Jenny Colgan is the author of numerous bestselling novels, including 'The Little Shop of Happy Ever After' and 'Summer at the Little Beach Street Bakery', which are also published by Sphere.' Meet Me at the Cupcake Caf茅' won the 2012 Melissa Nathan Award for Comedy Romance and was a Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller, as was 'Welcome to Rosie Hopkins' Sweetshop of Dreams', which won the RNA Romantic Novel of the Year Award 2013.
For more about Jenny, visit her website and her Facebook page, or follow her on Twitter.
Jenny Colgan has also been published under the name Jenny T. Colgan.
Aw man, I wish I hadn鈥檛 read this. It鈥檚 kind of besmirched the nice memories of the first Cupcake Caf茅 book which, to my surprise, I enjoyed immensely. All the love and hard work Colgan put into her characters first time around, she completely negated with this: sparkly, straight-talking Helena becomes an insufferable baby bore; adorable Austin becomes predictably and stupidly inveigled in a near-affair with a perky American waitress; Caroline remains the hard-assed bitch she was before, only with less of a sense of humour.
And what鈥檚 with emphasising the hugeness of culinary implements in the USA by comparing them all to the size of a head? Fair enough, when describing a sundae glass, but a dinner plate? Aren鈥檛 most dinner plates around the size of a head? And I lost count of how often characters 鈥渞olled their eyes鈥� at various points, but it was a fraction of the number of times I rolled mine at the banal dialogue, incessant clich茅s, unbelievable bad-ness of it all.
Seriously trying to one鈥檚 patience and not conducive to stoking my Christmas spirit whatsoever.
Got cupcakes? Issy Randall does! She bakes them fresh every day at her London bakery, the Cupcake Caf茅. Now that the Christmas season is drawing near, Issy is up to her eyebrows in batter, icing, and stress. That鈥檚 right 鈥� stress! But it鈥檚 not what you鈥檇 expect. She loves her job, her business, and her boyfriend Austin. But in , Issy鈥檚 troubles begin when Austin travels to New York City for an interview for a promotion. Will he be swept off his feet by the big city bigwigs and the glitz and glamour of the Big Apple? If so, what about Issy? Will Austin turn up the heat and push Issy to move to New York? Or will she show Austin that she鈥檚 no cupcake? After all, he can鈥檛 have his cake and eat it too 鈥� can he?
Christmas at the Cupcake Caf茅 is a sequel to . Regrettably, I had not read book one, and I was not familiar with the characters. Since the author does not reintroduce them, it鈥檚 rather like being a newcomer walking into a social gathering where everyone knows everyone else. You just have to pay attention and figure things out as you go along. Unfortunately, I did not find the story all that attractive. It wasn鈥檛 until about the 66% mark that I started to engage and get into the spirit of the story.
I found some of the secondary characters distracting, but I was interested in Austin, his brother Darny, who鈥檚 eleven but seemed older to me, and Issy. The story is mostly told from Issy鈥檚 perspective, which is that she wants to keep her happy little business, her boyfriend, and her happy little life. Does she figure things out? Does she get her way, or does she compromise? All in all, it鈥檚 a decent story, but not one to ooh and ah over. If you like to bake, however, you might enjoy the recipes that are included in each chapter. Having no cupcakes available, I munched on Wheat Thins and Triscuits! Some reviewers have been disappointed in this book; I found it to range from boring to amusing at times, but overall, mildly pleasant.
Having never read a Jenny Colgan book in my life and this being Christmas season, this book seemed like a good option.
But, alas, a good option it was not.
It happens during Christmas, there are lots of Christmas-related recipes, lots of talk about Christmas and the such, but the characters spend most of the time whining and complaining about this or that. Making choices is never easy, but come on! No need for such drama!
I already mentioned the characters so I'm going to say I didn't care for most of them. Issy, the Cupcake Cafe owner, was probably the best, even though most of the whining came from her. Oh, and the crying too. I think Issy spends most of the story crying. Then there was Pearl. Now, I haven't read the first Cupcake Cafe book, so I don't know much about all of the characters' backgrounds, but I did notice Pearl's wasn't mentioned as the others'. So I couldn't really make a picture of Pearl, really. Nor one of her son, Louis. Another difficult characteristic for me, in terms of imagining, was Darny, Austin's eleven year-old brother. Darny could only be a precocious boy, because I doubt any eleven year-old would talk like that. Then Austin, Issy's boyfriend, wasn't as lovely as Colgan tried to picture him. I mean, he just sounded like this completely distracted fellow. The author mentions Issy has to check whether Austin has left the house wearing odd socks!!! I mean, what?! Then we've got Caroline the bitch and Helena, who is trying to raise a small female dictator (a.k.a. her daughter) while her husband gives her his blessings. Character-wise, this is a rather weak book.
