Hi everyone,
It’s my stop on the blog tour for The Second Chance Shoe Shop by the lovely Marcie Steele a.k.a Mel Sherratt! I’m super excited to be a part of the tour because I absolutely love Marcie’s books. I’ve read all three within the day of purchase, I just get hooked immediately. I’m sharing my review today and some questions I got to ask Marcie!
Marcie’s books are my remedy to a constant stream of dark thriller/crime/psychological books that I read as they are so light and beautifully uplifting that you can’t help but feel happy reading them.
As I said, I have read and loved Marcie Steele’s previous books and you can read my review of That’s What Friends are for by clicking the link below.
That’s What Friends Are For by Marcie Steele
Funnily enough, I can’t lay my hands on my review for Stirred With Love but it was 5 stars for sure!
Anyway!!! On to the good stuff! 🙂
About the book (via Goodreads):
All Riley Flynn wants is to meet someone who makes her happy. But attracting the right kind of man is not easy, and with her heart still hurting from her last break-up, Riley believes she’ll never find love again.
A year ago, Sadie Stewart’s whole world was shattered when her husband, Ross, died. She has struggled to keep herself together for the sake of their young daughter, but with the anniversary of his death approaching, Sadie finds herself overwhelmed by grief.
Sadie and Riley work at Chandlers shoe shop, in the charming town of Hedworth. But when Chandlers is threatened with closure, the friends are confronted with the loss of not only their jobs, but also their support network – the glue that holds them together when they are close to breaking.
As they put together a plan to save their beloved shop, Sadie realises that she might just be learning to live again. Could it be that new beginnings are just round the corner? The campaign also finds Riley unexpectedly crossing paths with charming photographer, Ethan. Maybe her second chance at love is right under her feet …
My Thoughts:
Marcie Steele has outdone herself this time. The Second Chance Shoe Shop is a gorgeous read. Packed with likeable, relatable characters that I defy anyone not to identify with someone in this book.
The Second Chance Shoe Shop focuses on Riley Flynn, her struggle to find love and her attempts to reinvent Chandler’s shoe shop as a trendy fashionable shop. At every corner, the current owner is there to thwart her ideas and bring her back to earth with a bump.
As well as Riley, there is a fabulous ensemble cast of characters throughout the novel. All of the characters are facing big changes, real changes. The kind that you or I could easily experience. For me, this is what makes Marcie Steele’s books so great. Focusing on normal lives means the reader can instantly relate to some of the issues facing her characters.
Another thing I loved about this book was the mention of characters in Marcie Steele’s other novels. It was such a lovely thing to see names I recognised cropping up in different parts of the book. While not a series as such, it’s great to see how the lives of those living in the fictional town of Hedworth are intermingled in the books.
The Second Chance Shoe Shop is a beautiful read, with brilliantly character-rich writing and an engaging and honest plot. At its heart, a novel of true friendship and love.
I’ve said it before, but reading Marcie Steele’s books genuinely feels like catching up with old friends over coffee. Th Second Chance Shoe Shop is no different! I absolutely loved it, and I came recommend it enough! I gave it 5 huge stars on Goodreads 😊
The Second Chance Shoe Shop is out now and you can purchase a copy by clicking the link below:
The Second Chance Shoe Shop by Marcie Steele
Mini Q&A with Marcie Steele
1- Did you know when you wrote Stirred With Love that the characters would crop up in the future books? I loved seeing familiar names in The Second Chance Shoe Shop!
I didn’t. But as I decided to write That’s What Friends are For set in the market town of Hedworth, which had been mentioned in Stirred with Love, it felt good to have the same setting. So who knows who might turn up in the future? I might even put all the characters in one book further along the line.
2- If you could pick a favourite character from The Second Chance Shoe Shop, who would it be and why?
I think it would have to be Riley because I saw a little bit of her in me. When I was made redundant in 2010, I took a year out to concentrate on getting a book deal. During this time, I built up a blog called High Heels and Book Deals and networked with lots of pr people, publicists, publishers and editors, as well as authors. It had masses of hits and followers and I’m sad in a way that I had to close it down. But it became too time consuming alongside writing, and also running a website under my own name, when I did eventually get published.
But, by doing this, I got invited to all sorts of things and met some fabulous people, and I learned the discipline of writing every day as well as a bit of design and dedication to running a website. Like Riley, I realised I was capable of doing far more than I had originally thought. It gave me lots of confidence. Sometimes it’s good to push yourself out of your comfort zone. You never know what it might lead to. So, it was good to follow Riley on her journey, too.
3-Social Media is a powerful presence in The Second Chance Shoe Shop between flash mobs, dating websites etc, did you find it easy to include it in the story?
I did. It also makes the book feel modern and on trend. I’ve had so many people say they would love to have seen or taken part in the flash mob, as well as the #shoelove campaign, which is why I have replicated some of it for the launch of the book – not the flash mob, though! As well as the darker side of social media, as in people not being who they say they are, or trolls and online bullies, there is a lot of good online. I have met some fantastic people over the years and I wanted to show that side of social media too.
Huge thanks, as always, to Marcie Steele and Bookouture! 🙂
Make sure to follow the blog tour as it weaves it’s way through these fab blogs! 👠❤️
