But when fate brings Flora back to the island, she's suddenly swept once more into life with her brothers -- all strapping, loud and seemingly incapable of basic housework -- and her father. Yet even amid the chaos of their reunion, Flora discovers a passion for cooking -- and find herself restoring dusty little pink-fronted shop on the harbour: a café by the sea. But with the seasons changing, Flora must come to terms with past mistakes -- and work out exactly where her future lies...
Review: Flora dreamed of escaping her life as a farmer's daughter in a small village on Mure Island, a wish her mother supported and encouraged. When her mother died and her family needed her the most, she left mom and burnt all of her bridges.
Three years later, Flora is working as a paralegal for a prestigious law firm in London. She should be having the time of her life, but her job is anything but exciting (unless you think filing to be an engaging activity), majority of her coworkers are unfriendly and don't understand her. She is also secretly harboring a gigantic crush on her boss, Joel, a handsome, cold, and aloof man who treats everyone with disdain.
When Joel takes on a new client who wants to build a resort on Mure Island, Flora is immediately hired and sent to home to try and bring the locals on board. Of course Flora is reluctant to return and doesn't want to confront her past, her bitter family, and most of all her grief. After discovering her mother's journal, a hand written recipe book, she starts cooking and in doing so begins to heal the wounds of the past.
I always love the journey that the heroines of Jenny Colgan's books go on and the Cafe by the Sea is no exception. I did, however, had a time getting into this book unlike her previous ones. It took me some time to warm up to Flora mainly because she felt too whiny at first, but once she returns to Mure I began to see her in a new light. I loved her family's dynamic, particularly her relationship with the mercurial brother Fintan, which is the book's strongest asset.
The romance, however, fell completely flat for me. There are two contenders for Flora's heart though by the reading the book's synopsis you know who she will be with in the end. I was not a big fan of Joel though I wanted to know more about his past. His character developed felt rushed one dimensional. I also felt his sudden epiphany of Flora was too insta-love for me. The second 'contender' was the warm Charlie who also was underdeveloped and very much felt like a third/fourth choice. I guess the real romance is between Flora and her home at Mure, where she finally found a place where people understood her and she found her calling with making food and helping people. Pick this up if you are looking for a read where family, food, and culture play a larger role than the romance.
Rating: 4 stars
Words of Caution: There is some strong language, crude sexual humor and innuendo, and fade to black sex scenes. Recommended for adults and mature teens.
If you like this book try: My Not So Perfect Life by Sophia Kinsella, The City Baker's Guide to Country Living by Louise Miller
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I agree with Heidi, this sounds like it is my kind of read, I love many of these elements. Thanks so much for introducing me to this!
I like the sounds of this one and since I am Scottish the setting sounds wonderful. I can also picture it as a PBS show :-)
Sounds good but too bad about the romance. Seems like a lot of people have been having problems with that part lately in books.