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The Bonbon Girl: The best historical romance book of the year from the Queen of West Country Saga
In a tumbledown Cornish cottage, with an alcoholic father, Colenso Carne works with the Serpentine stone from the local mine. When she catches the eye of the new factory manager, her father insists she rejects her beloved Kitto in order to marry Fenton. Forced to flee the village when Fenton turns nasty, she is taken under the wing of wise woman Mara and travels to local fairs, learning to make bonbons to pay her way. But she never gives up hope of being reunited with Kitto… Set against the dramatic Cornish coastline, this tale of triumph and tragedy will delight fans of Rosie Goodwin and Dilly Court. Praise for Linda ‘Sure to delight her ever-growing legion of fans’ Dilly Court 'Warm and atmospheric, you can practically taste the sea breeze' The Express READERS LOVE LINDA FINLAY ‘A captivating West Country family saga…Highly recommended’ ‘A truly amazing read’ ‘Loved it A+ ’ ‘A joy to read’ ‘The most delightful historical novel’ ‘A captivating , heart warming story with humour, intrigue and romance’ ‘An absorbing and entertaining read’
- GenresHistorical Fiction
368 pages, Paperback
Published August 6, 2019
13 people are currently reading
58 people want to read
About the author
Linda Finlay
25 books32 followersAs an Image Consultant, Linda has always had an avid interest in people. Helping them to regain their confidence after they've undergone life changing surgery is one of the most satisfying areas of her work.
Linda has always loved writing stories and won a competition run by the local paper when she was 11.
She has since been published in magazines and annuals. Moving to the spectacular Devon coast and learning about its local history inspired her to write her first novel The Royal Lacemaker. Under the patient guidance of a local teacher, she learned to make lace and is very proud of the 'spider' she produced.
She loves beach-combing, finding it the perfect excuse to indulge in a spot of people watching.
Linda has always loved writing stories and won a competition run by the local paper when she was 11.
She has since been published in magazines and annuals. Moving to the spectacular Devon coast and learning about its local history inspired her to write her first novel The Royal Lacemaker. Under the patient guidance of a local teacher, she learned to make lace and is very proud of the 'spider' she produced.
She loves beach-combing, finding it the perfect excuse to indulge in a spot of people watching.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
February 29, 2020
Favourite quote
' she straddled the broom and made the symbolic leap towards him'
' she straddled the broom and made the symbolic leap towards him'
May 7, 2023
Not too bad. An easy read.
March 26, 2020
Colenso carne a young girl as to escape the horrible clutches of her horrible works manager, as her father wants her to marry him, but she is betrothed to a young man called kito, her dad strings her up by the shore as water runs around her ankles she is saved by her ma, she is taken under a gypsy woman's wing, and she travels the country with them and learns how to make sweets, her friend dies , so she ends up finding work in Penzance, there she thinks kito is dead, but in the end turns out he's alive
May 16, 2019
A book to get lost in, I loved this story. The Cornish setting was wonderful, as were the Cornish names and customs. The tale is a familiar one, girl falls in love, her father disapproves of the match, a rich man takes a liking and wants to marry her, her father stands to do well from that union, girl runs away.....
Although a little predictable, it's a very good read and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Although a little predictable, it's a very good read and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
June 13, 2025
𝑨 𝑪𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒓𝒖𝒏𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕....
4.75 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬
I won't say that this book is something that everyone is going to enjoy but I enjoyed it.
The first 25% was quite engaging, the next 25% seemed boring to me and the next 50% made me fall in love with this book.
So, this book is about a 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥, 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐨 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞, who works with the serpentine stone from the local mine and makes tiny trinkets for the local tourists. When she catches the eye of the new factory manager, who blames her for stealing the out cuts and tells her that he did hand her over to the officers, but if she visits him, he does consider it just a mistake. Being a wealthy man (the manager), her alcoholic father insists on marrying him. She's in love with a boy named Kitto and rejects marrying this old bastard Fenton (the manager), but somehow, things happen, and her father makes her visit this bastard every Sunday and work on his nonsense.
Later, the bastard offers to marry her, and that will clear her dues of stealing and she is willing to pay her alcoholic father some money to marry her. But her mother finds out that this man is no good and he previously is the reason for the death of his former wife. So, to protect her daughter, Colenso's mother makes her run away with a travelling fair people, a particular old woman who is the fortuneteller in this travelling fair, who is quite happy to protect her from all this.
This woman is really amazing; she helps Colenso and makes her disguise into a boy for some time to hide her identity until they're far away from her land.
Later, 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐨 finds herself some work in the fair, helping Jago, another member of the travelling fair who sells confections and makes some money.
During the end of the fair season, the Fortune-teller, 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐚 dies, and that leaves 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐨 homeless and jobless since the fair is over for winter, and now she has to find herself some job to feed herself.
During her search for a job, she finds another confectioner who owns a shop and sells sweets, Garren, who is happy to give her a room to stay and food to feed her stomach. In turn, she helps him at his shop and works for him.
While Colenso did write letters to her lover, Kitto, during the time 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐚 was alive, she only received one saying that he was learning his letters from the headmistress of a school to write her, but she never received another.
