Thank you for a review copy of this book. I really enjoy author Jenny Colgan's writing. She always writes wonderful characters that are unique but relatable. I have enjoyed each and everyone of the books in this series. This book was not exception. I really have enjoyed getting to know these characters. The setting was beautiful and descriptive. It fit the story and characters so well. Overall, I would highly recommend this book for those who have ever wanted to live in a small village by the seaside.

I typically love Jenny Colgan books and her fun quirky characters but I couldn't get into Sunrise by the Sea which is disappointing because, so far, I've loved all of the books in the Little Beach Street Bakery series. While the books in this series are typically uplifting and give me "all the feels", this one didn't do much of that at all and instead left me feeling blue.

I love Jenny Colgan and this is one of my favorite series that she writes. Nina and Huckle are so lovely and I enjoy how Jenny Colgan brings new characters in and weaves them into the small town so seamlessly. I think I would love to live in Mount Polbearne and visit Nina’s bakery each morning.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my digital copy in exchange for an honest opinion...I requested this book because I have read others by this author and really liked them and also because I really liked the cover. In this case, I was not disappointed in my choice. It did take me about 1/4 of the book to get into it, though, and to like the characters. Once I got to know the characters I really liked them and started to root for them to get the man/woman/money or whatever they were hoping to achieve. The setting was great and described in a way that I had to look it up to see if it was a real place...I could easily picture myself staying in one of the little cottages and getting to know the people in the town...four stars :)

Another story by Jenny Colgan dealing with grief, acceptance, love and understanding. Perfect for a night by the fire complete with a happy ending.

Some authors skate by on the good will they've accumulated from their past, better novels, and I'm surprised to see Jenny Colgan suspected of this for Sunrise by the Sea. It's a delight, building upon the very pleasant series that's come to be such a nice journey for fans of this series. Colgan has a roster of successful books because she's so great at building a balance between the 'issues' within the book - the collection of characters with anxiety or sadness, etc. - and the levity and brightness that we've come to know in her books. I love this one for its reliability, its cozy calm. We just get to go to that comfortable, relatable place that lets us sit with our own grief and how we take baby steps out of it to approach feeling better and more fulfilled.

Fun, cozy, comfort read! The characters are so well-written that you feel a part of their family and you want to keep visiting with them. I love this series - A Little Beach Bakery Series. As well as following Polly and Huck and their puffin, Neil, this novel addresses some heavier issues, such as grief and anxiety. Colgan does this brilliantly - she introduces the new characters with these issues and we can feel the pain that they feel on a daily basis and see their thought processes as they work through their issues. It is done with such an easy flow that it is not heavy or depressing at all - in fact, there is humor throughout showing us that sometimes humor helps us work through our issues or, at least, makes them easier to bare. I enjoyed the new characters as well as the old. I hope to see all of them again soon. Enjoyable read!

Having read the other books in the series, this followed a similar storyline, bringing in old characters like Polly and Huckle and Neil the Puffin, while introducing some new ones. Although I enjoyed reading the story in the beginning, towards the end it just seemed to drag on a little too much for me and I felt it could have been wrapped up a bit quicker. Overall not a bad story but nothing too memorable either.

Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the ARC for review. This is a delightful series I love returning to

I always enjoy returning to the charm of Mount Polbearne with Polly and friends. .This is the perfect summer read to sweep you away . I loved this book and look forward to the next in series. The author has wonderful descriptions of Cornwall, the culture and the food that every reader will adore. This is the 4th release in the "Little Beach Bakery" series.

Marisa is consumed with grief over the loss of her grandfather. She cannot see her way through her grief. She develops anxiety and agoraphobia.. She makes a decision to go to a remote cottage in Cornwall for some peace but she really wants to indulge herself in privacy and quiet . The neighbors refuse to let her stay within her grief and shake her out of her grief with their antics and daily life.

This is one of my favorite reads of the summer. A delightful read I highly recommend.

It’s always a treat to visit with Polly, Huckle and the colorful cast of characters who make up Mount Polbearne. In this latest installment of the Little Beach Street Bakery series, Marisa Rossi, an agoraphobic registrar from Exeter, has fallen into a long, deep grief following her grandfather’s death. She’s fighting depression and anxiety so profound that she hasn’t left her apartment in months, shifting to a work-from-home admin position. When her colorful, handsome roommate Caius gently kicks her out and relocates her to his uncle Reuben’s vacation rental in the hopes that she’ll heal on the secluded island, she finds that the silence she craves is impossible. Her new neighbor, Russian music teacher Alexei, gives piano lessons during the day and plays loud, discordant music at night that the paper-thin walls do nothing to muffle. So begins this unlikely, and at times contentious, friendship based on proximity, misunderstandings, thoughts and words lost in translation, and inherent kindness.

