REVIEW: I Heart Hawaii - Lindsey Kelk

Available Here

Join Angela and Jenny in the series finale of the bestselling I Heart books…

When Angela Clark’s best friend Jenny invites her to join a press trip to Hawaii, three days of sun, sea and sleep sounds like the perfect antidote to her crazed life.
 
At work in New York, she’s supposed to be the face of Having It All. But the only thing Angela feels she excels at is hiding in the printer cupboard, eating Mini Cheddars and watching Netflix on her phone and if this is living the dream, she's more than ready to wake up.
 
A few days away with Jenny sounds like exactly what she needs but Angela’s talent for getting into a scrape guarantees nothing goes to plan – and not even the most beautiful beaches, blue skies and daiquiris will get her off the hook…

My Review:

Ten years – I can barely believe it! I’ve loved this series of books from the moment I got my hands on I heart New York (I got my first, very original copy with a magazine, can anyone remember which it was?) But I was hooked and an instant Lindsey Kelk fan.

I know many of us feel so invested in Angela and friends, and to think this would all be over with this book was truly a saddening moment, but I knew that Lindsey would do it in style and we’d have fun and adventure in I heart Hawaii. As it comes to endings, I think this book gave us the perfect one, very emotional, like a rollercoaster of feelings. From the prologue, where I was pretty concerned and quite upset if I’m honest, to the final ‘The End,’ I heart Hawaii gave my hardened heart a battering.

I’ve always loved the mixed bag of characters ‘I heart...’ gives us and Angela is one of my favourite characters ever- funny, loving, spirited and well just blooming ace. Jenny, well there aren’t really words to describe her sass and epic coolness, we could all do with being a little bit Lopez. Alex is the epitome of leading men, he’s gorgeous, a cool superstar and just the right person to balance Angela. Tip of the iceberg with great characters though. After all they have been through, all the characters have matured over the series and yet they are still the same characters we fell in love with. How I wish I could be in their friendship group!

I loved that other characters from some of Lindsey’s books popped up in I heart Hawaii; with this being the destination I hoped there would be a little crossover from another series, and I was not disappointed. I did also like the references to other authors’ characters too. See if you can find them 😉

I Heart Hawaii finds Angela trying to juggle motherhood with a new job, then the guilt at leaving baby Alice with Alex for 5 days while she heads off to basically unwind and have fun. I believe we see Angela at her very best in this book – motherhood is suiting her but it’s nice we get a glimpse of the Angela we all love so well when she goes to Hawaii.

As with any I heart book, this is full of fun and adventure. There are some hilarious scenes (the horses!!), real laugh out loud moments and everything we expect from this bunch of characters but, as with every one of the books, it includes some sensitive, serious, heart-warming moments, that show the depth and strength of true friendship.

I have always enjoyed Lindsey’s writing style, chatty and animated and naturally very funny; she can evoke emotion at just the perfect moment though so watch out for surprise tears. The books are easy to read but that never takes anything away from the wonderful stories being told. I read I Heart Hawaii in a few hours – mainly because I couldn’t put it down, I wanted to see how it would end yet I never wanted it too either.

If you haven’t read any of the I Heart series, then I would suggest going back and reading the others before this one simply because THEY ARE BRILLIANT! I’m sure it could work as a standalone book but it’s hard to tell when you’re already so involved with them isn’t it?!

I don’t want to spoil or lead anyone in any direction with the review, so I don’t really want to say too much about what happens. I think people need to go into this without knowing what will happen at all. I will say it’s a beautiful end to an incredible series.  

Thank you, Lindsey Kelk, for creating wonderful stories with great characters that we have grown to love like our own friends. Although it’s hard to know we won’t get any more ‘I heart’ books I’m sure we can all imagine what they’re all getting up in the future.  Great things must come to an end (*cries*) but I know Lindsey will have brilliant things for us in future.

Anyone for an ‘I heart’ film or TV series?

Comfy Rating:

👍👍👍👍👍

Meeting the lovely Lindsey with  the equally wonderful Paige Toon - 01/06/2019

The Little Cafe at the End of the Pier - Helen J Rolfe

Available Here 

Goodreads Blurb:

When Jo's beloved grandparents ask for her help in running their little café at the end of the pier in Salthaven-on-Sea she jumps at the chance.

The café is a hub for many people: the single dad who brings his little boy in on a Saturday morning; the lady who sits alone and stares out to sea; the woman who pops in after her morning run.

