Return to the Comfort Food Cafe for the wedding of the year!
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.
Review: This is the sixth, and, sadly, the last book from Debbie Johnson about the Comfort Food Cafe, a wondrous establishment set high above the sea in the Dorset town of Budbury. I have read all of these stories and have very much enjoyed getting to know the cafe, its proprietors and customers, the town, and the newcomers arriving with each book and staying after falling under its spell. Although I am truly sad not to be able to look forward to any more novels in this series, I am sure that Debbie will still be skilfully entertaining us with subsequent books, and look forward to them.
This story is told from the point of view of Auburn, daughter of Lynnie, one of the older inhabitants of the town. Along with sister Willow and brother Van, Auburn combines her work as the local pharmacist with looking after Lynnie, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. She has recently found a romantic interest in the shape of Finn, a Danish man who has come to the town to oversee the local school for supremely clever and inventive young people. At the start of the story, Auburn is attending a meeting of the local ladies who are holding a combined baby shower and hen do for Laura, who is expecting twins and getting married, both in the near future. The fun and laughter turn to shock following a revelation from Auburn. This secret, previously unknown even to her family, could have wide-ranging implications; in fact, its effects on her relationship with Finn are felt throughout the book. At the same time as Auburn is struggling with her personal problems, life is continuing in Budbury, with Cherie serving up delicious food in the cafe and generally looking after the community, the teenagers growing up and relationships forged in previous books thriving. The question is: how will it all pan out for Auburn?
I have loved every one of the tales from the Comfort Food Cafe series, but I think this might be my favourite. As always, I devoured the book in just a couple of sittings, laughing and crying my way through its pages as events in the town unfolded. The dilemma that Auburn faced and the need to rake over her past were heart rending. These worries were partially balanced by the humour in other situations and the description of the quite magnificent wedding that took place in the cafe part way through the book. I was pleased that Debbie Johnson softened the blow of having to leave the Comfort Food Cafe and the residents of Budbury by giving the reader her thoughts on what each of her characters might be doing in the future; nonetheless, I shall miss them. As you might guess, I wholeheartedly recommend this book to one and all. It can perfectly well be read as a stand-alone, but I’m sure if it is your first visit to Budbury, you will want to go back and read the previous books as well.
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