Summer at the Little French Cafe by Karen Clarke

Summer at the Little French Cafe

Karen Clarke

Rating: 5 stars

Amazon UK

In the beautiful village of Chamillon lies the Cafe Belle Vie, where you'll always find croissants and friends when you need them the most - and where Elle is hoping to uncover the truth about her past...

Thirty-year-old Elle Matheson has decided it's finally time to find the mother who gave her up as a baby. With a faded postcard from the Cafe Belle Vie in hand - one of the very few things she has from her mother - she heads straight to the Île de Ré to begin her search.

With only the postcard and the ivory shawl she was wrapped in as clues, finding her mum is like trying to find a needle in a haystack, even with the help of friendly - and gorgeous - cafe-owner Charlie. And since Elle hasn't exactly told her younger sister what she's up to, the little white lies about where she is are starting to add up...

But Elle is really starting to feel at home on the beautiful island. The locals are welcoming, the cafe is homely, and Charlie is always there with a helping hand, a listening ear, and a pain au chocolat.

Is Elle about to discover not just where she came from - but where she belongs?

A hilarious rom com perfect for reading in the sunshine! Fans of Debbie Johnson, Zara Stoneley and Debbie Macomber will love Karen Clarke!

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Oh to be back in France with the lovely Karen Clarke and some amazingly caring characters! I loved the first one in this series and couldn't believe there was going to be another one - so I was so happy when I found out that we were going back to the idyllic setting! The cover is similar to the first, so there's a good sense of continuity. I love the bright blues used for the sky as well as the sea, the colourful buildings with their traditional colours and the French flag colours used on the bunting along the top of the cover. It looks so summery and inviting - I couldn't wait to dive in!

Even though you can completely read this novel as a standalone, you'll make the most out of it if you read the first one because then you'll know some of the secondary characters a little bit better. It's not required however, and you do get to meet everyone anyway but the first book was so lovely and enjoyable that you may as well read it anyway! With the second one in the series we meet Elle, who has come to France to try and find her birth mother. With not much to go on, she ends up at the exact place that's pictured on the postcard she has from her mother, and from there somehow accidentally gets a job at the Cafe Belle Vie! 

The story moves quickly, with Karen's usual humour, which makes the pages fly by. I love Karen's style of writing, it's easy and enjoyable and fills you with happiness. I once again fell in love with the location of the novel and the characters and this time I found myself warming the most to Dolly! She was such a lovely and caring character and I was excited at the prospect of Elle finding her real mother. There are a lot of possibilities, but it was a refreshing read and I enjoyed meeting all the other older ladies who name begun with 'M'. I would say that Charlie doesn't come into it much until at least 40%, but this doesn't affect the overall feeling of the story - it actually makes it better to focus on the main character and not her love life for once.

Overall, I feel like Karen's novels just keep getting better. After reading her novels, I'm seeping with happiness! They are just such lovely, feel-good novels and I'm really hoping there's another one in the series! I'm enjoying being in France too much for it to all be over now! Thank you to the publisher for a chance to read this novel via Netgalley, which I have reviewed honestly.