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Island Hearts #1
The Little Island Bookshop: A Sweet Seaside Romantic Mystery
Her grandmother left her a cozy bookshop... and a fight.
Fiona Finch’s dream of a new beginning on a quaint seaside island shatters when she finds a demolition notice taped to the door . A corrupt mayor wants her land for a luxury hotel , and he's hired a handsome architect to get the job done.
Jason Hale is supposed to be her enemy. He was sent to condemn the building, not to help her save the shop. But as he digs into the town's secrets, his conscience—and his growing feelings for Fiona—get in the way.
This isn't just a fight for a building. It’s a sweet enemies-to-lovers story wrapped in a cozy island mystery.
Can their reluctant alliance expose the truth before they lose the bookshop, their future, and each other?
Fiona Finch’s dream of a new beginning on a quaint seaside island shatters when she finds a demolition notice taped to the door . A corrupt mayor wants her land for a luxury hotel , and he's hired a handsome architect to get the job done.
Jason Hale is supposed to be her enemy. He was sent to condemn the building, not to help her save the shop. But as he digs into the town's secrets, his conscience—and his growing feelings for Fiona—get in the way.
This isn't just a fight for a building. It’s a sweet enemies-to-lovers story wrapped in a cozy island mystery.
Can their reluctant alliance expose the truth before they lose the bookshop, their future, and each other?
- GenresRomanceCozyCozy Mystery
376 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 3, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
March 13, 2026
Good story but terrible writing
Repetitive overly dramatic descriptions of smells started every chapter. The characters went from the brink of despair to being invincible every other page. It was excruciating to read. I ended up spending reading to finish. Too bad the writing was so annoying and clumsy, the characters and setting had potential.
Repetitive overly dramatic descriptions of smells started every chapter. The characters went from the brink of despair to being invincible every other page. It was excruciating to read. I ended up spending reading to finish. Too bad the writing was so annoying and clumsy, the characters and setting had potential.
January 15, 2026
WHISPERED
If you are a light reader, this book is one you will enjoy. I grew tired of “she whispered” and “he whispered”. The story basis was interesting, however I found it tiring trying to reach the end you knew was coming. I will not be reading the series. Sorry.
If you are a light reader, this book is one you will enjoy. I grew tired of “she whispered” and “he whispered”. The story basis was interesting, however I found it tiring trying to reach the end you knew was coming. I will not be reading the series. Sorry.
January 25, 2026
needs an editor
Needs editor too cut down on the same description’s and more dialog and less descriptions and repeated expressions of feelings Nice store, but could have been told in a 100 fewer pages. Good future with better editing.
Needs editor too cut down on the same description’s and more dialog and less descriptions and repeated expressions of feelings Nice store, but could have been told in a 100 fewer pages. Good future with better editing.
Did Not Finish
May 9, 2026Needs an editor desperately. DNF at 15 pages because it was too repetitive.
April 17, 2026
Tiresome. Honestly, I don’t know why I finished it. It took me 4 times longer to read than it should have because it was excruciatingly boring. The writing was terrible, with hardly any backstory to go on. The author wrote that the main character had such a tough, sad history, but other than one breakup with a boyfriend, there was no context to describe the “hows and whys” her life was supposedly so sad. While there was content about Fiona’s grandma, there was no mention of other family other than a brief mention of her deceased grandpa and one tiny line about something her mother had said to her. The descriptions of the smells of things on nearly every page was just strange. That was enough to make me want to stop reading. The words “ the scent of old paper” were used over and over, as was “ their shoulders almost touching”. The description of “feelings” were just too much, and while they may have been intended to make the reader be more sympathetic to Fiona, it did just the opposite. The main storyline was hard to believe. The main characters could have gone directly over the antagonist’s head with their concerns. It was highly doubtful that a mayor of a “tiny island” had as much power as he was portrayed to have. There were also too many details that weren’t addressed. For example, if Fiona visited her grandma on the island so many times when she was younger and had even recently attended her grandma’s funeral there, why had she never met any of the people who lived there? Hazel, the bakery owner whose bakery was “steps away” from the bookstore was supposedly her grandma’s best friend, yet Fiona had never met her? Hazel didn’t attend her best friend’s funeral? Also, if the bakery and bookstore were so very close in proximity to each other, why would the bookstore need to be torn down to make way for the hotel, but not the bakery? This story was not very well thought out. I will definitely not be reading the next book in the series because I’m sure it’s more of the same. Tiresome. I don’t know why anyone would rate it 5 stars.
