Cock and Bull

By Laura Barnard

What it’s about?

From Goodreads:

Who knew that owning a pub would come with so many extras?

When Phoebe and Ella Bellerose left England behind to run the Irish pub they’d inherited, it sounded like a great adventure… until they saw for themselves what a wreck they’d been left.

With no experience, a severe lack of money, and a rival pub owner threatening to ruin them, the two girls aren’t convinced they can actually make this work.

Not until they meet Clooney Breen, who just so happens to be packed with charm, charisma, and barman skills that could help them all survive. It also doesn’t hurt that he’s the son of Cock & Bull’s biggest rival, and he’s desperate to help Ella and Phoebe teach his father a lesson.

But can mysterious Clooney, with his obvious secrets and desire to be their saviour, really be trusted? Or are they being played by this handsome lothario who seems too good to be true? Their problems only seem to grow and grow, until Phoebe discovers a ‘gift’ of her own that changes everything for all of them…

What I think:

This is a crazy rollercoaster of a book. When you think it is heading in one direction it throws in a loop and takes you somewhere unexpected.

Phoebe and Ella inherit a pub in Ireland and decide to have a go at running it rather than selling it. Phoebe invests her life savings and Ella goes along for the adventure.

When they get there the pub is in a .ugh worse state than they imagined. It’s filthy, rundown and the garden is overgrown. They also discover that they have inherited a pet skunk!

I don’t want to talk about the changes in direction the book takes as it will spoil it. But there are some very funny moments as Phoebe begins to understand that the pub is not the only legacy she has inherited from her auntie.

The only part of the story that disappointed me was the epilogue. I think I would have like a sequel as some of the revelations were big enough. This felt like the start of a series rather than a one off.

Thank you to the author, Lauren Barnard, for sharing Cock and Bull with me. This is great, fun read.

Cock and Bull is available now:

Amazon.co.uk: click here