Genre: Chick Lit
Published: 2013
Pages: plus bonus recipes
Bought at Barnes & Noble
Issy's life is going along fine- normal, but fine- until she loses her job. To make things worse, her boyfriend Graeme was the one who got rid of her in the first place. Struggling with a relationship that isn't going well and a lack of income, Issy wants to find a way to get back on her feet.
That is, until she remembers the days spent at her Grampa Joe's bakery and decides to open a cupcake shop. Employing help from another woman from her redundancy course and a cute local banker, she is determined to find some success. But when things start smoothly clicking along, Grampa Joe's health begins to decline and Graeme's company wants to take back her bakery for development projects. Suddenly everything Issy's worked for (including a new relationship) is in jeopardy. Will her cafe be the success she hoped it would be?
If you're looking for a book that will remind you of how fun chick lit can be, this might be a good choice. That's what it did for me, anyway. Especially once I got past some of the British lingo. I eventually took "yummy mummy" to mean a finicky mother that enjoys her social status, and wants only the very finest for her child. I didn't even know that was a thing, but apparently it is.
The cast of characters is enjoyable. Issy is a fun, yet insecure character who is very hesitant to leave a bad relationship and left me wanting to scream at her. There's her quirky roommate Helena. There's the lovely but forgetful Grampa Joe (what is it with Grandpa Joes in British books about food? Willy Wonka much?) Pearl has her own set of problems with wanting her child to fit in. Graeme himself seems like he had good relationship potential but doesn't quite get there. But then of course Colgan had to use the old "evil developer" trope to make him seem even more the bad guy. Surprisingly, though, that trope actually works quite well for the story's context and leaves room for a love triangle that actually makes sense and wasn't included just to appease YA-vampire fanatics. Only this time, it's a banker and a developer going head-to-head for the fate of Issy's bakery. This is a lot more exciting than it sounds, I assure you. ;)
I always enjoy the awkward-guy love interest, too. Austin does a good job of filling that role and we get to hear about his struggles to care for his son. It's a slow-burning love story, one with misunderstandings and one that's interrupted by Issy's desire, for some reason, to get back together with Graeme. In true Colgan style, we get to hear his story as well. Some readers are turned off by occasionally-changing points of view, but I thought they enriched the story and let us know more about the other main players.
There are the usual set of tropes here as well. The dying old guy, the love triangle (though as said above, one that actually works), the main character owning a store, etc. And you know things will end well eventually. But that's what makes the story luscious and fun. Sometimes you just need a book where you can escape into someone else's life for a while. In reality, the Cupcake Cafe isn't just Issy's story, but everyone's story of how the cafe brings them all together. Birthday parties for Pearl's son take place here. Accident victims gather here. Even good (and bad) news is shared among friends here. This is one that should be enjoyed with a cupcake in hand. If you don't have any, be sure to pull out a recipe from the book and make one.
I should also mention that the last pages open the doors for a Christmas novel. I can't wait!
4.5 stars
Want more treats by Jenny Colgan? Check out my review of The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris.
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