March 24, 2026
Hay libros que construyen un lugar. Pocos construyen una razón para habitarlo. La isla existe. La librería también. El mar aparece puntual, la luz cambia con las estaciones, los personajes secundarios pueblan las calles con nombres y pequeñas historias. Todo está. Todo responde a una idea clara de refugio. Y durante un tiempo, esa idea alcanza.
Pero la atmósfera sin consecuencia no es refugio. Es decorado.
El problema no es lo que falta en el escenario. Es lo que falta en quienes lo habitan. La protagonista duda. Se pregunta. Teme perder lo que acaba de encontrar. Y esa duda se enuncia, se repite, se reformula en cada capítulo con una urgencia que el texto no termina de justificar. Porque una duda que nada contradice no es conflicto interno. Es angustia sin objeto.
No hay una fuerza real que la desafíe. El misterio no desordena, el romance no exige, las decisiones no tienen un peso suficiente como para modificar algo en ella. Todo ocurre dentro de un margen seguro donde las consecuencias están pactadas de antemano. Y cuando las consecuencias están pactadas, la introspección se vuelve estática. No desciende. No transforma. Gira.
Es la psicología del género mal administrada. No es que sea superficial por accidente. Es superficial por diseño, porque el género teme incomodar, teme el quiebre real, teme que el lector no regrese si algo duele de verdad. Y en ese miedo constante a perder al lector, termina por no conquistarlo del todo.
El libro no falla. Se mantiene correcto, acogedor, funcional. Pero la corrección constante tiene un costo: evita todo aquello que podría haberle dado densidad. El error. La contradicción. La caída sin red.
Una isla acogedora. Con muy poco verdadero esperando dentro.
Pero la atmósfera sin consecuencia no es refugio. Es decorado.
El problema no es lo que falta en el escenario. Es lo que falta en quienes lo habitan. La protagonista duda. Se pregunta. Teme perder lo que acaba de encontrar. Y esa duda se enuncia, se repite, se reformula en cada capítulo con una urgencia que el texto no termina de justificar. Porque una duda que nada contradice no es conflicto interno. Es angustia sin objeto.
No hay una fuerza real que la desafíe. El misterio no desordena, el romance no exige, las decisiones no tienen un peso suficiente como para modificar algo en ella. Todo ocurre dentro de un margen seguro donde las consecuencias están pactadas de antemano. Y cuando las consecuencias están pactadas, la introspección se vuelve estática. No desciende. No transforma. Gira.
Es la psicología del género mal administrada. No es que sea superficial por accidente. Es superficial por diseño, porque el género teme incomodar, teme el quiebre real, teme que el lector no regrese si algo duele de verdad. Y en ese miedo constante a perder al lector, termina por no conquistarlo del todo.
El libro no falla. Se mantiene correcto, acogedor, funcional. Pero la corrección constante tiene un costo: evita todo aquello que podría haberle dado densidad. El error. La contradicción. La caída sin red.
Una isla acogedora. Con muy poco verdadero esperando dentro.
December 7, 2025
The Little Island Bookshop by Penny Lane Parker is considered a cosy-mystery novel. However, I felt it was more of a love story with curious roadblocks. The main characters searched for what was important to them and had to overcome fears to move on.
Fiona Finch inherited her grandmother’s bookshop on the island. It was a place she knew spending time with her grandmother out there. She got there in time to receive a notice that the building was being condemned due to structural issues. The building looks sturdy to her and she was determined to question everything.
Jason Hale was sent over from his firm to rubber stamp the building’s notice. The only problem was it seemed structurally fine to his eye. Even after investigating it thoroughly, he could see that the report he was supposed to agree to was incorrect.
Jason and Fiona worked together to get to the truth. They were determined to save the bookshop. On top of that there seems to be a spark, a hint of recognition of attraction between them.
