Welcome to the cosy Comfort Food Café, where there's kindness in every cup of hot chocolate and the menu is sprinkled with love and happiness…
Moving to the little village of Budbury, Zoe hopes the crisp Dorset sea breeze and gentle pace of life will be a fresh start for her and her goddaughter, Martha.
Luckily for them both, the friendly community at the café provide listening ears, sage advice, shoulders to cry on, and some truly excellent carrot cake. And when Martha's enigmatic, absent father suddenly turns up, confusing not only Martha but Zoe too, the love and support of their new-found friends is the best present they could ask for.
Have Zoe and Martha truly found their home at the Comfort Food Café?
Review: How nice to be returning to the lovely Comfort Food Cafe, and for a Christmas story to boot. I have read and enjoyed all the books in this series, and was delighted at the prospect of revisiting the cafe and all the inhabitants of the Dorset village of Budbury, where this unusual eatery is set high above the sea. For those who haven't read the previous stories, just the amazing cover should be enough to entice them; it absolutely oozes Christmas charm and invites the viewer into the warmth imagined within the cafe.
The newcomers to the village in this tale are Zoe and her teenage goddaughter, Martha. Zoe is feeling out of her depth trying to look after her rebellious charge and hopes that a move away from their home environment may be the answer. How lucky that she decides to relocate to Budbury, where the healing powers of the Comfort Food Cafe and the somewhat zany villagers could just be their salvation. How lucky as well that Martha's father, Cal, who she has never met, also arrives on the scene.
As with all the other books in this series, I have really enjoyed the mix of characters and the amazing setting described by the author in this story. The usual Debbie Johnson humour is present, as well as some quite heart-rending moments. So, tissues at the ready for tears of laughter as well as sadness. Although the book can be read as a standalone, I would heartily recommend reading them all in sequence. It has been wonderful watching the characters develop and learning more about them with each consecutive addition to the series. I always find it a real pleasure to return to Budbury and find out how everyone is faring. If only it were a real village; I would be moving there tomorrow.
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