Sometimes There Isn’t a Body in the Library, The Sugar and Spice Bookshop Bakery Reviewed

 

Confession time. When I see the word “cozy” in a book description, my brain automatically fills in the second word: mystery. Cozy mystery. An amateur sleuth, an eccentric village, a body in the library, and perhaps a cat with an uncanny ability to sniff out clues.

So when I downloaded The Sugar and Spice Bookshop Bakery by Jennifer Page, I somehow managed to skip right over the word 'romance.' Imagine my surprise when, several chapters in, no one had been murdered. Not even a little. Fortunately, by then I was enjoying myself too much to care.

 The story follows Louise Dearnley, who returns to her Yorkshire hometown after walking away from the life she thought she wanted. After years of editing fictional happy endings, she’s suddenly faced with writing a new chapter for herself. It’s a lovely premise, and Jennifer Page handles Louise’s journey with warmth, humor, and just enough emotion to keep it from becoming overly sentimental.

 Now, if you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time, you know I have a weakness for quaint English villages. Throw in a bakery, a bookshop, the smell of fresh scones and ginger cake, and I’m pretty much sold before chapter two. Applethwaite is exactly the sort of place that makes you wish Google Maps would suddenly announce, “You’ve arrived.”

The townspeople are delightfully quirky, but my absolute favorites were the GMG, the self-appointed “geriatric mean girls.” Every small town seems to have a group like them, although most aren’t nearly as entertaining. They added just the right amount of mischief and made me laugh more than once.

 I also loved the relationships that developed throughout the story. The found-family aspect was beautifully done, especially Louise’s growing relationship with her ex-stepdaughter. Those moments felt genuine and heartfelt and, for me, were every bit as satisfying as the romance.

Speaking of the romance…This is where my opinion wandered off the Hallmark path just a bit. If you're someone who never misses a Hallmark movie, you'll probably adore this book. It has all the ingredients: charming small town, handsome Italian love interest, adorable bakery, second chances, and enough warm fuzzies to knit a sweater. I'm...not exactly Hallmark's target audience. While I liked the romance well enough, I found parts of it a little cheesy and occasionally repetitive. There was also one ongoing story line that seemed to overstay its welcome. You know the one I'm talking about if you've read the book. “Okay...we've been teased enough about this. Tell us what happened.” Even so, those are relatively minor quibbles. The real test for me is always one simple question: Did I want to keep reading? Absolutely. In fact, I was nearly halfway through before I realized how much time had passed. That's usually the best compliment I can give a book. It quietly pulled me in and never let go.

So, while The Sugar and Spice Bookshop Bakery wasn’t the cozy mystery I thought I was picking up, it turned out to be a thoroughly enjoyable cozy romance about second chances, finding your footing after life throws you a curveball, and discovering that sometimes home is the very place you thought you’d left behind. And honestly? A bakery and a bookshop under one roof may be almost as irresistible as a good mystery. Almost.

My Rating: ★★★★☆ (4 out of 5 stars)

If Hallmark movies are your cup of tea, you’ll probably fall head over heels for this one. If, like me, you’re more inclined toward murder than matchmaking, don’t let that stop you. You might just find yourself pleasantly surprised.

 You can get a copy here.

 Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for providing me with an advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

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