Jo soon realises that each of her customers is looking for love  and she goes about setting each of them up on blind dates - each date is held in the café, with a special menu she has designed for the occasion. But Jo has never found love herself. She always held her grandparents' marriage up as her ideal and she hasn't found anything close to that. But could it be that love is right under her nose...?

A quick note:

A Year at the Café at the End of the Pier is the collected Café at the End of the Pier novellas. If you have already read and enjoyed the novellas then you have already read A Year at the Café at the End of the Pier.

My Review:

Rather ashamedly I admit this was my first book from the always lovely Helen (@HJRolfe) but it definitely will not be my last.

When Molly and Arthur realise they need a change of pace, they ask granddaughter Jo to come back to Salthaven-on-Sea and help run the cafe. The book takes us through her first year of running the much loved, community focal point and chronicles the ups and downs of not only Jo's life but also of the friends and regulars at the café.

We see Jo struggle initially - a complete change of pace to her former life of being a teacher, it seems that she may have bitten off more than she can chew. Her fears and doubts are increased by the less than enthusiastic insistence from her Mother that she is wasting her life back in Salthaven. This is all Jo needs to fuel her determination and she sets out to prove her wrong.

As we go through the seasons and special occasions of this first year, we see Jo's character bloom and grow in confidence, this in turn is reflected in the success of the café. I loved Jo's attempts at playing Cupid - she seriously seems to have a knack for match-making. Jo soon realises that she herself has a secret admirer and I for one was as stumped as Jo at who it could be.

I loved the mystery of who had fallen for Jo- as I thought all of the characters set up as potential love interests could have been great matches for her. I couldn't figure out which man it would be - even right to the last few pages and I love that I was kept guessing. I was definitely happy with the end result though (for Jo and for other characters involved).

A great cast of characters with their own little stories created a real sense of community, I loved their individual personalities and what they all added to the book. Written with wonderful detail, including some absolutely mouth watering food descriptions, this book was a real pleasure to read, fun and full of emotion and suspense.

I would highly recommend The Little Café at the End of the Pier for a cosy, snuggle up and binge read book. I look forward to catching up on more by Helen J Rolfe too. 

Comfy Rating:

👍👍👍👍👍

A Wedding at The Comfort Food Cafe - Debbie Johnson

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Goodreads Blurb:

Wedding bells ring out in Budbury as the Comfort Food Café and its cosy community of regulars are gearing up for a big celebration…

But Auburn Longville doesn’t have time for that! Between caring for her poorly mum, moving in with her sister and running the local pharmacy, life is busy enough – and it’s about to get busier. Chaos arrives in the form of a figure from her past putting her quaint village life and new relationship with gorgeous Finn Jensen in jeopardy. It’s time for Auburn to face up to some life changing decisions.

Settle in for a slice of wedding cake at the Comfort Food Café – a place where friendships are made for life and nobody ever wants to leave.

My Review:

I LOVE this series of books. The Comfort Food Cafe has brought me, as a reader, so much joy. What wonderful, feel good stories, warm, lovable characters and a wicked sense of fun and friendship - we have been spoiled with these books and feel part of that much loved community so, it's only right  to feel a sense of grief creeping in knowing that this is our last visit.

And what a flourishing finale it is! I was hooked from the off - which isn't unusual, you can always count on Debbie for a cosy, engulfing hug of a book. I enjoy how we always get to focus on one of our much loved residents whilst still revisiting the lives of other characters.

Auburn, the former wild child, has seemingly settled in Budbury, found love with Finn and is almost at a place where she'd agree her life was going well. With shock revelations and a visitor that sends Auburn right back to the wild, reckless days she thought she'd moved on from, we see how she distances herself from the wonderful Finn, she contemplates how her life could be moving forwards and we see her as she starts to question her choices, is it too hard in Budbury and should she give in to the temptation  being offered?
 

This book is everything we would expect from the Comfort Food Cafe - friendship, love, community. Everyone in place to support each other and welcome new additions - whether they end up being for the good of our favourite characters or not.  I love how all of the characters have their own little back story and how it's interwoven into this one too.

Although it is the last in a series of books it works well as a stand alone, but I urge anyone to read the other books too because they are just as good as this.

A fantastic read to cosy up with, a gorgeous binge read or perfect for a holiday book.

Thank you to Debbie Johnson, Netgalley and Harper Impulse and Killer Reads for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. 

Comfy Rating: 👍👍👍👍👍

A Wedding at The Comfort Food Cafe is out 7th March 2019.. 

Check out the review I posted for ' A Gift from The Comfort Food Cafe' by Debbie Johnson.