Christmas at the Comfort Food Café (The Comfort Food Café, Book 2)

Debbie Johnson

Sep 2016 · The Comfort Food Café Book 2 · Sold by HarperCollins UK

About this ebook

‘Full of quirky characters, friendship and humour, you will devour this engaging and heartwarming novel in one sitting’ – Sunday Express ‘My new favourite author’ – Holly Martin

Becca Fletcher has always hated Christmas but she has her reasons for being Little Miss Grinch. Now, though, she can’t avoid her version of ho-ho-hell – because she’s travelling to the Comfort Food Cafe to spend the festive season with her sister Laura and her family. She’s expecting mulled wine, 24-hour Christmas movie marathons and all kinds of very merry torture.

Little does Becca know that the Comfort Food Cafe is like no other place on earth. Perched on a snow-covered hill, it’s a place full of friendship where broken hearts can heal, new love can blossom and where Becca’s Christmas miracle really could happen – if only she can let it...

What readers are saying about Christmas at the Comfort Food Cafe:

‘Like a mug of hot chocolate with marshmallows – warm, melting your heart and cheering’ On My Bookshelf

‘A treat to read at anytime of the year, but even more perfect with Christmas approaching’ Books and Me

‘Full of friendship and village community spirit, beautiful scenery, romance and fun’ Bookworms and Shutterbugs

Ratings and reviews

Back to Bunbury and this time for Christmas. The cast of characters from Summer are all still here - fortunately the indomitable Edie hasn't popped her clogs as the seasons changed - but now we get to see them through the eyes of Laura's sister Becca. Although she is a firm Bah Humbug (and when she explains why to Edie I will admit to having a little tear in my eye) she has agreed to haul her self-employed personage down to Dorset for the season. Told with just as much character and joy as the first book in the series I thoroughly enjoyed getting lost with this motley assortment of people all crammed into a tiny village that is full of love. Although told from a first person perspective somehow the feelings of other characters still manages to shine through the page and this is no mean feat. Having recently a few books that have left me feeling slightly underwhelmed I am so grateful that I discovered this series. Maybe I should limit my "chic lit" readings to Northern writers from now on to prevent the disillusionment? The tale itself is nothing out of the ordinary, it is the characters that lift it and although you just "know" there has to be a happy ending because of the genre you are left crossing your fingers and hoping that it does all work out. I did only mark this a 4 star because as much as I enjoyed it, it was a little on the short side. However, I will settle for short over unnecessary padding and waffle as the tale itself is a perfect little slice of wish fulfillment Christmas reading.

Hmm, you know when you really get into a series and then the dreaded book comes where you dislike one of the characters? This is the one for me. Becca Fletcher is the younger sister of Laura, the subject of the first book Summer at the Comfort Food Cafe. Always the rock-n roll chick, the wild child, the girl most likely to [insert doomsday scenario]. We saw her as Lizzie's confidant in the first book, always joking about wild parties, drugs and booze. The reality is somewhat different. Unbeknown to the rest of the world Becca gave up all of that the night her brother-in-law David died. Now it's almost Christmas, Becca's least favourite time of the year, and she is finally coming to Dorset to spend Christmas with Laura and her children and her new man, Matt and the rest of the villagers as they prepare for Cherie Moon and Farmer Frank's Christmas Eve wedding at the cafe. Almost from the first chapter I found Becca a difficult to like character and frankly I never warmed to her. Her entire life, one way or another, appeared to be one of secrecy and self-absorption - funnily enough she came across as more likeable in the first book where she supported Laura and helped her to understand what Lizzie was doing and feeling! Indeed, Laura sees Becca as this feisty, sarcastic, funny free-spirit, down with the kids and rocking her life whereas what we see in this book is a miserable woman afraid to embrace life and love. Laura had already sent photos of hunky Sam to Becca as a possible boyfriend in the first book, but that didn't explain to me why Sam found Becca so attractive. As I recall the book my over-riding impression is of Becca sitting in a corner, drinking diet coke and not participating in ANYTHING. You know, like that one 'friend' you have who just sucks all the fun out of an evening? And dare I say it, I found Becca's reason for hating Christmas to be predictable and signalled from a long way off. Anyway, just my opinion, others may love Becca and Sam.

Christmasy soppiness just as predicted. Brillant.

About the author

Debbie Johnson is a #1 best-selling author who lives and works in Liverpool, where she divides her time between writing, caring for a small tribe of children and animals, and not doing the housework.
She worked as a journalist for many years, until she decided it would be more fun to make up her own stories than to tell other people’s. After trying her hand at pretty much every genre of writing other than Westerns and spy dramas, she has settled on women’s fiction that seems to make people laugh and make people cry, often at the same time.
Her books include The Birthday That Changed Everything, Pippa’s Cornish Dream, and Summer at the Comfort Food Cafe, all published by HarperCollins. She also ghost-wrote model and presenter Abbey Clancy’s debut novel, Remember My Name.
Follow her on twitter @debbiemjohnson, or at www.facebook.com/debbiejohnsonauthor – but be warned, she mainly talks about dogs.