Robin’s Rave Reviews 2025
Trying to hold on to the cozy Christmas feeling a little bit longer? How about reading THE TICKLEMORE CHRISTMAS TOY SHOP by Liz Davies? I just finished it and LOVED it!
Everyday life in the small village of Ticklemore lends to a sweet, funny, easy-read novel, even for beyond the holiday. It is the first of a four book series. The others in the series are THE TICKLEMORE TATTLER, THE TICKLEMORE TREASURE TROVE, and THE TICKLEMORE TAVERN. I haven’t read these yet, but I would love to! According to others who have read them, you don’t need to read them in any particular order.
Now that I’ve read a Liz Davies book, I want to investigate other books she’s written, especially the Coorie Castle Crafts series set in Scotland written under her pen name Lilac Mills.
Book Summary
THE TICKLEMORE CHRISTMAS TOY SHOP is a funny and heartwarming story in the quaint village of Ticklemore. Two widowed octogenarians are the main characters, although there is good balance with multiple generations of characters for all readers.
Working in the Ticklemore café/bookstore gives Hattie a reason to get moving each day. It gives her purpose and allows her to interact with people each day. She knows how to get things done and won’t take no for an answer.
Alfred (Alfie) is a crusty old man whose concerned daughter has recently moved him into her house. She worries he may be developing Alzheimer’s, but in reality, he’s struggling with grief after losing his wife. When the daughter movedshim out of the house he shared with his wife for so many years, it adds to his depressed emotional state. She’s ready to discard everything he owns, including a shed full of wooden toys he’s spent years making.
When Alfred walks into the Ticklemore café for the first time, he dislikes Hattie’s pushiness. Little does he suspect that he’s just become her next project. As she forces herself into his life, she recognizes why he’s so curmudgeonly and believes she can help him. She sees the value in the toys he made and realizes Alfred doesn’t want them to get thrown out.
Hattie finds a way for him to do something meaningful that gives him and his toys a new purpose. Many of the village shopkeepers involved in this big Christmas project through Hattie’s prodding. Alfred finds ways to sneak out of his daughter’s house to see Hattie and check on the project. The smothering daughter is keeping her father on a short leash out of concern, but she begins to treat her father with more dignity when she realizes what her father is still capable of.
My ThoughtsÂ
THE TICKLEMORE CHRISTMAS TOY SHOP by Liz Davies is sweet and funny. I chuckled all the way through it. The characters are memorable and interesting. I loved watching the main characters butt heads while building a relationship. Hattie sees potential in Alfred that he doesn’t see in himself, and she manipulates him with good intentions until he can see it. Alfred has allowed others to have control over him, but he begins to seek more control over his life. It starts with his sneaking around behind his daughter’s back. Gradually, his daughter understands that he appreciates her caring, but that she needs to give him more respect and control over his own life.
I loved watching Hattie gather the business owners in the village to get on- board with her plans to help Alfred. A teenager, Zoe, also becomes part of the story when Hattie takes a chance on her to fill a need. With a well-rounded cast of characters, this humorous, cozy story is about healing through love, community, friendship, and romance at a late stage in life.
About the Author
Liz Davies’s author website gives us a peek into who she is:
Liz Davies also writes as Lilac Mills and Etti Summers. Under her Liz Davies pen name, her cozy romance books are light-hearted, feel-good stories with a bit of humor. She has published over twenty books with her most recent, SUMMER ESCAPES ON THE SCOTTISH ISLE, having been released in July of 2025. The next, SEASIDE DREAMS ON THE SCOTTISH ISLE, will be published in January of 2026.
Living on a Welsh mountain with her patient husband and sweet dog, she grows veggies, bakes (badly, she says), and makes things out of glitter and glue, usually making a mess. She is usually writing or thinking about writing, with heart-warming romance and happy-ever-after always on her mind.
If You Like…
If THE TICKLEMORE CHRISTMAS TOY SHOP by Liz Davies sounds interesting to you, take a look at these past reviews I’ve done. Click on the links. Maybe one of these books will also piqué your interest: THE SECRET CHRISTMAS LIBRARY by Jenny Colgan, THE LOVE ELIXIR OF AUGUSTA STERN by Lynda Cohen Loigman, and REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES by Shelby Van Pelt.
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She has won the Canadian Book Club Award for best romance twice, for TEN RULES FOR FAKING IT and HOW TO LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR. Her day job is teaching, and she spends spare time with her family watching reruns of Friends. Besides her Sophie Sullivan books, she writes cozy mysteries and romances under her alter ego’s name, Jody Holford.
THE LOVE ELIXIR OF AUGUSTA STERN by Lynda Cohen Loigman is a charming book with wide audience appeal. The author paints a nostalgic picture of Brownsville, a small neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY, in the 1920s. Augusta grows up there knowing all the locals who visit her father’s pharmacy. Dual timelines switch back and forth from Augusta’s childhood in 1920s Brooklyn to her moving into a Florida senior community in the 1980s. This book doesn’t feel like historical fiction, but through the eyes of young Augusta, we experience a different NYC than we know today, and we see women struggling with the expectations of 1920s society. I strongly recommend you check out THE LOVE ELIXIR OF AUGUSTA STERN by Lynda Cohen Loigman.
Lynda Cohen Loigman grew up in Longmeadow, MA. She earned degrees from Harvard College and Columbia Law School. Her debut novel, THE TWO-FAMILY HOUSE, was a USA Today bestseller and a nominee for the Goodreads 2016 Choice Awards in Historical Fiction. She has also written THE WARTIME SISTERS and THE MATCHMAKER’S GIFT. THE LOVE ELIXIR OF AUGUSTA STERN is her fourth novel.
I didn’t like teenage Charlie much, but readers may catch snippets that point to him maturing as an adult. Even Charlie can become a better person. Let’s see how it goes for him in the sequel, ONE GOLDEN SUMMER, coming out soon. I preordered my copy.
Carley Fortune is an award-winning journalist, having worked as an editor at some of Canada’s top publications. Now, she’s a #1 New York Times and #1 Globe and Mail bestselling author, as well.