What kind of saves it is the background, really: there's a cupcake shop, it's Christmas in London and then in New York. At least there's those things.
I will probably give another chance to Jenny Colgan, but I don't really recommend this book. Unless you're at the doctor's waiting, it's around Christmas time, and this is the only book you have around.
This book picks up a year after the end of Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe. Please don't read since there are spoilers for Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe included in this review.
Issy is finally content, she has an awesome boyfriend in Austin. She loves living with him and working at her cafe with Pearl and Caroline. Though she feels adrift from her best friend Helena since Helena had a baby, she still feels happy about things. And one of the things she loves most of all is celebrating Christmas.
So pretty much everyone in this book sucked in this follow-up. Case in point. I loved the character of Austin in the last book. He found himself attracted to Issy and was also juggling raising his brother Darny. Darny was in essence a jerk. Seriously. Austin seems to let him run wild and when Darny's constant interruptions and just general behavior gets him in trouble at school, no one tells Darny off or grounds him, or pretty much acts like an adult. Instead the book seems to be saying that poor Darny had the right side of things, and us foolish adults don't. Bah.
Austin had a personality transplant and I thought at times he was acting more like Issy's ex. All of a sudden when a job opportunity pops up for him to move to New York, he just acts oblivious for what this means to Issy. And when she and Darny arrive in New York the whole book goes sideways. He acts like a jerk and is annoyed that Issy just doesn't get how great New York is.
Pearl. Oh woo boy. Nope a thousand times nope. It came up in the last book that her son Louis was a little overweight, instead she is still ignoring that and oh yeah still letting her ex come around when he wants to while acting jealous at a love interest who dares to maybe care for someone else. Instead of Pearl being a grown up and saying that she shouldn't put her life on hold for her son in order to maintain the fiction that her ex is not a reliable human being, she keeps up the farce the whole book. I was so mad at how things ended with this character.
The character of Caroline was 100 percent one note and I wish that she had disappeared in this book. I ended up loathing how she was acting and what she was saying to other characters such as Pearl in this one.
And lastly we will get to Issy. I was so upset at how everyone acted like Issy was to give up something to make her happy in order to keep her man. I wanted to kick several characters in this one.
I can say mostly every other character in this book was just not well developed and seemed to pop in and out for scenes and then pop back out.
The writing was not on point in this follow-up. I loved the recipes in the last book. That book had the recipes in a different font and in a frame that kept it from running into the book's text. This one had none of that. So you would go into a chapter and sometimes there would be a recipe and sometimes not. Sometimes the recipe would go on for like two pages, and sometimes not. What made the recipes so special in the last book was the fact that Issy's grandfather sent those to her. These ones were just crammed in there and didn't fit the book.
The flow was off from beginning to end. There were multiple POVs in the last book, but it worked better in that one. This one just jumped from plot to plot and the book would just stutter to a stop anytime we would go from Issy, to Austin, and to Pearl.
There was no specialness in this one as it relates to Issy's neighborhood. And New York, blerg. There was nothing that was in the New York scenes that made me feel all warm and fuzzy about Christmas in New York. Heck I love Christmas books because they usually put me in a Christmas mood. This one does not do that at all.
