Read in 2019 - 14: The Grand Reopening of Dandelion Café

The Grand Reopening of Dandelion Café
Jenny Oliver

While this was a nice and relaxing read, it was a bit on the short side - something I usually don't mind, as overly lengthy descriptions and repetitive conversations can take away some of the pleasure a book could otherwise bring. But in this case, the story almost seemed a bit rushed, which was a shame, because it left both the setting and the characters a little flat, not fully developing their potential.

The setting is Cherry Pie Island on the river Thames, a place inhabited by a small but rather diverse community. There are very rich home owners while others live in less lush dwellings. All sorts of activies from the obvious rowing and fishing to the more unusual such as recording music in a studio take place there. Some live there by choice, others because they have no choice.

Annie grew up on Cherry Pie Island. Her father owned, among others, the Dandelion Café. She fled the island as a very young woman, desperate to get away from what she felt were parents and an older brother who would never trust her to grow up after she made one very stupid mistake with drastic consequences. Now her father is dead and has left the café to her of all people.

When she first comes to have a look at the by now shabby, run-down place, everybody expects her to sell up, take the money and get back to her life in London as a freelance web designer as quickly as possible.

But of course the short book would be even shorter if that were the case. Also, I don't need to tell you that a love interest crops up, and all ends well.

That good ending does not happen without our heroine having to overcome some obstacles. But even though those obstacles seem almost unsurmountable at first, all problems are solved surprisingly fast and easy - too easy, actually, to be credible. Maybe credible is not what the author was after, or maybe the following books of the series have a little more substance (it is #1 in the Cherry Pie Island series) - and anyway, I should not complain, as a) it was a free ebook and b) it never pretended to be anything else but light, cosy reading material for those times when that is all you really want.

Jenny Oliver's website says "feel-good, escapist fiction". At the end of the "about" section, it also says: "Her bestselling ebook series of novellas, all set around the idyllic Cherry Pie Island, is perfect for a quick, escapist read." That sums it up perfectly.