The Lemon Tree Cafe – Book Review

Rich espresso, delicious biscotti and juicy village gossip – will Rosie fall for this new way of life?

When Rosie Featherstone finds herself unexpectedly jobless, the offer to help her beloved Italian grandmother out at the Lemon Tree Cafe – a little slice of Italy nestled in the rolling hills of Derbyshire – feels like the perfect way to keep busy.

But Rosie is haunted by a terrible secret, one that even the appearance of a handsome new face can’t quite help her move on from.

Then disaster looms and the cafe’s fortunes are threatened . . . and Rosie discovers that her nonna has been hiding a dark past of her own. With surprises, betrayal and more than one secret brewing, can she find a way to save the Lemon Tree Cafe and help both herself and Nonna achieve the happy endings they deserve

This is such a cute story!

Rosie Featherstone has become unemployed and returns back to her hometown. Her grandmother, who owns a cafe called, Lemon Tree Cafe asks Rosie to run the cafe and Rosie starts running the cage willingly with her sister Lia. But soon, the cafe starts facing difficulties, Rosie’s grandmother’s long buried secret revealed and the love relationship between Rosie and Gabe…

I actually enjoyed reading this book! The story is told from Rosie’s perspectives and the writing was really great that I was actually immersed into the story as if I was a part of the story! Rosie is a hardworking person but has gone through a tough time with a secret, which is revealed later on in the book as to why she sometimes feels insecure. I do like Rosie’s grandmother’s budding romance with Stanley that I was actually rooting for the couple! The community setting in the story was great, as how everyone got together to make Lemon Tree Cafe a great place.

I also like the backdrop of Rosie’s grandmother’s story mentioned in the story–her Italian background. I do like how Rosie and her grandmother visited her grandmother’s birthplace where her grandmother, who also had a terrible secret that was revealed in the middle of the book wanted to let the demons rest.

I like the bond between Lia and Rosie and how each of them support each other. Not just the siblings–I do like how their parents also support them as well.

This is the first book I have read of Cathy Bramley. Besides the cute cover, the story is well written and enjoyable to read. Oh, there were some funny parts in the book and the descriptions in the book particularly the food descriptions made me hungry at time!

At the end of the book, you get a series of recipes written by the author which I am dying to try it out.

This is a cozy, heartwarming tale, that will make you laugh and cry at the same time–worth five stars!