Christmas at the Cupcake Café

Colgan is, I am lead to believe, one of the leading authors of chick-lit in the UK. Going by this book, I have to say this does not bode well.

This is the sequel to Colgan's highly successful Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe, in which main character Issy loses her job, sets up the Cupcake Cafe, and finds lasting happiness with her bank manager. As you do.

In this sequel, it is, as the name suggests, the run-up to Christmas, the Cafe is hugely successful and extremely busy. And Issy's wonderful bank manager boyfriend heads off to New York to be headhunted, so suddenly that he has no time to discuss it with the woman he lives with. So guess what - Issy is expected to choose between the business she has nourished and built up into a success, and show more the soppy, selfish idiot she is inexplicably in love with. So much for feminism.

I think you can see where I am heading here. Sometimes, when I want a little escapism, I love reading chick-lit. It generally doesn't tax the brain, can be entertaining and feel-good. But I still want the characters to be well-drawn, and likeable, and for the stories to be plausible. And for me, this book fails on every count.

It fails on the characters being well-drawn. Yes, this is a sequel, and maybe the characters had been drawn well in the previous book, but the author herself writes an introduction to this sequel that makes clear that the reader doesn't have to have read the first book to get on with this one. So the characters should be able to stand alone in this book, and they don't. We have Issy, who seems so scatty most of the time, you wonder how on earth she did actually build up a successful business. And Caroline, a two-dimensional, stereotypical past-her-sell-by-date trophy wife. Helena, another stereotype, this time of the wannabe yummy mummy variety. And good old stereotypical salt of the earth Pearl, who we are constantly reminded is poor, but without ever really being given any proper understanding of what that poverty means for her. And of course, the drippy boyfriend.

Then there's the plausibility. In what world is it likely that the manager of a small branch of a British bank would be headhunted for what sounds like investment banking in New York? And would a businesswoman really decide to leave her business in the hands of someone who had phoned her after she'd been away for two days because they couldn't cope? Actually, given how scatty Issy appears, she probably would. But as for that fairy-tale ending, I won't give any spoilers, but really - wholly implausible.

I have read a couple of delightful Christmas-themed chick-lit stories this year. This wasn't one of them. show less

A peine refermé le "Rendez-vous au Cupcake Café" j'ai eu envie de retrouver Izzy et tous ses amis dans une ambiance de Noël entre Londres et New York.

Je m'attendais, de ce fait, à une atmosphère encore plus cosy et feel good, aux odeurs de pain d'épices et de chocolat chaud décrivant le Christmas Spirit anglais et américain.
Mais la magie de Noël n'a pas opéré.

Dans ce second tome, même si le Cupcake Café est toujours aussi accueillant et les recettes toujours aussi alléchantes, les personnages ont perdu de leur éclat et de leur optimisme.
Ils sont taciturnes, tracassés et se retrouvent coincés dans des situations inextricables par manque de dialogue et de spontanéité.

Heureusement, dans les derniers chapitres, on show more retrouve ce qui avait fait tout le charme du premier tome : la chaleur, la convivialité et la bienveillance. show less

This is the sequel to ‘Meet me at the cupcake café’ which I read a few months ago. I had vaguely remembered the people concerned, but was pleased to find a useful overview at the start, reminding me of the key characters and their families.

Issy is the main protagonist; she started a café with some redundancy money in the first book, and used her extensive baking skills to provide delicious treats for passers-by. This book starts a year after the previous one finished. Issy has moved in with her banker boyfriend Austin and his 11-year-old brother Darny. Things seem to be going well… except that Austin has gone to New York where it becomes evident that he’s being head-hunted. But there’s no way Issy would leave her café show more behind...

The story begins mid-November and takes us through December, culminating in a Christmas celebration, and - eventually - a satisfactory conclusion. I hadn’t seen where the plot was going, and certainly hadn’t expected the final scenes, but it worked very well.

Many of the people in the book are somewhat caricatured, but their problems are real. The people in New York are stereotyped even more; I found this amusing but can imagine that some Americans might not.

Each chapter begins with a recipe, some real and some intended as jokes. My favourite Christmas cake recipe is there, used by permission; I’m not sure I’ll try any of the other recipes, except perhaps the sticky gingerbread, but they make a nice feature. There’s also a basic guide for cake-making beginners.

Overall I thought this an enjoyable read. It didn’t require any deep thought, and it was light enough that I finished it in just a couple of days. It stands alone but I think is better read as a sequel to the first ‘Cupcake cafe’ book, and would probably appeal to anyone who likes this kind of fluffy ‘chick-lit’. show less

Issy,Poud owner of the Cupcake Cafe, a quaint little cupcake shop in Stoke Newton (a district of London), couldn't be happier. Her relationship with banker entrepreneur, Austin, is blossoming; business at the cafe was booming and Christmas was around the corner.

When Austin is offered a job at a bank in New York and invites Issy and his eleven-year-old brother, Drany, to fly to New York in the hopes that Issy will fall in love with the city and consider moving to New York, the bubbles on Issy's cappuccino begins to burst. Will Issy face the possibility of a long distance relationship? Will she lose Austin to the glory of the Big Apple and a little waitress at a New York Cafe who sells awful cupcakes laden with oil and chemicals? Can Issy show more leave her home, her dream job that she started at the Cupcake cafe, and friends behind to start life with Austin in the Big Apple? I'll leave it to the reader to find out.

I really enjoyed this festive book. To me, Christmas at the Cupcake Cafe, is a Christmas pudding of a book......rich, dense and full of fruity flavour which burst in your mouth, flooding your taste buds with the flavours of Christmas. The characters are well-rounded and come to life. I enjoyed the scene where Pearl, one of Issy's employees is left to mind the fort at the Cupcake Cafe and train a new employee, Maya, who cant get the hang of the coffee machine, leaving unsatisfied customers waiting for their Java fix. Worse, Pearl explodes the mixer, which drips strawberry cake mix all over the walls and ceiling. I particularly liked the twist at the end where both Issy and Austin fly in opposite directions across the pond to be with each other. The book also includes tips and recipes and an excerpt from Jenny's new book, The Loveliest Chocolate shop in Paris. show less

Having read and loved Meet Me At The Cupcake Cafe, I was really looking forward to this, the sequel. It can be read as a stand-alone book, but it was nice to meet up with the characters from the first book again.

This time, Austin finds himself in New York, being headhunted for a new job. Issy has a dilemma: does she go with the only man she's ever loved, or does she stay behind at her beloved Cupcake Cafe? Darny, Austin's younger brother, is being his usual awkward self, Pearl and Caroline are still rubbing each other up the wrong way at the cafe and there are cakes galore again.

This book is a lovely read, just right for the time of year. I'm really enjoying Jenny Colgan's 'foodie' books and I think she gets them just right.

Issy is the happy owner of a successful cafe, making and serving cupcakes. Into her happy life a grand upset is about to happen. Her boyfriend Austin is interviewing for a better job, but it’s across the pond, as they say, in New York. It’s the ideal place for him and his younger brother, for whom he has guardianship. But Issy is happy in England, and yet she knows that a long distance relationship is likely to fail. There are roadblocks galore in this delightful tale, but hopefully, some Christmas miracle will bring about a happy ever after answer. As always, Jenny Colgan has penned a lovely Christmas tale that is sure to warm your heart on a cold winter’s night.

A quick, sweet, and romantic read with fun characters, good dialogue, and lots of humor.