Friday 5 October 2018

Book Review - Christmas Cakes & Mistletoe Nights by Carole Matthews

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Title: Christmas Cakes & Mistletoe Nights 
Author: Carole Matthews
Format reviewed: Paperback
Source: Publisher supplied review copy
Publisher: Sphere
Publication Date: 4th October 2018
Rating: 5 Stars


Fay and Danny are madly in love and it's all Fay's ever dreamed of. But she left everything - including the delightful cake shop she used to run - to be with Danny on his cosy canal boat The Dreamcatcher. And as she soon finds out, making delicious cakes on the water isn't always smooth sailing!

Then Fay gets a call from her friends, a call that sends her back to her friends and the Cake Shop in the Garden. It will be hard being away from Danny but their relationship is strong enough to survive . . . isn't it?

Fay soon falls happily back in love with her passion for baking - especially now she's on dry land again! - and starts to wonder if she ever should have left. With Christmas around the corner, Fay is determined that her friends will have a very merry time, but does that mean even more time away from Danny? Can Fay really get everything she ever wanted in Christmas Cakes & Mistletoe Nights.

It is always a treat to sit down and read a new Christmas Carole Matthews book, and within pages I knew I was in for another wonderful book from one of my all time favourite authors. 

If you are a fan of Carole Matthews, then you will recognise Fay and Danny instantly from The Cake Shop in the Garden, but if you haven't read it, then don't panic, this can easily be read as a standalone too.  In fact took me a short while to really remember the characters, and was so pleased to be able to spend more time with them all. 

This starts at what looks to be a nice gentle book, picking up after the other left off, with everything seemingly going well and being all hunky dory with Fay and Danny.  But after one phone call everything changes and the course of the book changes and turns into a completely riveting read. 

There is a brand new main character who is like a breath of fresh air, a non stop bundle of energy who never stops talking. She rambles on about all manner of topics, often including what her nan says and her enthusiasm for all things Christmas know no bounds. 

I loved the thought of Rainbow,  going over to Stan who is 93, and making him watch Muppet's Christmas Carol in fluffy socks!  And that is just one example of the the way she brings a huge ray of sunshine into this book. 

Lija is as prickly as ever, seems pleased to see Fay but is the character who probably goes the the wringer the most in this book - as she is hiding something important from when we last saw her, and the weather means the house and cafe is at threat.

There is even the return of Fay's not so lovely sister, and she is the nightmare I recall her to be from the first boko, although I did almost feel sorry for her at times. 

This is definitely a book that will make you hungry for cake, as you hear about all the delicious tasty treats being baked in the cafe. 

Plenty of action in this book and I was almost in tears of happiness towards the ending.  I do hope though that there will be another book featuring these characters in the future as I would love to know how they get on after the last page! 

 A delightful story that has left me smiling and had me devouring the pages every space second I had. 

Thank you to Millie Seaward at Sphere for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily. 

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