Es la continuaci贸n de la historia de amor entre Issy y Austin en el libro 鈥淓ncu茅ntrame en el cupcake caf茅鈥� pero puede leer independiente y as铆 lo he hecho ya que no le le铆 el primero. Para 茅ste mes es una novela sencilla, ligerita, con cap铆tulos algo largos pero su trama hace que se lea con rapidez; trasmite el esp铆ritu navide帽o y contiene recetas navide帽as; Esto 煤ltimo a m铆 me dio antojo de comer cupcakes, 鈥渕agdalenas鈥� como aqu铆 se le llama. Por momentos me recordaba a las t铆picas pel铆culas navide帽as de Hollywood y la propia autora cuenta que escribi贸 茅ste libro por nostalgia a los personajes, de hecho, Jenny hace una introducci贸n donde nos explica sobre Issy y Austin; la primera tiene un peque帽o negocio el cual marcha muy bien y est谩 muy enamorada de Austin quien trabaja en el mundo financiero y tiene a su cargo a un hermano que est谩 cerca de la adolescencia. 脡ste tiene una oferta de empleo en Nueva York a la que ir谩 y a partir de aqu铆 las cosas en la pareja se volver谩n complicadas porque Issy queda en Inglaterra. 驴C贸mo seguir谩 la relaci贸n? 驴Austin se dejar谩 coquetear por el mundo de las luces de Nueva York? 驴Preferir谩 a Issy o a su elevado puesto de trabajo? Este libro se centra m谩s en el romance y los problemas de Issy y Austin pero tambi茅n en el "Cupcake caf茅", los ricos dulces que se hornean all铆 y las historias que ocurren entre otros personajes que tienen mucha importancia en la vida de nuestra protagonista, y que querr谩n ver a los dos juntos sabiendo la buena pareja que estos hacen. Es una novela imprevisible ya que hasta el final no sabemos c贸mo terminar谩n las cosas. Lo recomiendo como lectura para 茅sta 茅poca porque tiene todo los ingredientes perfectos para ella: es decir; cupcakes, navidad y una historia de amor. No puedo pedir m谩s. Es un libro de g茅nero chick-lit, en donde se destaca el humor y el amor que hay entre sus p谩ginas. Me lo devor茅 como a los cupcakes (jajaja)
Nastavak romana Vidimo se u Kapkejk kafeu koji i dalje prati Isi, njene prijateljice i momka, te njihove 啪ivote u srtci pred Bo啪i膰. Veoma dobar nastavak, za nijansu lo拧iji od prvog dijela i zbog toga mu dajem 4.5. Svakako preporu膷ujem, divno chick-lit 拧tivo sa divnim bo啪i膰nim receptima za kola膷i膰e.
Het Cupcake Caf茅 vond ik echt heel leuk en had dan ook zin om kerst te vieren met Issy, Pearl, Caroline, Louis, Austin en alle anderen. Maar de kerstsfeer viel tegen. Dat had wel meer mogen zijn. Het was ook geen zoetsappig verhaal, was ik zin in had en wel op rekende. Ik vond de personages allemaal heel negatief en er werd totaal niet gecommuniceerd waardoor alles fout liep. Op het laatst kwam alles soort van goed, maar dan ook echt pas de laatste 2 pagina's, alsof het snel nog even afgerond moest worden.
Het is geen slecht boek en het leest vlot, maar het was anders dan ik had verwacht. Verwacht geen zoetsappig kerstboek en wie weet is dit dan een geweldig boek, net zoals het eerste deel!
A world away from my usual literary fare - I picked this up because I loved the first Cupcake Cafe book. I wish I hadn't bothered. I got 40 pages in before I threw it on the floor - lazy writing in the extreme. For a start, the lovely cast from the first book have turned into a cast of utter miseries.
Issy can't seem to see beyond her nose end in terms of supporting her boyfriend who is actually doing what he's doing to support her (lazy gender stereotyping here: 'oh, look how hopeless Austin was before Issy came along with her penchant for paint, cakes and pretty things).
Darny obviously has issues that require medical intervention of some kind before he does some real damage, but he is made into a cute comedy figure who says amusing things for comic relief.
'Posh' Caroline says to 'Poor' Pearl 'At least I was married when I had a child' - and that is dealt with by 'Pearl and Caroline are not talking'? If someone had said that to me.....lets just say it would have escalated beyond this. Not to mention that this is lazy social stereotyping in the extreme.
And don't even get me started on the best friend - earthy and relatable in the first book, a yummy-mummy nightmare in this book.
Rosie Hopkin's Sweet Shop, also by Colgan, was as godawful as this one which leads me to believe that my liking for the first Cupcake book was a fluke, and I am now officially done with this author.
Why on earth would I want to spend Christmas at the Cupcake Cafe with this lot? I'd rather tear out my eyes.
Having loved 'Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe', I had really high hopes for the sequel. I enjoyed it, definitely, but it lacked the sparkle and charm somehow of the original story. I love the characters but found myself getting frustrated every so often - like when Pearl still stuck with Ben instead of seeing what she could have with Doti even when she knew Ben was up to his old tricks. The story seemed a bit disjointed at times because it was jumping from so many different characters rather than just focusing on what was happening in the Cafe itself.
