Meet Me at the Cupcake Café (2011)

by Jenny Colgan

Series: Cupcake Café (1)

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Fiction. Literature. Romance. Humor (Fiction.) HTML: "[A] heartwarming story a la Bridget Jones' Diary with a twist...Colgan folds in a colorful cast of characters and whips up an easy, sweet read."�??USA Today A smart, quirky contemporary confection of comedy, recipes, romance, and friendship, Meet Me at the Cupcake Café proves that life might not always taste like you expect, but there's always room for dessert! Issy Randall can bake. No, Issy can create stunning, mouthwateringly divine cakes. As a child she took every opportunity to learn in her Grandpa Joe's bakery. Now, with her desk job and her office romance crumbling, Issy seizes the chance to reinvent herself. Or...she will as soon as the drama-induced sugar coma wears off. With help from new friends, and a disheveled-yet-appetizing bank manager, Issy starts to make the adorable café of her dreams into a reality. But she soon learns that her piece-of-cake recipe for a fresh start might be a little more complicated than throwing some sugar and butter together. This book serves up a light-hearted rom-com, sprinkled with delicious recipes, perfect for fans of British chick-lit authors like Sophie Kinsella, Jill Mansell, and Abbi Waxman. Also by Jenny Colgan: The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris Sweetshop of Dreams Praise for Meet Me At The Cupcake Café: "A hilarious, fast-paced fantasy about starting over, perfect for fans of Sophie Kinsella. Absolutely adorable."�??Booklist "A funny novel about friendship, food and love... "�??Kirkus "A delightful story... warm, funny and well-written."�??Fresh Fiction "Absolutely adorable... charming... an endearing, delightful read"�??Silver's… (more)

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Bought Christmas at the Cupcake Cafe on a holiday sale and then realized that I had this first book in the series sitting on my kindle so I decided to read it first.

I like Jenny Colgan books and this didn’t disappoint. am a sucker for books about a bunch of diverse people who come together and become friends/family due to a a quirky set of circumstances. So it’s a friend-mance with a dose of romance thrown in for good measure. Plus baking and recipes so for me there’s really nothing NOT to like.

Will probably plow on and read the Christmas sequel next. (

)

hmonkeyreads | Jan 25, 2024 |

I will recognize that this novel is written for a British audience, and as an American there were things that were lost on me. But I tried to give the book a chance. Then I eventually thought...why? The main character isn't too bad, but she lets herself get run over and taken advantage of. It's painful to watch. Colgan uses insanely long, possibly run-on sentences and honestly I couldn't ever seen to let that go. I didn't finish it. It wasn't worth it to me. (

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mlstweet | Oct 15, 2023 |

This was a little slow to start, and didn't really seem to have much substance to it. I thought I would relate to this book more because I, too, have man problems and have been laid off from jobs before...plus, I am also a baker. I feel like there were possibly too many sub-stories going on and not many of them had the chance to be fully fleshed-out. The characters were likeable (except the ex and the woman that no one liked) and I wanted them to succeed, but there wasn't a lot of character development, things just kind of happened. There was no planning, everything was just coincidence. I don't know, it just wasn't as plot-driven as I would have liked. I still gave it 3 stars because it's a cute little cozy love story, and was easy to get through.

If you like love stories, female characters who sometimes need saving, and a ramshackle group of sub-characters, then this is for you. I would recommend it if you're looking for a quick pick-me-up in the love department. (

)

SassyCassi | Jun 28, 2023 |

Issy Randall grew up baking at her grandfather’s side, and finally gets to realize her dream by opening her own bakery, called The Cupcake Cafe. She and two other women make the cafe a success, but not without a lot of roadblocks along the way, mostly with respect to the women’s rocky personal relationships.

Issy can’t resist Graeme, a handsome but smarmy and selfish cad who takes advantage of Issy and treats her horribly. Pearl has a similar problem with Ben, the father of her son Louis. And Caroline’s husband has left her for someone else, and is threatening to take the house away from her.

Issy has to get a bank loan, whereupon she meets the handsome and good-hearted Austin. But whenever Graeme snaps his fingers, Issy reluctantly jumps to his tune.

It’s all very predictable, as Colgan’s books usually are, but how can anyone mind? The characters are endearing - the good ones at any rate - and in this book, there are many recipes you will want to save to recreate the goodies Issy bakes in her cafe. (

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nbmars | May 2, 2023 |

Having grown up in an apartment above her Grandpa Joe's little bakery, Issy Randal has always known how to make something sweet. She's much better at baking than she is at filing, so when she's laid off from her desk job, Issy decides to open up her own little cafe. But she soon learns that her piece-of-cake plan will take all her courage and confectionary talent to avert disaster. Funny and sharp, Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe is about how life might not always taste like what you expect, but there's always room for dessert!

This was a lovely, sweet story about coming into your own and discovering what you really want in life!

*Book received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review* (

)

managedbybooks | May 3, 2022 |

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Cupcake Café (1)

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Jenny Colgan 6 Books Collection Set by Jenny Colgan

le cupcake cafe by Jenny Colgan

▾Awards and Honors

Awards

Melissa Nathan Award for Comedy Romance (Winner – 2012)

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Meet Me at the Cupcake Café

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Meet Me at the Cupcake Café

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2011

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▾Book descriptions

Fiction. Literature. Romance. Humor (Fiction.) HTML:

"[A] heartwarming story a la Bridget Jones' Diary with a twist...Colgan folds in a colorful cast of characters and whips up an easy, sweet read."�??USA Today

A smart, quirky contemporary confection of comedy, recipes, romance, and friendship, Meet Me at the Cupcake Café proves that life might not always taste like you expect, but there's always room for dessert!

Issy Randall can bake. No, Issy can create stunning, mouthwateringly divine cakes. As a child she took every opportunity to learn in her Grandpa Joe's bakery. Now, with her desk job and her office romance crumbling, Issy seizes the chance to reinvent herself. Or...she will as soon as the drama-induced sugar coma wears off.

With help from new friends, and a disheveled-yet-appetizing bank manager, Issy starts to make the adorable café of her dreams into a reality. But she soon learns that her piece-of-cake recipe for a fresh start might be a little more complicated than throwing some sugar and butter together.

This book serves up a light-hearted rom-com, sprinkled with delicious recipes, perfect for fans of British chick-lit authors like Sophie Kinsella, Jill Mansell, and Abbi Waxman.

Also by Jenny Colgan:
The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris
Sweetshop of Dreams

Praise for Meet Me At The Cupcake Café:
"A hilarious, fast-paced fantasy about starting over, perfect for fans of Sophie Kinsella. Absolutely adorable."�??Booklist
"A funny novel about friendship, food and love... "�??Kirkus
"A delightful story... warm, funny and well-written."�??Fresh Fiction
"Absolutely adorable... charming... an endearing, delightful read"�??Silver's

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