Happy Literary Friday! This week I read Summer at Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan. It's the sequel to Little Beach Street Bakery I read a couple of weeks ago, and you can read that post here. And yes, I finally did bake the Easiest White Bread, and you can read about my adventure on yesterday's post.
Usually I approach sequels with fear and trepidation because they aren't as good as the originals. However, Summer at Little Beach Street Bakery is better than the first. The book begins where the first one ends: Polly and her smokin' hot Southern boyfriend with the messy blond hair and sexy drawl are living the life in a dilapidated lighthouse on a tidal island in Cornwall, England. They have a pet puffin named Neil who accompanies Polly to work at the bakery each morning. Everything is blissful until Selina's cat attacks Neil, he gets stitches at the vet, and then Polly takes him to the bakery where he gets sick all over her. Polly's new abusive boss fires her on the spot, and things go downhill for the main characters from there. Did I mention that Selina is the widow of Polly's former lover (but in Polly's defense she didn't know that Tarnie was married to Selina at the time). Polly has been slowly rebuilding her life after her graphic design and marketing business failed along with her relationship with her boyfriend/business partner. She loves baking and perfecting new recipes, and she's devastated when she can no longer provide her quirky small community with her delicious baked goods.
I admire Polly for her spirit. She faces terrible challenges bravely and on her own terms. This is Chick Lit with attitude because in the midst of a crisis Polly is a capable force on her own without the help of her boyfriend Huckle. The nail-biting action is nonstop the last 100 pages or so, and I found it difficult to put down. This book (like the first) includes fun recipes at the end, and you can even try some fun recipes on Jenny Colgan's Website.
This is the book trailer for Little Beach Street Bakery
This is the book trailer for Summer at Little Beach Street Bakery
What did you read this week? Blog about it and link-up: This is a link party!
Happy reading!
Ricki Jill
Sounds great! I'm adding this one to my reading list!
ReplyDeleteWoo hoo, just linked up with you. :)
ReplyDeleteI think I need to read this series!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a fun series! And how nice to have fiction-and-recipes, without it being a cozy mystery (way to change the genre up)! :D
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like fun. I just finished reading the first two books in a cute mystery series by Donna Andrews. I can't wait to read the next one now! Happy reading! Hugs, Diane
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteI like how you added the trailers. :-)
Looking forward to this series.
Carla
I am seriously going to have to read this series. I love bonus recipes within the book. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete