Review: Brunch at Bittersweet Cafe

Happy Monday, Reader Friends!

I thought I’d start the week off and share a review of Carla Laureano’s Brunch at Bittersweet Cafe. It’s book 2 in the Saturday Night Supper Club series. BABC releases February 5th and is one you don’t want to miss!

About the Book

Baker and pastry chef Melody Johansson has always believed in finding the positive in every situation, but seven years after she moved to Denver, she can’t deny that she’s stuck in a rut. One relationship after another has ended in disaster, and her classical French training is being wasted on her night job in a mediocre chain bakery. Then the charming and handsome private pilot Justin Keller lands on the doorstep of her workplace in a snowstorm, and Melody feels like it’s a sign that her luck is finally turning around.

Justin is intrigued by the lively bohemian baker, but the last thing he’s looking for is a relationship. His own romantic failures have proven that the demands of his job are incompatible with meaningful connections, and he’s already pledged his life savings to a new business venture across the country–an island air charter in Florida with his sister and brother-in-law.

Against their better judgment, Melody and Justin find themselves drawn together by their unconventional career choices and shared love of adventure. But when an unexpected windfall provides Melody with the chance to open her dream bakery-cafe in Denver with her best friend, chef Rachel Bishop, she’s faced with an impossible choice: stay and put down roots with the people and place she’s come to call home . . . or give it all up for the man she loves.

Links: Amazon, B&N, CBD, Goodreads

My Thoughts

Brunch at Bittersweet Cafe is filled with bookish culinary delight! From the first line to the very end, Carla Laureano

swept me away to Denver, Colorado. Ms. Laureano has such a gift with words. She put me in the dead of winter. Let me experience the smell and feel of baking bread. (Seriously, is that not the best smell ever?!)

She helped me experience that tingle of attraction when you meet a guy that has the looks (and an awesome job to boot!). Ms. Laureano doesn’t just write a story, she brings it to life.

Not only did the romance have me at “hello” but the food made me wish I had some culinary skilled friends. There’s no way you can read this book and not get hungry. Not wish you could whip us some dessert so effortlessly as Melody does.

And did I forget to mention the faith aspect in here. Oh there are so many lessons in here that wiggle their way into your spirit so seamlessly that I felt like I experienced the same epiphany the characters did.

Masterful!

So far book 2 is my absolute favorite in the series as the dark circles under my eyes can attest after my just one more chapter challenge. Unfortunately, I had no choice but to close my eyes and finish the read the next day. I have a feeling book 3 will leave a bigger impact!

*I give this book 5 stars (but really a 6 because I will reread this).
**I received a complimentary copy from the publisher. The review was not required nor influenced.

About the Author

Carla Laureano is the RITA® Award-winning author of contemporary inspirational romance and Celtic fantasy (as C.E. Laureano). A graduate of Pepperdine University, she worked as a sales and marketing executive for nearly a decade before leaving corporate life behind to write fiction full-time. She currently lives in Denver with her husband and two sons, where she writes during the day and cooks things at night.