The novel contains a little mystery, lots of neighbors helping each other, romance and villains. I never really understood or got the mystery, but didn’t feel like I was missing anything either. I read the book in one day and cheered on the main characters, even when both of them in their fear were stupid. The Little Island Bookshop by Penny Lane Parker was a good read.
Fiona Finch inherited her grandmother’s bookshop on the island. It was a place she knew spending time with her grandmother out there. She got there in time to receive a notice that the building was being condemned due to structural issues. The building looks sturdy to her and she was determined to question everything.
Jason Hale was sent over from his firm to rubber stamp the building’s notice. The only problem was it seemed structurally fine to his eye. Even after investigating it thoroughly, he could see that the report he was supposed to agree to was incorrect.
Jason and Fiona worked together to get to the truth. They were determined to save the bookshop. On top of that there seems to be a spark, a hint of recognition of attraction between them.
The novel contains a little mystery, lots of neighbors helping each other, romance and villains. I never really understood or got the mystery, but didn’t feel like I was missing anything either. I read the book in one day and cheered on the main characters, even when both of them in their fear were stupid. The Little Island Bookshop by Penny Lane Parker was a good read.
November 16, 2025
Fiona arrives on the Island to open the bookshop her grandmother had left her. But she finds an official letter saying the place is unsound and she cannot open it. The architect who has come to validate the bad report feels very uneasy, as he doesn’t see any of the bad things in the report,so senses a false report. He gets proof and decides to stay and help Fiona get what she needs to prove the Mayor has a hidden, corrupt reason. An interesting read into the things an architect is able to uncover as part of his work.
December 20, 2025
Changing a negative to a positive
Interesting read about an inherited bookstore on a small island in the NE. Illegal plans are being made for a large hotel that will compromise long standing small town businesses (including the bookstore and bakery) but profit a minority and off islanders. Once discovered the islanders have little time to turn the plans around but working together they manage to make it a positive ending.
Interesting read about an inherited bookstore on a small island in the NE. Illegal plans are being made for a large hotel that will compromise long standing small town businesses (including the bookstore and bakery) but profit a minority and off islanders. Once discovered the islanders have little time to turn the plans around but working together they manage to make it a positive ending.
January 27, 2026
Excellent read
The usual boy meets girl ,not falls out with girl the get back together, but interwoven with an excellent heart warming story about the battle to save a bookshop, characters very good and a very warm touching story line that will occasionally bring a lump to your throat. I enjoyed it and if you have any feelings so should you. In case you missed it I also recommend it highly.
The usual boy meets girl ,not falls out with girl the get back together, but interwoven with an excellent heart warming story about the battle to save a bookshop, characters very good and a very warm touching story line that will occasionally bring a lump to your throat. I enjoyed it and if you have any feelings so should you. In case you missed it I also recommend it highly.
December 15, 2025
This is the first book I have read by Penny Lane-Parker and it won't be the last. An excellent well written story that flows well and the character development is terrific. An enemies to friends story with the main characters both having baggage to complicate their relationship. A clean romance with a great ending.
November 9, 2025
What a fun read! So much drama, and very believable, too. I very much enjoyed the characters. I can’t wait for more from this author!
November 25, 2025
Giving me anxiety. Over adjectived. Repetition of despair/determination. Really I got it the first time and the second… there were inconsistencies in plot as well. Did not finish.
December 28, 2025
Fiona goes to the island to reopen the bookshop she had inherited from her grandmother, only to find a notice on the door saying the building is structurally unsound and needs to be demolished.
January 6, 2026
sweet story.
A great story with mystery, conflict, and love. All of the elements needed. What more could we want in a good story?
A great story with mystery, conflict, and love. All of the elements needed. What more could we want in a good story?
April 5, 2026
love conquering life
Such a wonderful book about fear of the unknown and fighting for what’s important to you. And love when least expected. Thank you S Steele
Such a wonderful book about fear of the unknown and fighting for what’s important to you. And love when least expected. Thank you S Steele
April 15, 2026
well written mystery
Characters are well developed and story was nice, yet mysterious enough to make you want to keep reading the series.
Characters are well developed and story was nice, yet mysterious enough to make you want to keep reading the series.
April 25, 2026
Thoroughly enjoyed this read. A good corporate corruption saga, intertwined with a good love story. Looking forward to the next story.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews