Growing up in the beautiful Lancashire village of Neatslake, Josie Gray and her childhood sweetheart, Ben Richards, have always dreamt of living a life of rural self-sufficiency. And when Josie inherits her beloved Grandmother’s cottage, it seems they might just have got what they wished for. Josie throws herself into her wedding cake business, whilst Ben supports himself as an artist.

But the tranquil village turns into a hive of activity when Josie’s childhood friend, Libby Martin - now a wealthy widow - returns to the village, planning a lavish wedding to rival any celeb bash. The day goes with a bang, and soon Libby and Josie are hard at work at their fledgling wedding business, hiring out Libby’s beautiful Elizabethan home for ceremonies, with Josie creating all manner of wonderful cakes.

But amidst all this romance, Josie’s fairytale relationship with Ben turns into a nightmare, and she quickly becomes Love’s number one cynic - until charming wedding photographer, Noah Sephton, arrives in Neatslake, with a very different outlook on love!

Can this hopeless romantic persuade pessimistic Josie to give romance another try? Or will it be a case of always the cake maker, never the bride!?

Wedding Tiers is my first Trisha Ashley novel and tells the story of Josie, a cakemaker, who lives with her childhood sweetheart Ben. Back in the village is Libby, Josie’s best friend and together they start a wedding business. But as the business takes off, Ben & Josie’s relationship falls apart and Josie becomes loves number one cynic. Until Noah Sephton arrives on the scene…

I absolutely loved Wedding Tiers. Katie Fforde is quoted on the back cover saying “One of the best writers around!” and she isn’t far wrong. Wedding Tiers is told in first person and is a very quick and enjoyable read.

I loved reading about the weird and wonderful cakes Josie made, it was a very interesting insight into cake making. I also enjoyed reading snippets of her ‘Cakes & Ale’ column at the beginning of each chapter, it was very well done.

I thought Josie was a brilliant character. I found her likeable and thought her narrative throughout the story was well written. I also loved the character of Libby - in the prologue she seemed as if she just wanted money and lots of it but that was completely wrong and she was a brilliant character.

I enjoyed Noah and how he gradually came into the book more and more. He started out a slowburner and turned into a fully fledged character halfway through the novel and I liked that. I liked the sparring between him and Josie.

I found Ben incredibly irritating and undeserving of Josie. I found him shallow and very annoying.

Then there are all the other character - the three Graces, whom I loved; Uncle Harry who was really great and I was worried for him throughout the whole book! I liked he got his happy ending; Dorrie; Tim; Pia.

I really enjoyed how the novel was centered not only on Josie, Libby, Noah and co. but also on the other villagers in Neatslake. It definitely gives a wider view of village life. Not only do we get to read about those in Neatslake but we also read about characters from Trisha’s previous novel, A Winters Tale.

The only downside is the fact I should have read A Winter’s Tale first as Wedding Tiers does give the ending of A Winter’s Tale away but that’s not really a problem. Aside from that I loved the book.

I loved how Josie was self-sufficient and willing to take on anyone. I wish Josie could have taken on Ben’s mother - she irritated me and she was barely in the novel!

I also like that fact you can try Josie’s recipes as they’re located at the back of the book. A nice touch from the publishers/Trisha.

Overall it was a very enjoyable read and one I would happily read again. I will definitely be looking out for more of Trisha’s novels and can’t wait to read A Winter’s Tale!

Rating: 5/5

I’d like to thank Trisha and her publisher, AVON, for sending me a copy to review!

Tags: book review: trisha ashley, trisha ashley

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