Christmas At The Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan

My first festive read of the year and it certainly ticked all the festive boxes.  Lots of twinkly lights and frosty mornings, even a dramatic storm or two on the coast.  Throw in some dramatic set pieces for Polly and Kerensa and this should have been a delicious start to the festive season.  Should have been but fell slightly wide of the mark.

Maybe it is because I am new to these characters and have not got to know them through the earlier Mount Polbearn books.  Maybe it is because I am beginning to grow weary of Cornwall as a setting - it really does feel like every other book is set there over the last couple of years.  Maybe it is because the most entertaining and relatable character is a bizarrely named anthropomorphised puffin.

Despite having given this three stars when I finished reading the book a couple of weeks ago I am now beginning to wonder why I rated it so "highly".  In retrospect all I can remember of the storyline is the ridiculous and contrived situations that Kerensa and Polly get themselves in to; the horrendous Reuben character that I am sure people only tolerate because he is not shy in sharing his ridiculous amounts of wealth and the doormat that is Huckle (honestly, where do these names come from?)

I usually enjoy Ms Colgan's novels but this one did leave a sour taste in my mouth and has made me wonder whether or not to continue exploring her back and future catalogue.  There was enough festive fun to keep me entertained and I obviously enjoyed enough of the book to give it 3 stars, I'm just wondering why as I think back to the story and all I can remember are things that irritated me.  Definitely not the author's finest.