5.5.15

Book Review: Summer at Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan

Summer has arrived in the Cornish town of Mount Polbearne and Polly Waterford couldn't be happier. Because Polly is in love; she in love with the beautiful seaside town that she calls home; she's in love with running the bakery on Beach Street, and she's in love with her boyfriend Huckle.
And yet there's something unsettling about the gentle, summer breeze that's floating through the town. Selina, recently widowed, hopes that moving to Mount Polbearne will ease her grief, but Polly has a secret that could destroy her friend's fragile recovery.
Responsibilities that Huckle thought he'd left behind are back and Polly finds it hard to cope with his increasingly long periods of absence.
Polly sifts flour, kneads dough and bakes bread, but nothing can calm the storm she knows is coming. Is Polly about to lose everything she loves?

Publisher: Sphere
Pages: 448

Summer at Little Beach Street Bakery is a lovely, lovely read and perfect f
or this time of year! Jenny Colgan summarises the story so far so you could read it without having read the first one but why would you want to miss out on the first one when it's so good?
Polly is still living in Mount Polbearne but she now shares the lighthouse with her boyfriend Huckle. She's still looking after the Beach Street Bakery for Mrs Manse and still being followed to work by her adopted pet puffin Neil. However, everything is about to change and all that Polly has worked so hard for is threatened. Can she really fight for everything again or is it time to call it a day?
I have enjoyed all of the Jenny Colgan books that I have read but I think that the Beach Street Bakery two are my favourite. I love, love, love Polly's character; she has found a home and a job that she loves and is prepared to fight for it, I like that she doesn't give up easily. I also have a bit of a thing about lighthouses so I was really excited that Polly and Huckle now live in one.
Mount Polbearne is almost a character in itself and Jenny Colgan creates these fictional communities so well. I can really picture it and would love to visit for a few days if it really existed.
Neil the puffin reappears in this book and you can't help but fall in love with this adorable little chap. He was Polly's first real friend on the Island and he has become a big part of the community. Polly is faced with the tough decision of keeping Neil or reuniting him with his own kind.
Summer at Little Beach Street Bakery is a warm, inviting and completely lovely read. Jenny Colgan is so good at drawing you into her fictional world and making you feel like part of the community; these books are not to be missed.

Many thanks to the lovely people at Sphere for sending me a copy of this book to review, Jenny has also written a book for young readers which I shall be reviewing very soon! 

3 comments:

Kim said...

Just read The Beach Street Bakery so thank you for this review, Dot! You have prompted me to put this on my next purchase list!

Em Steers said...

Can't wait to read this book, I loved the first one so much! Such a good and fun author! :D xx

Anonymous said...

I have yet to read Jenny Colgan but having only just discovered Carole Matthews, it may be sometime before I get to her!

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