The Year of Surprising Acts of Kindness
Laura Kemp
Rating: 4.5 stars
Amazon UK (K £0.99 / P £7.99)
Synopsis:
Sometimes all it takes to make the world a better place is a small act of kindness..
When Ceri Price arrives in the small seaside village of Dwynwen in West Wales, she only means to stay for a couple of nights - long enough to scatter her mother's ashes, and then go back to her life as a successful make-up entrepreneur.
But a case of mistaken identities means she lands a job as a barmaid in the local pub, she unexpectedly finds friendship, and wonders if love might follow... But when the plans for a new housing estate put the local woodland under threat, she fears the way of life here could disappear.
Then mysterious acts of kindness start springing up around the village - a string of bunting adorns the streets, a new village signpost appears out of nowhere and someone provides paint to spruce up the houses on the seafront. Who is behind these acts of kindness and can they help in the race to save the village from the faceless developers...?
Welcome to Dwynwen: Village of Love. Where friendship flourishes and love blossoms...
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This was the first novel I have read by Laura Kemp and I just want to start this review off by saying that it certainly won't be the last. Of course, the cover drew me in. This seaside town looks beautiful and I love the little boats bobbing in the sea, the colourful houses and the heart shaped bunting in the foreground. The title and the blurb is what interested me the most though. I was so keen to know where all these 'mysterious acts of kindness' were coming from! So I couldn't wait to get stuck in and find out...
It's a beautifully written romantic and heartwarming novel which I thoroughly enjoyed. As soon as I started reading it, I felt uplifted and happy. It's lovely to read. I really loved reading about the secretive nature of the community, and was trying to figure out who could've been behind these acts of kindness. The book starts with Ceri returning to the seaside village to scatter her beloved mum's ashes. The town is where her mum used to love going, so it made sense to Ceri to take her there for her final resting place.
However, as soon as Ceri pulls up, she's shocked at just how different and run down the town looked. Could this really be the same place? She asks herself. It turns out, that of course it is and Ceri ends up staying for longer than she originally planned. She gets a job as a barmaid in the local pub after being wrongly mistaken for someone who was actually going for the post and gives them a false name so that she isn't recognised by anyone. As she starts work, she soon makes some good friends and it was so nice reading about the lovely townfolk. They all seemed so friendly and eager to make Ceri feel at home.
Of course, when Ceri starts the job, the town is come under threat by developers wanting to change the town and this is when the acts of kindness starts cropping up in unexpected places. At first she wonders whether she should go back to her old life or whether she should stay in the seaside town and start a new and happier life here. She also wants to get to the bottom of who is doing these lovely things.
Overall, this is a lovely, lighthearted story about community and kindness. It's a story about love and friendship and I would recommend you give this novel a read. Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for a chance to read this novel, which I have reviewed honestly.
This was the first novel I have read by Laura Kemp and I just want to start this review off by saying that it certainly won't be the last. Of course, the cover drew me in. This seaside town looks beautiful and I love the little boats bobbing in the sea, the colourful houses and the heart shaped bunting in the foreground. The title and the blurb is what interested me the most though. I was so keen to know where all these 'mysterious acts of kindness' were coming from! So I couldn't wait to get stuck in and find out...
It's a beautifully written romantic and heartwarming novel which I thoroughly enjoyed. As soon as I started reading it, I felt uplifted and happy. It's lovely to read. I really loved reading about the secretive nature of the community, and was trying to figure out who could've been behind these acts of kindness. The book starts with Ceri returning to the seaside village to scatter her beloved mum's ashes. The town is where her mum used to love going, so it made sense to Ceri to take her there for her final resting place.
However, as soon as Ceri pulls up, she's shocked at just how different and run down the town looked. Could this really be the same place? She asks herself. It turns out, that of course it is and Ceri ends up staying for longer than she originally planned. She gets a job as a barmaid in the local pub after being wrongly mistaken for someone who was actually going for the post and gives them a false name so that she isn't recognised by anyone. As she starts work, she soon makes some good friends and it was so nice reading about the lovely townfolk. They all seemed so friendly and eager to make Ceri feel at home.
Of course, when Ceri starts the job, the town is come under threat by developers wanting to change the town and this is when the acts of kindness starts cropping up in unexpected places. At first she wonders whether she should go back to her old life or whether she should stay in the seaside town and start a new and happier life here. She also wants to get to the bottom of who is doing these lovely things.
Overall, this is a lovely, lighthearted story about community and kindness. It's a story about love and friendship and I would recommend you give this novel a read. Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for a chance to read this novel, which I have reviewed honestly.
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