Christmas at the Cupcake Café is the second book in Colgan's At the Cupcake Café series following Meet Me at the Cupcake Café, but this time there is a seasonal twist to the series which was good for this time of year and seemed suitable to review, especially following a very summery themed book. Previously in Meet Me at the Cupcake Café, Issy was working a normal desk job, filing, but then she decides to seize the moment and open The Cupcake Café with the assistance of Austin, a bank manager who grants her a loan to begin running the shop. Struggling at first, Issy then makes a success of the café with the help of her friends, employees, and Austin.
Rating: 8
Recommended To: Chick lit lovers
Favourite Characters: Darny - funny and stubborn
Favourite Part: 'Louis, hush about that stupid Advent calendar,' said Issy. 'It's not going to get chocolate in it.'
'It's a very sad Advent calendar,' observed Louis. - Page 118
Good Points: The embrace of Christmas; bringing new places in; introducing Marian to Darny
Bad Points: The cupcake girl in New York - hint of a love triangle
Christmas at the Cupcake Café comes a few months after Meet Me at the Cupcake Café with Issy's business being a rousing success and preparing for the upcoming festive season while spending time with friends, her boyfriend, and his kid brother. However, now Austin is being head-hunted by a New York bank and has gone out to New York to see what they have to offer, leaving Issy at home with Darny to keep an eye on him while he's acting up and causing issues at school even though Austin knows she's going to be busy at The Cupcake Café.
Recommended To: Chick lit lovers
Favourite Characters: Darny - funny and stubborn
Favourite Part: 'Louis, hush about that stupid Advent calendar,' said Issy. 'It's not going to get chocolate in it.'
'It's a very sad Advent calendar,' observed Louis. - Page 118
Good Points: The embrace of Christmas; bringing new places in; introducing Marian to Darny
Bad Points: The cupcake girl in New York - hint of a love triangle
Christmas at the Cupcake Café comes a few months after Meet Me at the Cupcake Café with Issy's business being a rousing success and preparing for the upcoming festive season while spending time with friends, her boyfriend, and his kid brother. However, now Austin is being head-hunted by a New York bank and has gone out to New York to see what they have to offer, leaving Issy at home with Darny to keep an eye on him while he's acting up and causing issues at school even though Austin knows she's going to be busy at The Cupcake Café.
I loved how
Issy tried to fully embrace the Christmas spirit despite Pearl and Caroline
being resistant to the entire thing as she begins to make Christmas themed
cupcakes to sell to their wonderful clientele.
It was such a good book to read this season because there was a definite
sense of Christmas and got me in the mood to celebrate it with my mum and
sister when I was feeling a bit down a couple of days before Christmas because
the book was happy by the end which in turn made me happy.
What I thought
Colgan did well was bringing a new place in, New York, to contrast London so
that it is possible to see the difference between Issy's life now and a new
opportunity in a new city, and not just for Issy but for Austin and Darny too
as we see Austin's life in London in Meet
Me at the Cupcake Café and more of Darny's in this book. Adding a new place provides a breath of fresh
air to an already established story and keeps things interesting as just
staying in London would possibly be stale because it would be repetitive. As parts of the story followed Austin in New
York and then later Issy and Darny and they explore the well-known landmarks
which in turn made me want to go see them because they've always interested me.
I loved how
Marian, Issy's mother, was introduced to Darny because it gave someone to
connect to other than Issy or Austin as they are the ones trying to keep him in
school and under control as much as they can because of what they and the
school deem as unruly behaviour which kind of reminds me of Marian in some way
because she didn't live by anyone's rules other than her own. This similarity allowed them to bond well I think
which was good as Darny seemed to be angry all the time, which was why he lashed
out at Austin and Issy, but Marian understood him, with his need to talk about
political issues.
I loved
Darny because he was a funny young man as he annoyed the teachers at his school
by being himself which was horrible to read because he was just being himself
and they were trying to contain him. I loved
how he was stubborn as well which was why he didn't want to change who he was because
his teachers told him to as he was misbehaving which I found refreshing as he
wouldn't change for anyone unless he wanted to unlike other characters as
Austin tries to be like the other bankers in the States and Issy tries to be
his delightful British girlfriend and tries not to show that she cares about Austin
leaving London. Darny is just a young kid who doesn't have any parents and doesn't really know how to handle it which is hard for him as well as his older brother and I love him for that.
What I loathe in any book is even the slightest hint of a love triangle because it provides an unnecessary thorn in the side of both people in the relationship as one is tempted and torn between the thought of a loving relationship and a new relationship where everything is driven by lust and another is hurt, there's even a possibility that the third person in the love triangle can be hurt as well. However, it's the cupcake girl that is after Austin because he's a hot British man and she wants a man to get her away from her job so she keeps trying to turn Austin's eye; I think it's horrible for girls, as well as guys, to do this because it's like they're trying to ruin someone's life no matter what.
What I loathe in any book is even the slightest hint of a love triangle because it provides an unnecessary thorn in the side of both people in the relationship as one is tempted and torn between the thought of a loving relationship and a new relationship where everything is driven by lust and another is hurt, there's even a possibility that the third person in the love triangle can be hurt as well. However, it's the cupcake girl that is after Austin because he's a hot British man and she wants a man to get her away from her job so she keeps trying to turn Austin's eye; I think it's horrible for girls, as well as guys, to do this because it's like they're trying to ruin someone's life no matter what.
'Louis, hush about that stupid Advent calendar,' said Issy. 'It's not going to get chocolate in it.'
'It's a very sad Advent calendar,' observed Louis. - Page 118
Oh Louis,
you're so cute. He's not quite my
favourite character as Darny beat him to the post but I just found him so
adorable and I just wanted to hug him as this little boy sat there, feeling
sorry for this advent calendar. He is
the representation of childish wonder at this time of year and not seeing
chocolate, which is a big part of our Christmas culture, upsets him greatly to
the point where he pesters and complains while Issy gets frustrated with him.
The prequel
to this book was one of my favourite books and while it didn't quite live up to
Meet Me at the Cupcake Café, it's a
good book and was another happy end to the series. I know the Christmas season has almost past
but it's still a great book for anyone to read who loves chick lit books who
want an easy read. One other thing I thought
about this book was that it could be read as a standalone book and would still
have made sense without reading Meet Me
at the Cupcake Café because not a lot was really mentioned about anything
that happened previously apart from how she got the café, even though it was
mentioned briefly.
The
predictions that follow are if this series were to continue though I have an
inkling that it won't as this book seemed like a one-off seasonal special.
Predictions
1. Darny does well at the American school
2. Issy takes over the American cupcake shop and
eventually buys it, making it a new Cupcake Café
3. Austin eventually decides he doesn't want to work in New York as he knows Issy misses London
3. Austin eventually decides he doesn't want to work in New York as he knows Issy misses London
Other Books by Jenny Colgan
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