie and Jake’s shih tzu.

I loved that Hollie had a passion for crafting wood and made it her side business in Hollie’s Wood. She had such a warm heart to raise money for charities that were close to her heart. She made incredible works of art!

I was just as excited was Sylvia announced she was going on a cruise to the South Pacific! I have always wanted to go on a cruise so I was so happy she was getting to go!

WOW! There was one part of the story that had me on the edge of my seat! I was scared for the characters and prayed for a good outcome.

I smiled ear to ear when learning about the three ingredients to the perfect relationship.

I have read many books by this author and she is an automatic read for me.
Her books leave me feeling happy and satisfied.
It will be a fun challenge for myself to find and read the rest of her books.
This is the second book in the Starfish Cafe series and it's so much fun meeting back up with characters from the past book, it feels like we are meeting old friends again and we are now making new friends with this new book.
The nice thing about this book is the relatable characters, you can see yourself in them and they are in believable situations.
What they are going through makes you stop and reflect on what you're going through as well.
The author writes from the heart. You can feel the tension and uncertainty the characters have, we are all flawed and carry secrets but with close friends to help shoulder the burden
you feel uplifted.
The book revolves around friendship,family and community. It is an emotional and uplifting page-turner.

Published April 5th 2022
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.