The Cafe by the Sea by Jenny Colgan is an adult fictional novel about a woman who finds herself by going home. Flora McKenzie fled to London from her small Scottish home on the Island of Mure. In London, Flora can escape the past that haunts her and escape into the anonymity of the city.
When her job takes her back to Mure, Flora must face all she left behind. The failing farm, with it’s memories of her mother, her messy father and three older brothers. The small town faces with their long memories of how Flora left and why. And on top of all that she’s travelling with her boss, who is kind of an ass and whom she is utterly in love with.
Can Flora find her way home again? Restore her communities faith in her? And find happiness in the life she chooses?
The Cafe by the Sea combines all the best of Colgan–food, family, beautiful scenery and a story line that is fairly light and fluffy, with a little love thrown in. Colgan is one of those authors you read when you need a palette cleanser from your usual genre and are just looking for a light read. And in this Colgan delivers.
When I first started this one, I sort of groaned because the narration really bugged me, especially in audio. It starts off with almost as if we are looking down on Flora and can see straight into her mind. An omniscient narrator but not quite a third person one. I was worried the whole story would tell me what the characters were feeling rather than show me, but two chapters in the narration changes.
As in most of Colgan’s novels there is a mini love triangle. Flora, her unrequited love, Joel and the hometown local, Charlie. Without giving anything away, I thought we were pulled between these two men but then, poof, one of them gets solved without much fuss. Seemed a little like a cop out to me. I understand wanting to keep the story light but the way the attraction tied up so neatly didn’t seem super realistic to me.
Other than the two points I mentioned, this was a good read. It sucked me in, kept me entertained and was just a light read that makes you feel good. Colgan always makes me want to travel to the places her books are set. This one gets 3 stars from me. A good read but compared to some of her other books, not my favorite.
That’s all for now!
-M-
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