I can't believe this is a debut novel! This book has everything I expect from a good RomCom. I smiled A LOT while reading this book. There were also some emotional moments and a particular character that rubbed me the wrong way, but that all added to the story.

Overall this is simply a heart-warming love story about opposites attracting and how changes can be good and the past shouldn't rule you, just like money or lack thereof will not make you a better or worse person.

I will never look at a camper van or peacock the same way again! I may be scarred for life! I used to just see beautiful colors when I looked at a peacock, but now I will see hundreds of eyes watching me.

Highlights:

- cute, quirky and very likeable main characters
- several laugh out loud moments
- enemies to lovers
- opposites attract, who wants Stilton with more Stilton?
- light, feelgood RomCom
- you'll feel the urge to add more color to your own life and some sponge cake!

I have heard a lot about this debut novel and was pleased to be given a review copy by the Publisher and Netgalley for an honest review. Lexie's life is in a muddle. She cares more about donating her money to good causes and treats for her boyfriend than to the necessities of paying her outstanding Rent! She was left an old vintage camper van by her Aunt which is in a bad state of repair and has no MOT. Due to unforeseen circumstances she decides to live in the camper and travels to an Interview for a job she really wants and needs, to get her life back on track. Lexie has issues with her background, her family and cannot relate to people with money. I read this story in 2 days, I enjoyed it and definately recommended.

A lovely colourful burst of Summer wrapped up in a book.. really well written, with characters to bring out the humour in the story, a modern upstairs downstairs feel to this story.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

A fabulous debut novel.

Lexie is creative, but also disorganised. In order to get a job at Carrington Paints, she elaborates about jobs she’s done her

Apart from her camper van, she doesn’t have any other place to live, and now her van is parked at Nutgrass Hall, where the Carrington live and the company is based. You feel that there is a spark between Lexie and her boss Ben, but his mother wants someone who matches their status for his wife.

The story has you turning the page, to know what happens next, making it more than a romantic read.

Highly recommend this book.

The right summer book if you want to escape and have fun. It's uplifting, entertaining, and i had a lot of fun.
The characters are fleshed out and I rooted for them, the plot is original, and the setting lovely.
It's good debut and I enjoyed it.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

What a lovely, fun, summery debut! Sparkling and gorgeous and most definitely colourful. This one will make a great beach read.

When Lexie finds herself staring through a jewellery shop window, watching her boyfriend buy engangement rings with another women, she packs up her beloved campervan Penny and drives away from the life she knew to start fresh in a small village in the Cotswolds.

Accepting a job Carrington Paints, she closely works with owner Ben. He seems less than impressed with her presence and she Lexie finds stuffy, nicknaming him Beige Ben. But Lexie is determined to not only bring the company to live adding colour to its collection, but also into Ben's life.

This debut novel by Anita Faulkner has everything you want from a RomCom! Lovely relatable characters, laugh out loud moments and just a lovely story of two people slowly finding their way to each other. You will root for Lexie getting her life in order, and for Ben standing up for himself from his overbearing mother.

I absolutely loved this one. A wonderful beach read!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

What a brilliantly, amazingly, wonderful read. Lexie is a character whom I could quite easily relate to. Everyone has feelings at some point of not being worthy, or feeling less than others and I could really sympathise with her. I really enjoyed the banter between her and Ben and it was beautiful to see their relationship grow and flourish, they are so compatible and bring out the very best of each other.
The side characters in this novel were fantastic. I loved Sky and her unique take on life and her pearly words of wisdom. Mrs Moon and Tom, and even the peacocks were great too.
As a debut novel this is great and I’m a little bit sad there isn’t a huge back catalogue of this author available for me delve into. I certainly hope there are lots more to come.

A wonderful debut by Anita Faulkner. I really enjoyed the generally uplifting nature of this book. The characterisation was well done and although I did sometimes find myself losing concentration, I was able to finish this book and enjoy it for the most part. Knowing this is a debut novel has me looking forward to reading more by Faulkner.

The publisher kindly provided ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

A lovely story, heart warming and uplifting. Lexie was a cute and relatable with a fabulous camper van.

A cracking debut.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for a review.

A light, easy read which was ok, but I wasn't that keen on the characters, I found them slightly irritating.

This is the sparkling debut novel from Anita Faulkner, and after reading this book, I have to say I can't wait for her next one! It was a gorgeous, colourful and uplifting story, with new beginnings and a selection of wonderfully crafted characters - I loved Mrs. Moon and I thought Ben's mother was a rather fabulous opponent for Lexie to come up against! Lexie
is such a loveable main character too, she is sparky, chaotic, brave and funny. I loved the descriptions of her outfits, of Penny the campervan complete with sock washing line and those pesky peacocks!
Our heroine applies for a job as a social media account manager for a paints company and is hired by a rather stand-offish character called Ben, who is clearly gorgeous but could be described as annoying, businesslike and grumpy! There are some delicious matchmaking efforts going on, and a trip to Morocco which is described with such vivid details of the colours and spicy smells you feel as though you are there too, wandering through the souk. The storyline had me interested from the first few pages and kept me guessing throughout, I raced through this book as I was so keen to see how it played out.
If like me you love books by Heidi Swain, Trisha Ashley or Sarah Morgan then I think you will love this too! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me an advanced copy to read in exchange for an honest review. I loved it!