She continues to work for generous Garren and is happy with the job she's doing. She slowly starts to develop feelings when she finally receives a letter from her lover, Kitto, saying that he has lost his mother and sister in an accident and is now coming to her. It's almost time for Christmas.
Return of her lover and the developing new feelings for Garren. Who will 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐨 choose? The one who never tried looking out for her when she needed the most or the one who provided her a roof?
To know what happens at the end, you guys have to read this book.
I don't want to spoil everything, so I'm leaving this here.
This is surely underrated and deserves a lot more hype and praise.
Set around the 1900s, this book is definitely amazing and a must-read for anyone who loves to read books of the 1900s era.
4.75 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬
I won't say that this book is something that everyone is going to enjoy but I enjoyed it.
The first 25% was quite engaging, the next 25% seemed boring to me and the next 50% made me fall in love with this book.
So, this book is about a 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥, 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐨 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞, who works with the serpentine stone from the local mine and makes tiny trinkets for the local tourists. When she catches the eye of the new factory manager, who blames her for stealing the out cuts and tells her that he did hand her over to the officers, but if she visits him, he does consider it just a mistake. Being a wealthy man (the manager), her alcoholic father insists on marrying him. She's in love with a boy named Kitto and rejects marrying this old bastard Fenton (the manager), but somehow, things happen, and her father makes her visit this bastard every Sunday and work on his nonsense.
Later, the bastard offers to marry her, and that will clear her dues of stealing and she is willing to pay her alcoholic father some money to marry her. But her mother finds out that this man is no good and he previously is the reason for the death of his former wife. So, to protect her daughter, Colenso's mother makes her run away with a travelling fair people, a particular old woman who is the fortuneteller in this travelling fair, who is quite happy to protect her from all this.
This woman is really amazing; she helps Colenso and makes her disguise into a boy for some time to hide her identity until they're far away from her land.
Later, 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐨 finds herself some work in the fair, helping Jago, another member of the travelling fair who sells confections and makes some money.
During the end of the fair season, the Fortune-teller, 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐚 dies, and that leaves 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐨 homeless and jobless since the fair is over for winter, and now she has to find herself some job to feed herself.
During her search for a job, she finds another confectioner who owns a shop and sells sweets, Garren, who is happy to give her a room to stay and food to feed her stomach. In turn, she helps him at his shop and works for him.
While Colenso did write letters to her lover, Kitto, during the time 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐚 was alive, she only received one saying that he was learning his letters from the headmistress of a school to write her, but she never received another.
She continues to work for generous Garren and is happy with the job she's doing. She slowly starts to develop feelings when she finally receives a letter from her lover, Kitto, saying that he has lost his mother and sister in an accident and is now coming to her. It's almost time for Christmas.
Return of her lover and the developing new feelings for Garren. Who will 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐨 choose? The one who never tried looking out for her when she needed the most or the one who provided her a roof?
To know what happens at the end, you guys have to read this book.
I don't want to spoil everything, so I'm leaving this here.
This is surely underrated and deserves a lot more hype and praise.
Set around the 1900s, this book is definitely amazing and a must-read for anyone who loves to read books of the 1900s era.
February 5, 2019
I really enjoyed this book , set in the beautiful Cornish Landscape. It tells the tale of Colenso Carne . Her family struggles to make a living from the Serpentine stone from the local mine . She has an alcoholic father who seeks to marry her off to the new manager of the mine .
Colenso is forced to flee from the area , vowing she will marry the man she has always loved . One day they will be together
Colenso is forced to flee from the area , vowing she will marry the man she has always loved . One day they will be together
April 1, 2024
This was an nice, easy read with lots of vivid descriptions of the landscape. I particularly enjoyed learning more about the Cornish dialect and sweet making at the time alongside the ties to nature woven in throughout the story. A sweet, clean romance with a bit of coming of age thrown in as Colenso discovers herself during her journey. I'll definitely read another book by this author and would recommend this to Dilly Court fans :)
February 21, 2019
I have enjoyed the other books by Linda Finlay so its no surprise really that I enjoyed this one. It took me a while to get into it but the storyline kept me reading. I loved the sweet making aspect and the way it ran through the book. My only criticism is that I think it dragged a bit towards the end and could have been a chapter or two shorter.
May 3, 2023
Always love a good historical fiction. This one has been on my shelf for a long time (years)
I loved the sweets side of the story. And how the strong women in her life appeared when she needed it.
Colenso really went through a bad time. Her father was a terrible man and Fenton was awful. I’m glad she found her peace eventually.
I loved the sweets side of the story. And how the strong women in her life appeared when she needed it.
Colenso really went through a bad time. Her father was a terrible man and Fenton was awful. I’m glad she found her peace eventually.
July 25, 2024
An interesting historical romance which I really enjoyed. I loved the Cornish setting. The descriptions of the area were beautiful and the shift to a circus scenario made it even more engrossing. A well researched novel with an intriguing plot and well crafted characters.
February 25, 2019
A good saga set in cornwall. Im really enjoying this author lately
April 1, 2019
Easily enjoyable historical romance - will certainly read more by the author.
January 14, 2024
Unexpectedly good. Learnt lots of little things too
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews