Book Review: Summer at Little Beach Street Bakery, by Jenny Colgan

Summer has arrived in the Cornish town of Mount Polbearne and Polly Waterford couldn’t be happier. Because Polly is in love: she’s in love with the beautiful seaside town she calls home, she’s in love with running the bakery on Beach Street, and she’s in love with her boyfriend, Huckle.

And yet there’s something unsettling about the gentle summer breeze that’s floating through town. Selina, recently widowed, hopes that moving to Mount Polbearne will ease her grief, but Polly has a secret that could destroy her friend’s fragile recovery. Responsibilities that Huckle thought he’d left behind are back and Polly finds it hard to cope with his increasingly long periods of absence.

Polly sifts flour, kneads dough and bakes bread, but nothing can calm the storm she knows is coming: is Polly about to lose everything she loves?

***

I honestly don’t think words can fully express my excitement when I saw that Jenny Colgan had written a sequel to Little Beach Street Bakery, so huge thanks go to Sphere for providing me with a review copy via Netgalley.

While I’m sure this still reads as a lovely book on its own, I really, really must implore you to read Little Beach Street Bakery first. It’ll make the world of difference. So, if you haven’t, then go read my review here and get yourself reading that at once! (You’ll thank me later!)

I was so thrilled to catch up with Polly, Huckle and my beloved Neil once more, as well as all the other lovely folk of Polbearne. I honestly had no idea where Jenny Colgan was going to go with this book when I started, as the original had such a well-rounded ending, but she really has outdone herself yet again.

Huckle and Polly (and Neil) have moved into the lighthouse on Mount Polbearne – seriously cool – and are quite content. However, things aren’t to stay that way, and suddenly Polly finds herself scared she could lose everything dear to her. It’s difficult to write this review, as the blurb doesn’t reveal much and I think it’s best kept that way, but I can assure you that you’re in for a treat as you accompany Polly through her journey to keep her life on track. Polly is such a hard-working, determined and positive character, I was rooting for her so hard, and genuinely felt her pain when I could see the cracks coming through her determined attitude.

I was also pleased to be re-united with other familiar characters such as Kerensa, Reuben, Jayden and Archie, and there were some great side stories, which complemented the main plot wonderfully.

This book certainly whips up a storm of emotions, and I think Jenny has given us a perfect continuation of Polly’s story. There’s even an extra treat at the end of the book in the form of a few delicious sounding recipes, which I definitely plan to try out soon!

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