Christmas Cakes And Mistletoe Nights by Carole Matthews

3.5 Stars

From the outset it was clear that these are characters we are supposed to know, Fay in particular felt like she had a backstory that I was expected to already know.  As things unfolded it became clear that this is a follow up to a previous book that no doubt ended with Fay and Danny sailing off in to the sunset together on his narrowboat.  Fortunately, despite the numerous back references to events, characters and locations from the previous novel this did not spoil my enjoyment of this one at all.  In fact, so numerous are the recaps that if you have read the origin story then you may find sections of this book somewhat monotonous.

There is a good dollop of realism to all the characters in the book and whilst not quite "warts and all" portrayals of people they do show that even the nicest of us can have dark little corners that we don't like people poking in.  The only character that somewhat annoyed me was the Eastern European? lady that had taken over the house and the cake shop/cafe (sorry her name eludes me but I did finish the book 11 days ago) and the reason she annoys me is that she is the only character in the book that doesn't seem to have more than two dimensions to her - either foul mouthed and bad tempered or self-loathing.

The tale itself is actually quite a charming one of later-life love, rather than your 20-something perfect romantic vision, with all the baggage that getting older brings.  I was particularly charmed to read that when disaster struck during the Great Storm things didn't get magically rectified, they just patched things as best they could so that business could resume in the hope that they would be able to do full repairs later - I know that feeling all too well.

A heart warming tale told at a gentle pace that didn't set my imagination on fire but did give the warm and cosy Christmas feeling I was looking for.