Christmas at Little Beach Street Bakery

Jenny Colgan novels are always a wonderful thing to delve into, like comfort food in book form they are warm and reassuring and wonderfully fulfilling. Add to that the joy of the festive novels she has added to each of her series of favourite characters and it makes for a magical combination.

I have been following the story of Polly and her little Cornish bakery, her boyfriend Huckle and their puffin Neil since the series began a few years ago now. This third book in the series,Christmas at the Beach Street Bakery is our opportunity to spend the Christmas season on Mount Polbearn with all of the characters we have come to know and love over the previous two books. It is clear from the outset of the book that all is not going to go to plan this festive season as the books initial chapters take place approximately 8 months prior to Christmas and set up the major story line for the rest of the book, once the scene has been set we are catapulted forward to the weeks leading up to Christmas and join Polly.

Polly is still living in her run down lighthouse with Huckle and running her little bakery empire on the island, she is stressing however as she makes plans for the festive season ensuring that she lets no one down whilst ensuring she caters for the Christmas fair and her friend Reuben's various relatives visits from America. Her best friend has a huge secret that Polly finds herself drawn into the middle of and this one seems to be set to tear her and Huckle apart.

I had been struggling to find a book that I could get lost in, I'd been through a difficult few weeks personally with a brief stay in hospital and I really needed a book to lift my spirits and help get me in that warm fuzzy mood that we should all enjoy before the madness of Christmas begins to kick in and the exhaustion of it all takes over. This book helped me do that perfectly. It was the perfect story to curl up with on the sofa with a big hot chocolate, the only thing missing was some of Polly's lovely baking to go along with them.

It's ending was delightful and whilst I hope this isn't the end of Polly's story it was eminently satisfying and a fitting place to leave our heroine, pottering around her kitchen whilst all is good with the world and the two men in her life are nearby.