Weekend reads: The little village bakery

First installment of the Honeybourne series, The little village bakery is a sweet story about taking love seriously and the risk of starting life anew. Millie is a nice young lady relocated to the quiet but quite curious community of Honeybourne. The old bakery where she lives, bought to start a new life providing cakes and meeting place for the locals, is situated opposite the house of the local playboy, Dylan, the brother of the eccentric yet good hearted Jasmine. At the end of his 20s, Dylan is about to take the decision of settling down and Millie seems to be the right companion on this new path, but Jasmine keeps an eye on them, careful to avoid that the new girl in town will be just one of the his brother's many victims. A jewellery artist with a musician husband and very active triplets, Jasmine supported her from the beginning, and even included her as part of her business endeavours, encouraging Millie to complement her presence at a local fair by producing some handmade cosmetics. Her husband, Rich, is skeptical and warns her that maybe Millie may have a dark past and a reason why she just left everything to start anew.

On her side, Millie is trying to become part of the community, by offering, for instance various new-age potions to the local residents, either for calming arthritis crisis or a marital drama. Attracted by Dylan but unsure how and what and why to do next, she is shy and, yes, she is hiding a secret that is suggested by the author at the beginning of the book. I liked how the tension around her story was built, through progressive allusions until the big drama unfolds. A drama with a couple of conflicts and curious characters...
Actually, there is no dull or boring moment into this story, straight until the end. There are many other things taking place into the story, but as of now I leave some more surprises for the readers. 

The writing is good, with interesting interactions between characters, revealing their true colours and creating a quite animated big story, made up by very well coordinated small stories. Eveything is well, except that there is almost no baking in this book - except  some coconut sponge cake. Maybe the next book, as this first part ends with the official opening of the bakery. Maybe. Personally, I am very curious about the next stories. Recommended lecture for an insightful yet cozy weekend. 

Rating: 4 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher via NetGalley.com, in exchange of an honest review.