Cupid's Way

When Evie Stone’s grandparents enlist her help to save their home in Cupid’s Way, Evie is happy to oblige. On the cusp of her thirties, and still disappointingly single, Evie’s so-called dream job with a firm of architects has been driving her crazy for months. What she needs, even more than a new man, is a challenge.

But saving Cupid’s Way won’t be easy. A perfectly preserved Victorian terrace, surrounded by modern estates and retail parks, the street is a proud oasis of quirky characters, cobbled pathways and communal gardens. Unfortunately, it also sits on prime development land worth millions.

Dynamite Construction have the deal in the bag, and soon the residents of Cupid’s Way will be forced to sell up and ship out – CEO Michael Andrews, charismatic and super-successful, has certainly never let sentimentality get in the way of business. At least, he hadn’t until he met Evie Stone.

My opinion: When Joanne emailed me to offer me a copy of the book for review, I read the blurb and jumped at the chance. Excuse the pun, but Cupid's Way sounded just up my street.

The book starts off with a disastrous trip to Cardiff where Evie is due to speak at an environmental conference. Bad weather means that she is unable to make the trip to see her grandparents in Bristol and help them to save their beloved street, Cupid's Way. A big shot developer is trying to buy the street to make way for a new health centre, and Evie has the shock of her life when she finds out who the CEO of the company is. Evie won't let go with out a fight though and rallies the residents to try and save Cupid's Way.

This book grabbed me right from the start. When I started reading it, I was sat in my sunny back garden in Cardiff, the day after speaking at an environmental conference (although mine was in London). You can see why I felt like I connected with the book straight away. Apart from the links to my own life, the characters were colourful and the writing just dragged me straight in to Cupid's Way. I felt like I knew each and every one of the residents by the end of the book, which I finished really quickly. I just couldn't put it down as I wanted to know what happened next.

There were a few little twists in the story and although I had an inkling about how it might end, I couldn't be certain that I would be right. Some parts of the story made me laugh, and others were heartbreakingly sad, but all through are lots of little love stories, helped along by Cupid's Way.

As you can tell, I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more from Joanne in the future. I'd definitely recommend it as a great holiday read - and come back next week when Joanne will be taking part in an author interview!

My rating: A fabulous four stars

I received an advance copy of this book for review from the author in exchange for an honest review