Book Review: The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe by Catherine Greer

The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe is an easy read. Engaging and fun! This is a story of resilience and starting over and I love that with romance books you are always guaranteed a happy ending. 

 

Just when Audrey thinks she's in line for that big promotion at work she is blindsided and replaced by a younger woman. Devastated and angry, she goes home to find that her husband has been having an affair and asks her to move out of the marital home.

 

After losing her job, her husband and her home, Audrey flees to Whitehaven Bay, a place that holds happy memories of holidays with her mother.

 

The whole life imploding and fleeing to a quiet, small town is a well worn trope but I always love these stories of women being resilient and courageous in the face of adversity.

If you read enough contemporary romance you will come across this popular trope. I've read similar books before and always loved them. The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe is no exception - different people - different towns - and it's the differences that add a level of uniqueness to each story - same but different - and totally enjoyable. 

 

The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe is a bittersweet story of starting over (see what I did there). 😉 What starts as a short holiday for Audrey soon becomes the catalyst of a long held dream. Audrey loves to bake and has always dreamed of running her own bakery.

 

The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe has a wonderful cast of eclectic characters that make up the small coastal town of Whitehaven Bay. I loved them all, especially Buddy, the octogenarian who liked to swim naked, Billie the rebellious, non-binary teen, Chez, entrepreneur, party planner and Zen master and I can't forget the Coffin Cheaters bikie gang. There is a heartfelt age-gap friendship between Buddy, Audrey and Billie.

 

The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe is chock-full of laugh-out-loud moments with plenty of drama and setbacks through themes of ageism, alcohol abuse and domestic abuse, as Audrey rebuilds her life with sugar, flour, butter and love. Fabulous feel-good fiction and a must read for contemporary romance readers. 

 

And if Audrey's recipes make your mouth water they are all there in the back of the book just waiting for you to try them. 

 

My rating 5 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

 

Publisher: Allen & Unwin

Publication date: 4th March 2025

Genre: Contemporary Fiction / Romance

Pages: 384

RRP: AU$32.99 

Source: Uncorrected proof won