My other sticking point is - as much as I love Issy and Austin - that Issy chose to leave the cafe. After seeing how hard she worked in book one to get it together and how much it meant to her, that didn't seem right to me. I think - and I can't believe I'm saying this - that I would've preferred them to break up rather than have her give up her dream. Yes, she gets to be manager of a place in New York but manager of one store in a chain is one thing and being owner/manager of the cafe she built up from scratch is another.
All in all, it was an enjoyable read but not one I think I'll be going back to in a hurry, unlike it's predecessor and Ms Colgan's Sweet Shop novel.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Sorry but I found this a very disappointing read. I LOVED the original Cupcake Caf茅 but this book was not for me, it was not festive at all - it was full of angst and anxiety all the way through as the two 'romantic' lead characters spent most of the book arguing and at odds with each other, the rushed 'happy' ending did not make up for this and I actually sped read the second half of the book to get it over with. Also, what happened to Helena???!! I loved her character in the first book but she turned into a completely different person after having a child (very spoilt with a ridiculous name!). Caroline and Pearl antagonise each other without the humour of the original book, wish I had left this story at the first book and not revisited it - this did not get me in the festive spirit at all.
I love the cover, but really disliked this book... The story was so boring and was all about whining and complaining. The characters are very flat and the main character Issy really does not have a selfesteem. She complains about everything and does only what other pleople want her to do. Even though she wants something else. Her love interest Austen treats her pretty badly and only thinks about himself. The two don't communicate... The other characters were just utterly annoying. I only finished this book, because I liked another book writen by Jenny Colgan. Christmas at the Little Beach Street Bakery, if you are looking for a fun Christmas read I do reccomend that one. I just kept waiting for it to become better...
I really love The Cupcake Cafe and all the characters in it! I'm really hoping for at least one more Cupcake Cafe book from Jenny Colgan because there were some storylines left unfinished (Pearl and Caroline).
I wanted to like this book but had such a hard time getting into the story. First of all this is a sequel with no indication that it鈥檚 book #2. So when the book starts with a bunch of memories from the past, I was getting way too confused. Too many characters where thrown in there in the beginning. I just kept spacing out while reading this.
Most of the time they talked about so and so's kids and it was hard for me to relate since I don鈥檛 have any (Cat mom here). I still don鈥檛 even know if Issy has a kid of her own鈥hat鈥檚 how confused I am hahaha.
Some parts were getting interesting with a bit of drama going on between Issy and Austin, but then it was quickly back to the day to day normal life. And I feel like they had a hard time talking to each other. Like SAY WHAT YOU FEEL to each other. I'm all about talking things out asap. And also Austin鈥�.wth are you doing letting other women talk to your girlfriend like that???
I feel bad giving this 2 stars because i'm sure others might like it. It just wasn鈥檛 for me.
#2 (and final) in the Christmas chick lit At the Cupcake Cafe series
This is such a charming, feel-good book. We follow along at Issy's Cupcake Cafe in London, where it's a huge success, just as warm and lovely and successful as she had imagined it. She has everything, she thinks, until boyfriend Austin is offered a huge job in NYC and travels there to be wooed. Issy checks it out too, but she's feeling nervous and unhappy, and things don't go well. We meet Darny a little more (Austin's younger and troublesome 11-year-old brother), as well as the main assistants in the shop--Pearl, her son Louis, and Caroline (the stylish divorcee). Each adds some flavor to the story and the life of the cafe. I loved how good the book made me feel, even when there was conflict and indecision. Life can be messy, but it is also fulfilling and lovely, and the cafe points that out. Colgan writes a wonderful Christmas story, and I enjoyed how much it put me in the mood for the season. HEA between Issy and Austin was inevitable, but I still wasn't sure what would actually happen until almost the last page.
I loved Jenny Colgan's Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe, which is the prequel to Christmas at the Cupcake Cafe. I won it from a giveaway hosted by one of Sphere's publicity managers, and I was so glad I picked it off the catalogue! The thing is, I love baking. Yes, trying out new recipes, the lovely, delicious smell wafting in the air as the yummy cakes cook in the oven. It's heaven. Well, it's hell when you have to clean the mess up, that is.
