Summer at the Comfort Food Café by Debbie Johnson

Summer at the Comfort Food Café (The Comfort Food Cafe, #1)

by Debbie Johnson

‘Full of quirky characters, friendship and humour, you will devour this engaging and heartwarming novel in one sitting’ Sunday Express S Magazine

Summer at the Comfort Food Cafe will make you laugh, make you cry, and make you raid the pantry in the middle of the night…

The Comfort Food Cafe is perched on a windswept clifftop at what feels like the edge of the world, serving up the most delicious cream teas; beautifully baked breads, and carefully crafted cupcakes. For tourists and locals alike, the ramshackle cafe overlooking the beach is a beacon of laughter, companionship, and security – a place like no other; a place that offers friendship as a daily special, and where a hearty welcome is always on the menu.

For widowed mum-of-two Laura Walker, the decision to uproot her teenaged children and make the trek from Manchester to Dorset for the summer isn’t one she takes lightly, and it’s certainly not winning her any awards from her kids, Nate and Lizzie. Even her own parents think she’s gone mad.

Her new job at the cafe, and the hilarious people she meets there, give Laura the chance she needs to make new friends; to learn to be herself again, and – just possibly – to learn to love again as well.

For her, the Comfort Food Cafe doesn’t just serve food – it serves a second chance to live her life to the full…

What readers are saying about Summer at the Comfort Food Cafe:

‘My new favourite author’ – Holly Martin, bestselling author of Summer at Rose Island

'A lovely, emotion-filled, giggle-inducing story' – Sunday Times bestselling author Milly Johnson

A book of hope and solidarity, friendship and humour and the belief that everything might just turn out okay after all’ – Sophie, Reviewed the Book

‘If this book had arms it would grab you and pull you in to the most amazing book ever… just magical’ – Lisa Talks About

‘An engaging, entertaining and loveable book’ – Rae’s Reads

‘I wish I could actually go there… an original story and it has such a romantic ending’ – With Love for Books

Reviewed by Heather on

4 of 5 stars

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I'm a sucker for light fiction set in English cafes or tea shops or bakeries. I recently read these two fun romances that are perfect for Foodies Read.

Laura Walker has been a widow for two years and is just starting to emerge from the fog that she has been in. She needs a job and she wants to give her children a vacation this year. She combines the two into working for the summer at a cafe near a beach in Dorset.

This isn't just any cafe. It stocks the favorite comfort foods of the regulars to make them feel at home.

Laura, her kids, and her dog Jimbo settle into the community. They are starting to make new good memories for the first time since the accident that took her husband's life. This book is full of quirky characters. It also feels like it is really set in the present. Lizzie is documenting her summer on Instagram. Other people use Skype. So many of these books tend to ignore any technological details so that was a touch of realism that I appreciated.

The love interest's name was Matt and he is a veterinarian. Now you know I'm gonna have to comment on this, right? Ok, two things. Of course he is described as being muscular and gorgeous. He has to be. That's in the contract for romance book heroes. But, I know A LOT of vets. I don't know any who fit the bill. (Send pictures if you know one.) We tend towards the nerdy side. I particularly don't know any who are built like that and never work out. I'm not sure where his muscles come from. He never lifts a weight. Number two, he never really seems to go to work either. He's always around. It is mentioned vaguely that he is "at work" a few times but it doesn't seem like he is missing from the story very often. I'd like that schedule.

Anyway, this one is fun and sweet and made me a bit teary in one part that I can't talk about without being spoilery. This review was originally posted on Based On A True Story

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 12 April, 2017: Finished reading
  • 12 April, 2017: Reviewed