I loved this book as soon as i started reading it. There are plenty of twists and turns and laughs and some sad bits too. I have never read any of this authors books before but i'm definately going to keep my eye open for more.I've actually worked in hospitality in Cornwall so could associate with some things mentioned. I know this cafe isn't real but if it was i'd want to own it for definate..
absolutely brilliant read, i even read it on the beach this week in the rain sat in my little tent. I felt part of this book. Fab Fab Fabberty Fab ( )

I loved this book as soon as i started reading it. There are plenty of twists and turns and laughs and some sad bits too. I have never read any of this authors books before but i'm definately going to keep my eye open for more.I've actually worked in hospitality in Cornwall so could associate with some things mentioned. I know this cafe isn't real but if it was i'd want to own it for definate..
absolutely brilliant read, i even read it on the beach this week in the rain sat in my little tent. I felt part of this book. Fab Fab Fabberty Fab ( )

Aikalailla ennalta arvattavaa höttöä, mikä on joskus ihan paikallaan. ( )

Told in the first person by a young woman called Evie. She is currently temping as a secretary in a depressing job, and living with the highly organised and structured Matthew.

Then a family tragedy happens and Evie finds herself with unexpected new prospects, and some important decisions to be made. Inevitably there’s a romance, mostly low-key, and Evie herself matures as she spreads her wings, and takes some risks.

It took me a while to get into the book, which is quite informal in style. But gradually the characters got under my skin; one or two sections quite moving.

All in all I enjoyed it. I’d recommend it to anyone who likes this kind of lightweight women’s fiction. ( )

‘The Beach Café’ is, it’s true, about as substantial as the froth atop a cappuccino. But, just like store-bought coffee, it’s a treat and, just like a store-bought coffee with ten sugars and a shot of syrup, it’s sweet. It’s also amusing, which coffee rarely is and there the hot beverage analogy sort of runs out.
The plot is far from the most original in the world; Evie is unexpectedly left a beach café by her aunt and has to decide whether to take it on and deal with the inevitable resulting issues and change in her lifestyle, or not. Also, just possibly, there’s a chance she might find true love among the sausages.
In fact, Lucy Diamond has written a charming, humorous tale here.
Her heroine, Evie, is a fabulous character, who actually kicks a little against the inevitability of her having to give up a job she is unhappy with and an unfulfilling relationship in order to go and manage a café in a fantastic location with huge potential whilst simultaneously falling in love with a charming yet mysterious stranger who also happens to be a wonderfully talented chef, with a dog. Evie, we are given to understand, is the ‘black sheep’ of the family, not just because of her hair but because she is not awfully over-achieved like her sisters.
There are few things to be gotten out of the way before Evie can take up residence in the beach café and the story moves into what anywhere else than this cosy and picturesque community would be high gear. The disapproval of her family has to be dealt with, as does their scorn and their lack of faith in her ability. She also has to explain to her boyfriend that he won’t be wanted behind the counter, or indeed in her life. And of course she has to deal with issues once she gets to the café.
The little seaside community is well drawn. There’s the waiting staff in the café for a start, who are by turns gobby, or clumsy, or unreliable, and which all come under the heading of ‘teenagers’. Then when the café gets into full swing there are the pressures of many people all wanting ice cream at once.
It is fun to read of Evie’s transformation from the black sheep to her own woman, and the parallel transformation of the café from a place to get drinks and snacks to, if not a community centre, then the centre of the community.
There’s also a sub-plot featuring a runaway teen. Naturally, Evie practically adopts the runaway once she recognises that the teen in question can be trusted to hold two plates of soup simultaneously without dropping them on the floor, herself or a customer, or all three.
It must be interesting to see the entire world as either potential customers (adults and young children) or staff (teenagers).
This is an enjoyable book with a story with plots and sub-plots satisfyingly wound together and wound up by the conclusion of the novel. It’s probably not the perfect book to read on the beach, as it might make you concerned about the chaos, both in terms of the preparation of your BLT, chips and a cup of tea and in terms of the close, fraught personal and interpersonal relationships between staff and owner, including misunderstandings both comic and romantic, happening behind the kitchen door when you pop to the local café to get your lunch, but it is an excellent book to read if you fancy a trip to the seaside without going to the trouble of leaving your own armchair.
A novel titled ‘The Beach Café’ is unlikely to be about the fortunes of a young soldier on the Russian front during the Napoleonic wars, and there are a number of predictable elements here.
However, the author has taken only the finest familiar ingredients and combined them in a particularly flavoursome way to create something that, whilst not a classic, is subtle in places, reassuringly familiar in others and, as a whole, is certainly satisfying.
This is a café that one would feel confident recommending to friends, if they like that style of cooking. ( )