When I found out about its sequel, I knew I had to get it. But thank God for my job, I could get a review copy! Finally got around to read it, don't ask. Busy schedule, preparation for exams and shitload of assignments. Since I read Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe in April, this year, the story was still fresh in my mind and I could easily pick up the pieces of the story in Christmas at the Cupcake Cafe. But don't panic! Christmas at the Cupcake Cafe could easily stand on its own, if you haven't read its prequel, don't worry. The only thing you're missing is Grandpa Joe and how Issy met Austin.
Christmas at the Cupcake Cafe follows up from where Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe ended, where Issy and Austin are a couple and Issy's cafe is a successful establishment selling the loveliest, daintiest little cakes. Then Austin gets a call to leave for New York, where he is scouted by a top banking firm, and Issy and him are forced to do the long-distance relationship thing. I won't want to give away any more about the book or else Jenny's readers would kill me. That's the thing with Jenny's books, they are lovely little works of art. I admit, the covers are to die for, delightful even! The one thing I loved most about this series is, undoubtedly, Issy Randall.
I loved how Issy carried herself in the book, she's sweet, caring and thoughtful. She's sensitive and sensible. She puts others before her and secretly, I think she'll make a good mum. Master of the kitchen, baker extraordinaire and kindest soul in a home. What's not to love about her? She's a character I'd root for, not only does she bake wonderful cakes but has a big heart! The characters were lovely too, Austin, Issy's boyfriend. He's wonderful and his little brother, Darny with his motormouth, reminds me of myself! Pearl and darling little Louis return in the sequel and also Caroline. Sadly, not Gramps, I miss him though.
Christmas at the Cupcake Cafe has got to be the best Christmas book I've read so far. Don't get your hopes up, Jenny. There are still a few I haven't read but Christmas at the Cupcake Cafe is on top of the list! As if Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe wasn't warm, fun and delightful enough, Jenny decided to add more to the mix - NEW YORK! Amazing setting, as the book was set between London and New York, at Christmas time! Isn't that the best feeling you get when you read a festive novel?
I'm glad to say Christmas at the Cupcake Cafe was a wonderful read, I loved the characters and I enjoyed the recipes in the book which I'm dying to try, if only my exam would zoom by quicker. Snap. It's next week, but the sooner it ends, the sooner I could read more chick lit and bake all I want! Warm as the brownies you bake and light and fluffy as the little angel cakes/cupcakes you love. Perfect for you if you love your book with a cup of hot chocolate and a delicious, light cake.
Feeling ready for a bit of festive, fun, feel good fiction? Christmas at the Cupcake Caf茅 by Jenny Colgan includes all the delicious ingredients needed for a warm and delightful Christmas romance. We have Issy, the hardworking owner of the tinsel bedecked Cupcake Caf茅 in London. Then there鈥檚 Austin, the caring boyfriend, doing his best to get on in the world by accepting a job in snowy, lonely New York. Not forgetting Pearl, Caroline and Helena who make a whole stack of interesting friends.
Christmas at the Cupcake Caf茅 is a sequel to Colgan鈥檚 Meet Me at the Cupcake Caf茅, however I read this as a standalone and had no problem at all in working out relationships between characters. This novel delivers exactly what you鈥檇 expect 鈥� and more. At the beginning of each chapter the reader is given the added bonus of a wonderful cupcake/traybake recipe. And Christmas and baking go hand in hand, right? I can鈥檛 wait to try making the Christmas Cherry Chocolate Biscuit Slice, which includes Maltesers and rum! Enjoy!
almost 4 stars....it took me a whole month to read this but not to the fault of the book, I've been in a reading funk for so long!
This was a pretty sweet little read which I enjoyed quite a lot, I liked the writing and the pace, but it left a few loose ends, I now know it's part of a series but it's okay as a standalone...
why not 5?... I like a book boyfriend with a bit more assertion, Austin was nice but he was a bit passive, he wasn't very bold... and Issy, as much as I related to her, was also a bit on the pushover side...
The recipes at the beginning of the chapters were probably quite a nice touch, but tbh I skipped most of them because I'm just not a baker of cakes
like I say, the book was cute and I liked a lot of the characters within the story... I'll probably pick up another book or two by this author
Adorable book with little bit of just everything that makes cute, romantic and comedic Christmas story. I think I鈥檓 not really targeted audience and/so I didn鈥檛 really connect with this book, hence my rating. 3.5馃専