This is Anita Faulkner’s debut book and is definitely a good sign for things to come. It grabs you right from the off.

It is cute and heartwarming and really…British. I can’t quite explain what I mean by that, but if you read it, hopefully you’ll feel it too.

I liked all the characters - that’s not to say they were all likeable, but Faulkner has kept them on the right side of over the top and caricature-like. Lexie is realistic and identifiable; Ben is a gorgeous love interest; and his mother is fantastically sneaky, and the supporting cast are a great addition too.

The description of the Cotswolds, London and Morocco were gorgeous, so simple but she’s completely brought them to life, the colours and smells and noises just leap from the page.

It’s a very happy book, a true happily-ever-after story, but it has important messages and themes to think of - money problems, rich/poor divide, love, grief, relationships, controlling behaviour, self belief. It’s an easy read, quick and fun, leaves you with a smile on your face but with real moral thoughts in your head.

Anita Faulkner.


Words can't describe how much I enjoyed this book. It was like a burst of colourful, cosy enjoyment with characters I fell in love with.
Lexie is witty and creative whereas Ben is brooding and businesslike. You wouldn't think such a pair would go together but Anita writes them so perfectly I couldn't help but fall in love with them.

And wow to the ending that wrapped everything so perfectly. A perfect summer romance full of colour.

WOW! Where to start with this book. I absolutely loved every page. I could not put it down.
Lexi is a very ‘quirky’ individual and takes a job at a paint company organising their social media portfolio and creating a regular blog post to encourage expansion and awareness. She gets more than she bargained for when she meets the wealthy family who own the company. Lots of brilliant characters in this book and such a funny read. It’s an amazing debut novel and I will certainly be looking out for future novels by this author.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest opinion. It really was an absolute blast!

A gorgeous book that was fun to read.
Great characters and an interesting story, it was a real page turner.
Lexie was delightfully quirky and Ben was suitably brooding and serious.
Great chemistry and I enjoyed the spats with his overbearing mother!
It definitely brought colour into my life reading it!

After discovering her boyfriend buying another woman an engagement ring, Lexie desperately needs a new job and somewhere new to live. She heads off in Penny, her trusty old camper van, for an interview with the owner of Carrington Paints, to become their social media manager. Owner Ben doesn't think he needs a social media manager, so can Lexie persuade him she is needed by his company? Can Ben's mother find her son a wife before her deadline of the end of the year? Can Lexie learn to put herself first for once?

A fun first novel, lots of relatable characters, and very readable. I'll definitely be looking out for Anita's next book!

The front cover of this book is absolutely beautiful and gives a great first glimpse at just how beautiful the story is going to be inside and it really is. It's such a lovely and uplifting storyline. Like a great big hug in book form.

Lexie had been royally dumped by her posh boyfriend. Deciding to pack up her beloved orange campervan called Penny, Lexie stumbles upon a vacancy in a family run paint company in the Cotswolds.

Nutgrass Hall is the home of Carrington Paints. But the welcome isn't all that Lexie hoped for. Benedict Carrington doesn't really give the best welcome ever and Lexie really has plenty of hard work ahead of her to convince him to trust her with rescuing the family business.

So Lexie sets to work injecting her personality and happiness into Carrington Paints. Ben's mother has giving him an ultimatum find a wife or loose the family inheritance. So Ben decides to be set up with the finest ladies in Tewkesbury. However the more time Lexie and Ben spend together. The more they discover that they have more and more in common and feelings develop between the two. Are they each others perfect match after all?

This was so beautiful and uplifting!!!! This is my first book by this author, but it won’t be my last!!! I loved the setting; the plot and the character build up!! A lovely read

Thank you to Netgalley and Sphere books for gifting me an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is a delightful debut novel by Anita Faulkner. After a breakup with someone she believes is totally out of her league and realising she needs to make some changes in her life, Lexie packs up her beloved orange campervan Penny and all her possessions. Penny is a treasured gift from her late Aunt, and sounds like something to behold. She heads down to the Cotswolds where she applies for a job with Carrington Paints to front their online presence and help promote the company. The day to day owner of the company Ben does think this is needed, he is quite a traditionalist and keep things running like clockwork, but he is railroaded by his younger brother Cary who hires Lexie on the spot saying they need to attract more customers and bring the company into the current century. Living on the ground of Nutgrass Hall, with the peacocks which is home of the company, Lexie tries to do her job whilst contemplating her life and coming to blows Mrs Carrington, Ben's Mother. She is determined her Son will marry someone worthy and rich and doesn't like Lexie's bohemian ways or pixie cut hair. But sometimes opposites just attract.

The book just had the right amount of humour and romance to keep you reading the story. That characters are delightful and quirky and all have their own stories going on, which makes me think this could become a series if this book is a success. It would be nice to see what happens to Cary, Lexie Sister and her friend Grace, not to mention Mrs Moon and Tom the gardener.

I also found it a nice surprise that Lexie home town was Lancaster, which is also where I was born and raised. Although not a lot is mentioned about it apart from its locality, it is nice to see it in print.I will definitely look out for other books by the author.