The Lemon Tree Café

This book was a total delight! I have a thing for British contemporary romance and this book did NOT disappoint at all. It's a really great read. I find that some contemporary romance novels are lighthearted quick reads, and others have a bit more oomph to them. This one is the latter. There's great backstory and I enjoyed the backstory in this novel every bit as much as the romance. It was truly an amazing read.Without getting spoiler-y I have to say that I really enjoyed the family aspect of the story and in many ways it reminded me of my late Italian grandma. I couldn't help but thinking about her a lot while reading this book, which made me love it even more.This was my first book from Cathy Bramley and I've got another of her books in my nightstand TBR stack. Can't wait to see if its as good!

Enjoyed the story. I found the issues faced by the main characters were dealt with very well.

"The Lemon Tree Café" by Cathy Bramley, is the 6th of her many wonderful and delicious stories. This one takes place in Rosie's Italian grandmother's café with the smell of expresso and homemade biscotti's fill the air. Love, betrayal and secrets abound with bits of wonderful humor. All Cathy's books have characters you will love, hate and sometimes know people that fit their exact qualities. And just an added bonus, all of Cathy Bramley's wonderful books have the recipes for many of the foods mentioned in the story. I personally made the "Lemon Shortbread Cookies"... DEELICIOUS !

Best of her books thus far, but I have thought that about each of them!

My first read by this author turned out to be silly and downright boring. The main character, Rosie, comes across as a ding-a-ling. It was hard to develop any empathy for her. Probably this will be my first and last read by this author.

As scrumptious, heart-warming and soulful as always, The Lemon Tree Café by Cathy Bramley was yet another wonderful and uplifting story that captured my heart and had me wanting step right into the pages to explore Rosie's world for myself. Sprinkled with delicious foodie delights and the most gorgeous and lovable of characters, The Lemon Tree Café ticked all of the boxes for me, and reminded me of why I fell in love with Bramley's books in the first place. They are the 'comfort food' of fiction, cosy and full of life, and warm enough for you to want to wrap right around yourself like your favourite woollen scarf. Bramley's books feel like a safe-place, in a world that can be so terrifying, yet still manage to maintain that important aspect of realness, remembering that life is not always a fairy-tale and including the not-so-pretty parts too. All in all, Bramley truly whips up a recipe for success in her latest novel, The Lemon Tree Café, and I'm so thrilled to have had the chance to read it.In Bramley's The Lemon Tree Café, readers are introduced to Rosie Featherstone. Jobless, and with nothing much to fall back on, Rosie returns to The Lemon Tree Café, the business owned by her Nonna, to help out as much as she can until another job opportunity hopefully arises. It's nothing permanent, just a short detour until she's back on track, but it's lovely for her to be back in the cosy confines of the café, and back beside her beloved Nonna, still as feisty and stubborn yet totally lovable as ever. But as Rosie begins to slip back into a routine in the café, she begins to realise that things aren't as rosy as they appear to be on the surface. In fact, the closer she begins to look, the more problems seem to arise and she can't quite believe that things have gotten so bad. Taking it upon herself, as a concerned granddaughter, Rosie decides to tackle the cafe's issues one by one, but only when her Nonna isn't looking, of course. She certainly wouldn't be pleased to see Rosie poking her nose around, that's for sure. It seems that Rosie has got her work cut out for her in The Lemon Tree Café, as well as in life in general. Because everybody seems to be keeping something to themselves, Rosie included.Not only does Bramley write from the heart, but she writes about the things that matter. Family. Life. Love. Financial difficulties. It's all included in her books and makes them incredibly relatable for readers of all ages. Whether you're young or old, The Lemon Tree Café will have something that appeals to you, I'm sure of it. With characters from all walks of life, all ages and all professions, it was such a joy to read and left me thinking about how life really is all about going after what you want, and finding what it is that makes you truly happy. It is a blessing that Bramley's books are in the world. I always feel like I find in her novels the thing that I need to read most, and if that's not magical then I don't know what is. A brilliant, brilliant novel, displaying perfectly the ups and downs, and the twists and turns of good old life. With thanks to the publisher for the review copy of this book.

I really enjoyed Cathy Bramley's Ivy Lane.so I was pleased to see her new novel on NetGalley. The Lemon Tree Cafe was just as delightful as I had hoped for.First of all it is set in rural England that I always love to read about. The way of life in a small town, in a close-knit community has irresistable charm for me.I also like the colourful set of characters. They are funny and quirky and I'm sure every reader can find at least one person among them that they can identify with.The main characters, the three generations of the Carloni women are really loveable. They all have their own problems, but in the end they can find a solution and a way to happiness. I love happy endings in a book as much as the next person and this plot did not disappoint me.There are darker moments in the book when the main characters reveal their past secrets and face their demons, but on the whole the novel is funny and delihtful. A lovely ead. I can recommend to everyone who love happy endings.

My first book

I'm not a fan of serials so even though I have loved everything Cathy Bramley has written I waited patiently until the complete version of her latest series The Lemon Tree Cafe was published before I immersed myself into this tale of Rosie and her family and friends in Barnaby. And it was so worth the wait as I loved every single second of it as I found myself rooting for Rosie in her endeavours to help out her Nonna Maria to save the family cafe when faced with a challenge or two.I loved Rosie from the first moment we're introduced to her in her corporate job at a marketing agency where she's asked to do something she absolutely despises, to airbrush a young model's photo for a campaign. Sticking to her principles she refuses to do so and decides to resign from her job instead even though it's a rash decision as she has no back up plan other than to return to her family home in Derbyshire whilst searching for a new job. It's only when she returns home that she discovers that her beloved Nonna is struggling to keep on top of things at the cafe so she steps in to help out little knowing that Maria has been hiding a dark secret from the family.As I've found in her previous books a familiar face or two crop up and in this instance it's when Gabe and his son Noah, who we met in The Plumberry School of Comfort Food, arrive on their narrowboat that things get interesting. Gabe has decided that it's finally time to set up roots somewhere permanent as Noah is ready to start school, and their mutual friend Verity has rung Rosie to ask her to keep an eye on them.Once again Cathy Bramley has created a wonderful community of characters who are there for each other in the good times and the bad, you can't help smile at poor Stanley's attempts to woo Maria, have a chuckle or two when you discover what Rosie's dad Alec is up to, and gasp when you discover secrets from both Maria and Rosie's pasts that connect them.But it's the wonderful descriptive writing that really brings this story to life as I could imagine myself walking round the village green during the Spring fair visiting each of the local trades stalls, found myself salivating at the dishes Lia creates when Rosie asks her sister to help out at the cafe, and picturing the beauty of Sorrento as Rosie and her Nonna take a trip back to her hometown in Italy to put the past to rest.The Lemon Tree Cafe was another hit with me and shows what a remarkable storyteller Cathy Bramley is as she pulls you in and doesn't let you go until you've reached the final page.

A lovely read

Good story and easy reading.

A pleasant but simple book that needed further tweaking . Good for by the pool., easy yo pick up and put down