So, just one last review before I take a short break – with renewed apologies to those authors whose books were on my pre-Christmas reading list that I just couldn’t manage to get to this year (I’ll be looking out for your next books!). I’ll just take the opportunity to wish everyone the loveliest Christmas – although I do plan to take things a little easier in January, I won’t be taking my usual month-long break (there were too many lovely books I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to review!). And if you’re searching in vain for the Books of the Year list I always produce at this time of year… well, I haven’t quite decided what to do about that yet (160 books read and loved – would you be able to choose?!), but I’ll be back with something before we hit 2023…
So, I’m really delighted today to share my review of The Gingerbread Café by the lovely Anita Faulkner, published by Sphere on 27th October (with a cover every bit as gorgeous as her last book!), and now available as an e-book (and just 99p for kindle), paperback and audiobook. The e-copy I read was my own, preordered and purchased via Amazon.
Rather like Anita herself – you might already know her too, and have experienced some of the wonderful support she provides to fellow authors via her Facebook chat group Chick Lit and Prosecco – her first book, A Colourful Country Escape (still available at 99p for your kindle!), was thoroughly lovely. It was a romantic comedy that really exceeded my expectations – sheer fun throughout, all at breakneck speed, a laugh a minute, an unlikely (but rather lovely) romance, and filled with colour and sunshine (you’ll find my full review here). So I was really thrilled to find that, for her second book, Anita had turned her attention to Christmas – and it looked just perfect for a fun read in the final build-up to the festive celebrations.
Can Gretel find the recipe for the perfect Christmas?
The Gingerbread Café is always full of Christmas magic. Come rain or shine (or even a July heatwave), there’s always a hot chocolate bursting with cinnamon and marshmallows waiting for you. For introverted Gretel, it’s been the perfect escape from ‘real life’. The owner, Nell, is Gretel’s last link to her late mum, and hiding out at the café feels so much safer than making new friends.
So when Nell suddenly passes, Gretel is left heartbroken. Then she discovers that Nell has left the café to her – but there’s a catch. Gretel has to share the running of The Gingerbread Café with the least festive person ever: Nell’s nephew, Lukas. Head chef at the local fancy restaurant, Lukas makes it clear he has no time for the café, Gretel or even Christmas itself, and Gretel’s too busy struggling to save her burnt batches of gingerbread to work out why.
Gretel is determined to keep Christmas alive and make the café a success before Lukas hands the keys over to the scrooge-like developers. But she can’t do it alone; besides an over friendly ferret and a waitress with a secret, the only person she has now is Lukas. Will it take a Christmas miracle to get the pair to finally see eye to eye, or could the ice already be melting?
Packed full of sugar and spice, The Gingerbread Café will tick all the wishes off your Christmas list this festive period. Perfect for fans of Heidi Swain, Jo Thomas and Bella Osborne.
Christmas all year round – that’s what it’s like at the Gingerbread Cafe. Heaven for some, certainly not for others – but very much a safe haven for Gretel, working alongside the lovely Nell who’s gone some way to help heal her grief in the absence of her mum and sister. But Nell has now passed away too, and the cafe has been left jointly to Gretel and Nell’s nephew Lukas. While Gretel, in her quirky Christmas outfits and with a deep love of everything Christmas, wants to keep the place going as a tribute to the woman she loved – not the easiest task when she really doesn’t like people that much and certainly can’t do what’s needed in the kitchen – Lukas has an eye on the profit from its sale, a chef wanting to set up his own restaurant rather than turning out other people’s menus at the Rotten Carrot (sorry, that’s just Gretel’s version – it’s really “La Carotte Rôtie”).
Things are looking pretty hopeless – all the small shops in the Cotswold village are struggling, there’s no sense of community any more, and the developers (who’ve already ruined the neighbouring village) are getting ready to move in. But then there’s a bit of a glimmer in the darkness – the mysterious Amber, who appears just when Gretel most needs her, helps give her a sense of purpose and to fight to save the cafe she loves. The community – a wonderful mix of quirky characters – start to pull together, working towards the village fair they all pin their hopes on to change their fortunes. The relationship between Gretel and Lukas is warming up nicely, and it seems he might be on her side after all – but then everything rather comes crashing down, and the situation looks more desperate than ever.
This book really was a lovely read. I expected fun – and yes, there’s plenty of that, as I whooped and cheered a new stronger Gretel fighting for her dream. The characters are fantastic – all the other shopkeepers, every individual beautifully drawn, and particularly the appalling larger-than-life developer, Miss Swingy Bob Whimple (who rather reminded me of Cruella Deville… but in distinctive black and gold trainers). A small and furry character plays quite a large part in the story too – I’m not that keen on ferrets as a rule, but Angel Gabriel might just have converted me a little (although I think I’d rather not have him in the kitchen, chewing my toes…). But it’s certainly not all laugh-a-minute – there were plenty of other moments of particular poignancy that brought a real tear to my eye, and I just wanted to give Gretel a big cuddle. And the romance? Yes, I rather enjoyed that – it perhaps didn’t have quite all the chemistry I’d have liked, but I really did hope that the pair, after going through so much and coming so far, would have their happy ending.
And I haven’t even mentioned Gretel’s glass sculptures, the crystals, the truth about Amber, the jukebox with a mind of its own, the gingerbread village… you’ll just have to read the book for yourself, and I do hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did. Bravo to its lovely author – and I’ll be looking forward to seeing what she does next.
About the author
Anita Faulkner writes warm and fuzzy romcoms from her upcycled bureau in the glorious Cotswolds. Described by her agent Kate Nash as ‘a sparkling new voice,’ Anita is still pinching herself that her novels A Colourful Country Escape and The Gingerbread Café are being published by Sphere (Little, Brown).
Most days you’ll find Anita surrounded by shiny objects, big dreams and an abundance of chocolate wrappers which can’t possibly all be hers.
When she’s not being bossed around by a small human or running her copywriting empire, Anita loves sharing her journey and cheering you on with yours.
The best place to find her shaking her pompoms for the world of books is in her Facebook Group, Chick Lit and Prosecco. Hop over and join her! She’d be thrilled to see you there.
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Sounds like the perfect read for this weekend! Have a lovely Christmas, Anne xx