Author: Grace Parks
Publisher: Author Collective 20
Genre: Romance
Source: Author Collective 20 ( Netgalley )

Goodreads: Willow Lawson is a fun loving social media expert, who helps companies stand out from their competitors. Yet, despite her bubbly personality, her social life is mostly work-related, and her love life is non-existent. That’s when she starts The Pepper Lane Club, a chance to get away once a month from her maddening life and reconnect with her friends. It’s at this very first meeting that she meets Thomas Greer, who owns the café. He’s everything she’s not. He’s serious, unsociable, unfashionable, and dead set against social media. She decides to take him on as a client despite his refusals. She wants the challenge, and she wants to prove to him that he needs her help. He frustrates her, but there’s something about his old fashioned ways that also intrigues her.

Six women. Six stories. Six chances of love. One café.
The Pepper Lane series tells the stories of six women, who agree to meet once a month at their local café. They promise to meet no matter what life throws their way, and, as we soon find out, life throws a lot more than any of them expected. Friendships are forged, and deepened, as the women get to know each other. It’s only once a month, but they soon realize how important this little club has become to each of them. They might be an unlikely group of friends, but it takes all types to form a tribe.

Ope’s Opinion: This is in the romance genre and there was some romance in this book, but the female friendship is really at the center of the story. The females are strong, independent woman with other things in their lives along with the romance. This is the first book of the series.

It was a very good read that engaged me from the beginning and made me want to carve out more time to get back to reading it. I liked being introduced to all six woman and getting to know a little about their personalities. This book focused on Willow. She was a bit all over the place – that is just her personality, I enjoyed her.

I am looking forward to getting to know the other woman. I hope in the next book ( about Riley ) will include some about where Willow is too. I felt like her story wasn’t quite done.