Book Review - Summer at the Ice Cream Cafe by Jo Thomas - Blog Tour

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Title: Summer at the Ice Cream Cafe

Author: Jo Thomas

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Transworld Digital

Publication Date: 27th April 2023

Rating: 5 Stars

A dream home

Beca Valentino is ready to escape the city. When she sees the perfect house for sale in her hometown, it seems like fate. Is this her chance to build the foster family she dreams of, on the beautiful Pembrokeshire coast?

A big mistake?

Returning home isn't as easy as she thought, however. Her family's beloved ice cream café is gone - turned into a soulless wine bar by her hateful ex-boyfriend. Reconnecting with her oldest friend, fisherman Griff, isn't straightforward either. And when, instead of the children she expected to take in, two wary teenage boys appear on her doorstep, Beca fears she's made a terrible mistake.

A recipe for change

But an old family recipe book is just the inspiration she needs. Soon, with a little help from friends old and new, Beca is selling mouth-watering homemade gelato from a pop-up café on the beach.

Then disaster strikes. Will the Valentino family legacy be lost forever? Or can Beca create a new recipe for happiness?

I'm craving an ice-cream, sorry Beca, I definitely mean a gelato! I'm rather envious of all the delicious sounding gelatos that were present in this story. 

For the queen of the foodie romance is back with another hit book, that I devoured in about a day. I was finding any excuse to pick up my kindle to keep reading this story. I was hooked. 

And what a fabulous book this is and I especially loved getting to know the two children Beca is respite fostering, Blake and Joe.  As their placement went on, seeing them come into their own, was just a lovely thing to experience and be able to watch. 

This is a gorgeous summery read, that had me longing for days by the sea, and walking along the beach with an ice-cream.  The town just sounded so idyllic, give or take the fact that Beca is struggling to find her place in her hometown, as she is no longer regarded as a local, she's not a second homer, or a tourist, but is back for good, with intentions that it takes a while to win others over with. 

And she of course has run ins with her old boyfriend, but also reconnects with her best friend.  What is clear from the story is that things never stay the same, as is evidenced by what became of Valentino's which was her family gelateria. 

There is just so much to love with this book, and Jo Thomas was come up trumps with this novel. It's deliciously fantastic, and it even made me want to visit Wales, which given I tend to prefer a foreign holiday, is a feat in itself. 

Just brilliant. 

Thank you to Transworld and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.