About Books #50: The Little Brooklyn Bakery

Summer is 100% the season where I just want to read romance all. the. time. And as a general rule? I do read a lot of it. After a while, though, some of that chicklit can get a bit predictable. Not only is it usually pretty obvious who will end up together, the road to that “magical moment” is often pretty predictable as well. Not so much in The Little Brooklyn Bakery though!

I was offered an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for a review. All opinions expressed are strictly my own.

The story

Take a trip to New York and the best little bakery in Brooklyn for bagels, bakes, and more than a sprinkle of romance!

When Sophie Bennings arrives in New York, love is the last thing on her mind. Still reeling from a painful break up, she throws herself into her work as a food editor on a top-notch magazine.

Columnist Todd McLennan is everything that Sophie wishes she didn’t want. Like the gorgeous bakery below her Brooklyn apartment, he’s as tempting as the sugary cupcakes on daily display. Surely a little of something you fancy can do you good?

As Sophie and Todd get to know one another, a love of food isn’t the only passion they share. In the city that never sleeps, has Sophie finally met the man of her dreams…?

The opinion

So, first of all I really love the fact that there is so much detail to the food descriptions in this book. The different types of recipes, the descriptions of Sophie’s job, the fact that the editorial meetings were included, the food labs, … These are the types of things that I – as a foodie and journalism major – really need to see in a book like this.

As far as the romance goes, it was very clear from the start which two characters would end up together But it was actually really nice to see the development from a really nice friendship into a romance. Too often, people tend to go for the “insta-love” and the build up in this novel was definitely a nice change from that. Plus, you know… It made it just that much better when these two actually do get together. (this doesn’t count as spoilers, by the way – it’s romance, there’s always going to be people getting together :p )

I also really liked the element of the secondary romance – especially because it was fairly well developed as well. And, a very big and: it had such a different set up to the main characters’ romance.

As a general rule, actually, I liked all secondary characters. I would definitely like to know more about Wes’ mum, about Kate and her story, about Marty and Todd’s relationship to their parents… I mean, even “just” Sophie’s parents seem like they would have an amazing backstory! There are actually more books in this series, so it might be interesting to go back and see who exactly those other books are about. But even the characters that only made brief appearances? I kinda need more!

Finally, I really liked the tone of this book. It read very easily, thanks to the light tone, the excellent use of descriptions of the environment, … Sophie wanting to visit New York based on the places she’s seen in movies? So me! That aspect of seeing myself in her actually lasted throughout the book and made me just that much more invested into her happiness.

The rating: 4/5

This is absolutely a very predictable story. However – the combination of the narration as well as the secondary characters and the attention paid to detail made it into a really fun read. The author manages to give this “classic” storyline some new flavor in a beautiful way. I thoroughly enjoyed myself reading this and if you’re looking for something fluffy, yet intelligent with a decent build up? This might just be the book for you! (Goodreads)

-Saar