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| Original Cover |
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| My own copy |
The blurb:
You are invited to the wedding of
the year!
Snow is falling thick and fast
outside the Gingerbread Café and inside, its owner Lily is planning the wedding
of the year. Her wedding! She never dreamt it would happen, but this Christmas,
she’ll be marrying the man of her dreams - in a Christmas-card-perfect
ceremony!
The gingerbread is baking, the
dress is fitted and the mistletoe’s in place – for once, everything’s going to
plan. That is until her mother-in-law arrives... Suddenly, Lily’s famous cool
is being tested like never before and her dream wedding is crumbling before her
eyes.
In the blink of a fairylight, the
Gingerbread Café has been thrown into chaos! Lily thought she had this wedding
wrapped up, but with so much to do before she says ‘I do’, can Lily get to the
church on time – and make this Christmas sparkle after all?
My Opinion:
Book
provided by author in exchange for an honest review
What a stunning and
absolutely beautiful cover!!! 
Yay, we are back in
Ashford, home of the Gingerbread Café. Reading this book made me fall in love
with the place, the café and the characters all over again, especially with
Damon. He’s just so wonderful, caring, sweet and a great dad .
.
Then, of course there is
Lil, our main character. Lil has such a big heart, she is so sweet, caring and
full of passion for her café.
Damon and Lil are such an
adorable couple, they really belong to each other. I loved all their scenes
together, just so magical.
They are in the middle of
the Christmas preparations when Damon’s parents arrive early.
Lil sees herself struggling
with Damon’s mother Olivia. That woman shows her that she doesn’t want Lily as
Damon’s wife and Lil starts to question and overthink everything, so a little drama
was part of the story as well.
Lily’s friends are great:
CeeCee, Missy and Sarah. They are a great combination, helping each other where
they can. Sarah is still happy with Ridge, which makes me so happy.
Each chapter was dedicated
to one day before the wedding, so we had 10 days, the wedding and the epilogue.
Aww, this epilogue, the perfect ending to this wonderful series, does it really
have to be over?!
I loved being in this
little world, I felt like being there myself and I would definitely want to
live there. Rebecca’s writing makes this world seem so vivid and real.
Oh and of course there was
Damon’s little girl Charlie as well, she’s such a cutie and added some sweet
sparks into this story.
The wedding day was the
highlight of this novella, full of emotions and some touching moments.
Thank you for writing this
story Rebecca. It’s the perfect festive feel-good book to snuggle up to in bed.
Brilliantly written .
.
Rating:
My possible cast:
Lily: Mackenzie Mauzy
Damon: Oliver Tompsett
Charlie: Jackie Evancho
Character
Interview with Lily from the Gingerbread Cafe series by Rebecca Raisin
- Hi Lily, I’m happy to
welcome you on my blog. Can you tell us a little about yourself?
Hi Simona! Thanks so much for having me
here! I own the Gingerbread Café in Ashford, Connecticut. I work alongside my
best friend, CeeCee, who’s this no-nonsense, fast-talking southern women who
tells it like it is. We have a lot of fun baking, and teasing each other every
day! My fiancé Damon works across the road, and it’s fair to say, I do spend a
bit of time leaning against the window trying to catch a glimpse of him!
- What’s it like being the owner of a café?
I absolutely love it, but there’s also times
when I worry… Ashford is a small place, so sometimes we struggle to make ends
meet. We have times that we’re frantically busy, like Christmas, but then it
slows down over the rest of winter. The perfect remedy for all that worry is
baking! Everything seems to make sense when I’m rolling out pastry or
decorating a cake…
- I heard you’re getting married soon, that’s so exciting. Tell us more about your future husband, what do you love about him?
Thank you! Oh it’s hard not to get all mushy
over him because he’s just so lovely! I love everything about him, the way he
laughs so hard he gets dimples, the way he cooks for me, the way he adores his
daughter, and that he always thinks of others first…I could go on and on, but
he’s the whole package!
- Why is it going to be a Christmas wedding?
It’s exactly a year to the day we first
kissed! We thought it would be special to say our vows on Christmas Eve, and
planned a winter wonderland wedding! Christmas is my favourite time of year, so
why not celebrate with a wedding too! We’ll be busy in the lead-up to the
wedding with the café, but I’m sure I can handle it all…
- Do you plan it by yourself? What can we expect?
Damon’s been very involved, which is
great. And CeeCee and I have the most amazing wedding cake planned! The girls,
Missy and Sarah, have been helping out with the design for my dress, which is
being made by Bessie the local dressmaker. And of course, Missy is pushing me
to step out of my comfort zone with lots of hair and make-up ideas. We’re getting
married in the one-hundred year old chapel which has a lot of meaning for the
folks of Ashford. So…hopefully it’ll all come together in the end.
- You live in Ashford. What makes this place special in your eyes?
It’s a small town, and most folk have
lived here forever. We help each other, and everyone knows everyone’s business,
so it’s impossible to keep secrets in this town, but if you’re ever struggling,
you’ll have bucket loads of help. It’s one of those towns where, especially at
Christmas, people come together, to be thankful for what they’ve got, and the
year that was. I love it here, and I’d never leave.
- Who are the most important people in your life (next to Damon of course)?
CeeCee is my best friend, and also like
a mother figure, and confidante, all rolled into one. She’s my sounding board,
and doles out advice when I most need it. My folks are back from their travels,
and even though my mother is a disaster in the kitchen, we’re very close. My
best friends are also Missy, who has a heart the size of Texas, and Sarah,
who’s as whimsical and sweet as you can get.
- Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
I’d like to think the Gingerbread Café
was flourishing! That CeeCee and I still bake alongside each other, and I hope
by then, Damon and I have a couple of children of our own, sitting at the table
near the fire munching on gingerbread men cookies, while I work. If that
happened, I’d be the happiest girl in the world.
- How important are friends and family in your life?
Hugely important. Without them, my life
would be empty. We treasure relationships in Ashford, and we cherish our
friends and family because without them we’d have nothing.
- How would you describe yourself in three words?
Blubberer, Baker, Best-friend.
- What’s your favourite Christmas memory?
It would have to be last year, when
Damon kissed me for the first time. I wasn’t looking for love, so it crept up
and tapped me on the shoulder, and now look, we’re about to get married!
- Do you have a special Christmas tradition?
So many! We bake so many traditional
cakes for the café, including southern cakes, because CeCee loves them. But
usually it’s just being surrounded by family and friends. We set up our
Christmas window display and month before Christmas and the rule is any kids
that happen along can take a marshmallow snowman from there, and come in for a
cup of hot cocoa. They love the window, and we love watching their faces when
they bite into something we’ve made.
- What’s your favourite
Christmas song?
It’s Amazing Grace, but unfortunately
it makes me blubber like a fool every single time I hear it!
- What’s your favourite Christmas movie?
Oh there’s so many! I LOVE “Love
Actually” again, another movie that brings out the sob-fests, but now that
Charlie visits, I love snuggling with her and watching “Home Alone” she giggles
her way through it, and it always makes me laugh.
- Your favourite Christmas books?
Well last year I must have read “How
the Grinch stole Christmas” a hundred times to Charlie, so that’s a favourite.
This year I have some new books all wrapped up for her, and I look forward to
watching her open the gifts I have for her!
Buy Links
Author Bio
Rebecca aims to write characters you can see yourself being friends with. People with big hearts who care about relationships and believe in true love.
Author Links
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