The Village Inn of Secret Dreams

By: Alison Sherlock

Narrated by: Helen Keeley

Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

Brand-new from the best-selling author of The Village Shop for Lonely Hearts.

After escaping her parents’ unhappy marriage to sleepy Cranbridge a long time ago, Belle Clarke dreams of staying at The Black Swan Inn forever.

But with the rundown inn threatened with closure, Belle may be forced to leave, unless a buyer can be found...quickly.

So, when her oldest friend, Pete Kennedy, returns from working abroad with a plan to save the Inn, Belle should be overjoyed. The trouble is, Pete has some rather radical ideas for the renovation which Belle disagrees with.

But when a snow storm hits, Belle and Pete are forced to put aside their differences and work together to help the village.

Can Belle realise her dreams to stay in Cranbridge, and can Pete ever stop running from his past

As they try to save The Black Swan Inn, secrets are revealed and just maybe, they’ll finally find out how they really feel about each other.

©2021 Alison Sherlock (P)2021 Boldwood Books

Clean Romance and Family

I love this series, if you haven’t read book 1 start there because each book just continues the previous. Such beautiful stories you have family, some dram of sorts, then the romance mixed all through the story. If you haven’t started listening yet, what are you waiting for, get started now!

Can't wait until the next one!

Love this book! Love this village! Hope there is another one to follow!

Another Sweet Story

As this is the third book in the series, it very much aligns with the others. We get a deeper look into one of our main characters.

Belle has had a difficult life and struggles with change and fear of abandonment. She has a large battered heart, and in this book we see her grow, and put down her own roots.

I read another review that said Belle acted like a child. She has been a bit sheltered in life, but only as a result of bad parenting. Ignore the bad reviews. If you are enjoying the Riverside Lane series as I have been, you will not be disappointed.

Fun times in the village

I really like all of the characters in these books. Definitely a feel good book

Depressing narrator depressing story

I believe the main female lead Belle is in her 30’s. She acts like an abandoned 13 year old. It’s odd that she still lives with her relatives and can find no happiness in the sale of the inn that will save them from financial ruin. She bites the hand that saved them and is completely unlikable. She has serious issues. There is a lack of propriety in all the characters. They have moral issues, lying, selfish, embarrassing each other, ungrateful, living together under parent’s home. The women are shrill demanding and sometimes crazy in the last book. I don’t really care to read about depressing dysfunctional people so I can’t really recommend this series. Pete is a nice person who buys the inn for Belle but is shocked when the topic of love is mentioned. They will all be in their 60’s and be exactly the same. Afraid, angry, blaming everyone and everything, unpredictable and trashing on good people. All this rage and a shrill, depressing narrator make this is a skip it. It does do a 180 at the end and it all comes together but after all the angst it doesn’t really make much sense.

Hard going

Definitely not as good as Book one (Amber & Josh, Village shop)
The two protagonists were both idiots with no common sense, always jumping to conclusions, having tantrums & generally being thoroughly dislikeable . Was hoping they would redeem themselves the longer I stuck with the book but... Nah.
Narration was good, though wasnt a fan of the shouting scenes.