Select one of the keywords
Summer at Little Beach Street Bakery    by Jenny Colgan Amazon.com order for
Summer at Little Beach Street Bakery
by Jenny Colgan
Order:  USA  Can
William Morrow, 2016 (2016)
Hardcover, Softcover, e-Book
* * *   Reviewed by Bob Walch

Set in a small village located on an island off the Cornish coast, this novel continues the story of Polly Waterford and her attempt to reinvent herself as a successful baker.

While the novel opens with Polly doing well in her new situation operating the Beach Street Bakery in Mount Polbearne, things quickly get complicated and soon the baker finds herself without a bakery to sell her goods from.

Living in a lighthouse also has its challenges, as does caring for a puffin who has moved in with Polly along with her boyfriend, Huckle. When the bread dough hits the fan and Polly finds herself without a job, she's going to have to get creative, and with Huckle's help she does.

Aside from some of the original characters who appeared in the first novel in this series, you'll meet some interesting new ones like a recently widowed woman who is trying to cope with her husband's death and a thoroughly unpleasant individual who steps in to turn the bakery into a more profitable operation.

As the plot thickens, it offers some interesting twists and turns which change this into a much faster read than the leisurely pace it begins with.

Normally I avoid chick lit like the plague but the setting caught my attention and after a few chapters I was hooked. And, yes, there are some recipes for baked goods at the back of the book. The Kick-Ass Chocolate Cake looks pretty interesting as does the Olive Loaf bread.

Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons.

Find more Contemporary books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews