Come & join us in beautiful Penworth Bay, Cornwall
Volunteer at The Cornish Bay Bakery in exchange for a cosy room
with views across the bay, new friends and the chance to explore the magical Cornish coast.
In need of a change to your pace of life?
Want to escape the pressures of work?
Then contact Elsie today!
In between jobs, homes and having given up on romance, can a chance meeting change Freya’s mind about true love?
When Freya crashes Elsie’s van straight into another car, the last thing on her mind is love. The victim of her mishap, sanctuary owner Chris Williams, doesn’t forgive quickly and expects Freya to make amends.
As they spend more time together and Chris’s Scrooge-like veneer starts to fade, can they help each other heal from past experiences? Or will she push him away?
When Chris’s ex jeopardises the animal sanctuary he cares so much about, will Freya put aside her feelings and find a way to help?
With three little words, Chris makes her question everything she thought she knew about her future. Is she ready to take a chance on love, or will she allow past fears to determine her future?
Crammed full of snow, love, friendship and a sense of belonging, escape to Christmas at the Cornish Bakery and travel to Cornwall to charming Penworth Bay...
3.5 stars This was a delightful holiday in Cornwall. Anglophiles will enjoy this as it’s written in British English (or as they say in England, English) and has all the proper sayings and wording. This book makes you realize how terribly inaccurate the language of other books set in England actually are. This shit was authentic and not edited to make it more palatable for a North American reader. A cute little read with a nice cast of side characters in a little seaside town in Cornwall at Christmas. Lots of authentic English Christmas traditions make appearances, like mulled wine, Christmas crackers and Boxing Day! These are all staples of a Canadian Christmas too so I was happy to see them. But as cozy as this little read was, the love story in it was only so-so. I didn’t feel that the character of Chris, the MMC, was fully developed. I don’t think we really got to know him or his feelings and thoughts. The book was told in third person but all through Freya’s POV. We got to see her doubts and her struggles with starting anew after a break up, but Chris was a big mystery. The romance was a very slow build, there is no smut in this book at all, just kissing (pecks too, no tongue) so this was very wholesome. Maybe it’s me, but the relationship development was lacking. A couple of pecks and only a small amount of time spent together and Chris was declaring his love. It was very jarring and took the slow burn to insta love in a half second. I didn’t really believe these two to be in love, more just in the beginnings of their relationship. It would have been ok if the author had just left it without love for now and shown this as a novella with a meet cute and attraction. Still the story ended in a HFN and a tiny epilogue that was unsatisfying. So cute little English read, giving cozy Christmas vibes, but the love story was very bland.
I liked book one a bit better, but book two is Chris and Freya's story. Freya is a vet who has split up with her fiancée and is trying to get her bearings. Chris runs an animal sanctuary and is a bit of a Christmas hater. It was a bit too insta love and didn't feel genuine to me. But still cute.
Such an adorable sweet small town romance full of characters I genuinely feel that I know!
Imagine being able to say that you met your partner when they crashed into you? It’s just beyond cute and I ate it all up 🥰
As the series goes on and we get to see ALLLL the characters again I am growing closer to each one especially Elsie. Her side story with Ian growing and growing slowly I hope they have the most intense slow burn romance right at the end to pull all the stories together 😍
These books are like having a big hug from someone who comforts you and I could read them all day long.
I read this book the second in the series and really enjoyed it. I wish I could go on to read the third one now but it won’t be released until later in the year. I recommend these books for a pleasant read.
This fun, heartwarming read picks up where Escape to the Cornish Bakery ends with the story of the girl whose suitcase bursts open. Ms. Hope has created a community every reader will want to belong to.
This particular story is from the viewpoint of Freya. After dating and then moving in together into a home Freya and I-honestly-don’t-remember-his-name buy a house together that takes them 7 years to renovate, the two decide to part/breakup. They had also been engaged and the wedding was to occur on Christmas Eve. However, until the house could sell, Freya and her ex lived together. This goes on several months when eventually “what’s his name?” begins dating someone else. Yes, Freya watched as her ex whom she used to love began falling for someone else. Freya needs to get away for a few weeks, so she hops on a bus to volunteer at Elsie’s bakery for a bit while she waits for her ex-with-no-regard-to-Freya’s-feelings to pay her for her half of their house…the house that will soon be inhabited by the new girlfriend. Freya’s first day on the job at the bakery goes horribly wrong when she backs the company truck into a grump named Chris. He is understandably angry and irritable as he approaches Freya; however, his attitude quickly changed to a softy after only a few days spent with Freya. Yes this series is predictable as far as what will happen with what people, but it’s still super sweet and innocent and pure. If you love love, you’ll love this series. There is one mystery and that is the one about the Lighthouse keeper Ian - Although he does confide in Freya and the reader who he has loved for decades, the love interest 1. doesn’t know how he feels about her, 2. knows but doesn’t feel the same towards him, 3. loves him but doesn’t want to tell him because a fear of being rejected or fear of ruining their friendship, or 4. will be with Ian as one of the main two characters pairing together in one of the future books in this series.
Amazing book and perfect for this series, both the protagonists were beautifully written and their romance was so subtle and to be honest as we knew it's their story they would fall in love but if it's not the case then we wouldn't have known there was romance in between them. To most of the readers this would have been a problem, but I see this as good writing and what I think is in order to get a good love story you don't have to force feed romance between the characters. It should emanate from the writing and the conversations.
Eager for the next book and this one is definitely recommended. One problem is if the male or the female lead in every book comes to work as a volunteer for the bakery I am afraid that it becomes repetitive. Let's see how the series goes.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Another beautiful book which was a quick easy read. My only issue was that this story, despite having different characters, felt almost identical to the first in terms of the plot and development of their relationship. I think because of this I could assume what was going to happen before it did, which unfortunately spoiled it for me just a little. I will continue to read this series though as I am intrigued to see who turns up next. Overall the writing is lovely and I am a big fan of the Cornish Bakery!
I love that everyone in the village is so lovely and will go out of their way to help one another. I love that both Book 1 and Book 2 finish with the theme of helping the next person in a way.
These books are nice,friendly and heartwarming. Elsie is like a fairy godmother, ready to help anyone in need. The bakery is a family and they will include the lost and lonely, in to their family group.
A good story but marred by unrealistic art sale. Both timing and art price were off. I don’t see how any village member could offer that kind of money for a painting, let alone 20 or more. Fiction is fiction, but to my mind it should be believable.
A stellar cast, well written, imagination catching and a gorgeous setting. Add it together and it’s a wonderful experience. I wish they had a place like this in the USA, I could use a little working vacation!
The characters were very loving and fun. There was such great respect and love of community. Every friend was like family and treated as such. The romance was awesome. I enjoyed this book from start to finish.
I liked the way the first book blended right in with this one. Quick reads with enjoyable characters & feel good story lines. Wasn't planning to, but will have to read the next in this series starting now.
This story felt a little rushed and I didn’t quite get much of the development of Chris’s character. He could have done with a bit more I think. However it was lovely returning back to the Cornish Bakery.
The second in this series didn't disappoint. Loved the nice warm feel of this story, great escapism. If only life was a little like this village in Cornwall.
It was a story you could pick up and put down if you needed to. I got caught up quickly in this story. It’s delightful and a perfect book to relax with on vacation