Christmas at the Cupcake Cafe – Jenny Colgan

Format: Paperback
Published: 2013
Publisher: Sphere
Pages: 351 pages
Series: At the Cupcake Cafe

Rating: 5/5

The Blurb
Issy Randall, proud owner of the Cupcake Cafe, is in love and couldn’t be happier. Her new business is thriving and she is surrounded by close friends, even if her cupcake colleagues Pearl and Caroline don’t seem quite upbeat about the up-coming season of snow and merriment.  But when her husband Austin is scouted for a possible move to New York, Issy is forced to face up to the prospect of a long-distance romance.

This December, Issy will have to rely on all her reserves of courage, good nature and cinnamon to make sure everyone has a Merry Christmas, one way  or another…

The Review

I know I should be reading ‘Christmas at the Cupcake Cafe’ at Christmas, but I’m doing things differently and mixing it up!

First things first, I LOVE Christmas, a lot! It’s the perfect time of year and makes me smile and laugh. Plus, you get to eat and drink as much as you want and not feel guilty about it.

I was very excited to be reading the novel because I knew it would be filled with Christmas cheer and joy. During the novel, I even got a big craving for a turkey dinner!

‘Christmas at the Cupcake Cafe’ is the second of the series and considering the first book was great, I was expecting big things. Thankfully, I wasn’t disappointed.

You follow the life of Cafe owner Issy and her outrageous and turbulent staff, Pearl and Caroline. They all get on like a house on fire (well, with some added sarcasm) and each has their own different lives to lead. You join the team at the lead up to Christmas.

Each character has their own story and you get to find out more about each. Jenny Colgan has really thought about them individually and done well to give each just enough coverage to make the story interesting. I think my favourite character (other than Issy, of course) was Pearl. She just seemed to have a likeness about her and the fact her son Louis was cute and adorable helped.

Reading about New York made me jealous and all I wanted to do was go on holiday. Although, I can’t really complain because I have actually visited New York at Christmas and it was magical. (Insert daydreaming here).

You also get an added extra with a selection of cake recipes before each chapter. I think this is a lovely nice touch because they relate to the story, too. I am tempted to pick one at random and get my bake on!

‘Christmas at the Cupcake Cafe’ was a brilliant feel good read and I know that sounds overly clichéd, but it’s true and I would expect each and everyone one of you to get your Christmas on and give it a go!

You can purchase ‘Christmas at the Cupcake Cafe’ on Amazon and also in Paperback.

Find out more about Jenny Colgan at www.jennycolgan.com (it’s full of sweet things!) or on Facebook and Twitter – @jennycolgan