Sunday 8 September 2013

Books Read: Mary Simses - The Irresistible Blueberry Bakeshop & Cafe

Manhattan lawyer Ellen Branford is going to fulfill her grandmother's dying wish - to find the hometown boy she once loved and give him her last letter. Beacon, Maine, home to blueberry fields and eccentric locals, is the last place she wants to go so close to her upcoming wedding.

Hoping to be in and out in 24 hours, Ellen ends up the talk of the town when a tumble into the ocean introduces her to Roy Cummings, the carpenter who saves her life. Roy happens to be the nephew of Ellen's grandmother's lost love, and the one person who can bring closure to her quest.

But as Ellen learns what Beacon has to offer and what her grandmother left behind, she may find that a 24 hour visit will never be enough...

Amazon links: Paperback or Kindle

I hadn't heard of The Irresistible Blueberry Bakeshop & Cafe before I received a copy out of the blue so I had no idea what to expect.  What I got was a nice charming delicious read from a first time author.

When Ellen's beloved grandmother dies she discovers a letter that her grandmother had written shortly before she died addressed to a mystery person, Chet Cummings.  So Ellen sets out to make her grandmother's final wish come true and heads off to Beacon, Maine to deliver the letter in person and hopefully find out a little more about her grandmother's past at the same time.

But her trip doesn't get off to a great start when the dock she steps onto to take some photos collapses and she ends up in sea caught in a riptide forcing her out into the ocean.  Fortunately, local handymen Roy spots her and comes to her rescue.  Their paths continue to cross whilst Ellen tries to track down the person the letter has been addressed to...

This was a story of two parts; tracing the history of Ellen's grandmother life in Beacon and relationship with Chet all those years ago, and Ellen's conflict between the feelings for a man she's just met when she's engaged to fiance Hayden, a prominent lawyer in New York with political ambitions, who she's due to marry in a couple of months.  And when Hayden makes a brief appearance in Beacon, Ellen is forced to consider where her heart truly lies...

The Irresistible Blueberry Bakeshop & Cafe was an easy book to read and I soon found myself immersed in the story whilst eating a Blueberry muffin of course. I loved seeing the changes in Ellen during her stay in Beacon as the town weaves its magic on her making her reconsider her whole future that she'd had mapped out for herself.

I do have one big niggle though about this book and that is the title, at first it didn't really appear to have any bearing with the story at all but once you read on you soon discover it's significance but on the whole it's a bit misleading as doesn't really play a big part in the story.  But don't let this put you off picking up this book as overall it is a really charming read that would be perfect autumn time reading cosied up infront of a fire.

I'd like to thank Helena at Headline for sending me a proof copy of this fab book. 

No comments:

Post a Comment