Marisa slowly begins to re-enter society thanks to Alexei and her therapist, but also through a serendipitous meeting with Polly whose young twins are taking lessons from Alexei. As Polly and Huckle face a looming financial crisis, a damaging storm forces change for the bakery. From the flotsam that floods it, a partnership is born that has the potential to improve all of their lives. If you like slow-burn romances, small village life, the tastes and smells of Italy, and the comfort of revisiting favorite characters, it’s time to discover Jenny Colgan. Although this can stand alone, it’s best to read the previous books in the series to appreciate her gift for storytelling and creating strong, complex characters who not only weather tragic storms, but also find hope and joy in the simple things shared with those they love. Highly recommended.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from William Morrow Paperbacks through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Warning-- I love Jenny Colgan's books so I might be prejudiced. However, I think this is a worthy entry in the Beach Street series. I don't know if it's the best of the series but enjoyable and satisfying, absolutely. If you haven't read any of the series, definitely pick up the first book, Little Beach Street Bakery-- you'll get to know to he characters and lay of the land. And you might want to get the other books, too, and read them in order. Because, you know, they are enjoyable and fun and this story will make more sense if you know what came before.

Jenny Colgan's books aren't rocket science. They're women's light fiction ( no negative connotations here), well-written, relatively simple stories that are somehow deeply satisfying. Give them a read, you won't regret it. ( I'd like to add a half star if I could but since the form is set up for whole stars only, I'll make it four since I reserve five for...I'm not exactly sure what but it has to be something mind-blowing).

My thanks to Ms. Colgan, her publisher and NetGalley for making this copy available to me.

I have been a follower of Jenny Colgan for several years now and the Little Beach Street Bakery was the series that got me started. It felt like coming home to re-join Polly, Huckle and Neil and catching up with life on Mt. Polbearne. We are introduced to two new characters: Marisa and Alexi and they become a part of Cornish life. This was a fast read but enjoyable - like visiting with old friends.

Another winner from Jenny Colgan set in the cozy town of Mount Polbearne with its lovable cast of characters. Marissa is a young woman struggling to get past the loss of her beloved grandfather and is offered a chance to go to Mount Polbearne to help her heal. She stays to herself but slowly becomes drawn into the lives of her neighbors, especially the cranky man next door. A predictable but entertaining read perfect for a summer day.

Possible spoiler alert.

In "Sunrise by the Sea," Marisa has come to Mount Polbearne after being kicked out of her flat by her roommate for being too depressed after the death of her beloved grandfather. Caius, her former roommate, is the nephew of Reuben, the multi-millionaire friend of Polly and Huckle's who has been in the other Beach Street Bakery books. Marisa suffers from an anxiety disorder, which only gets worse when she arrives only to find her new next-door neighbor is a loud music teacher who plays day and night, allowing her no peace until she is forced to kinda/sorta confront him. Since he resembles a large bear, this understandably takes her some time.

Not much has changed on Mount Polbearne otherwise. Polly and Huckle, now with two children, are still struggling to make ends meet. Reuben and Kerensa are still rich, and unfortunately, Kerensa has become a bit oblivious to her friends' problems, as well as a tad bit obnoxious about her wealth-by-marriage.

Marisa's recovery from anxiety seems a bit too pat. Yes, she does seek counseling and there are steps she goes through, but from seeing friends and family struggle with social anxiety and depression, I felt her journey was just too linear.

Maybe I just wasn't in the right frame of mind when I read this book. It felt like the same components were used as in the other books, such as a huge storm that damages the island, Reuben swooping in to throw money at things and save the day, and Polly and Huckle never having any financial security, but with a couple new characters, with problems of their own thrown in to spice it up. It's a good book, but I think I just wanted something...more, especially for Polly and Huckle. Also, there's just not enough of Neil the Puffin.

3 out of 5 stars

I received an advance copy from William Morrow Paperbacks via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

There’s a certain type of book that presents a plot of social or financial struggles that are ultimately solved by a group of people pulling together and baking/cooking something that is so delicious it causes their problems to recede. I admit I have a weakness for this plot, despite its predictability. Sometimes a mystery is tossed in or a murder or maybe even a missing person. But fundamentally, this is a tale of food bringing people together and I always love reading it. In SUNRISE BY THE SEA, an agoraphobic attempts to hide away but her grandmother encourages her, by Zoom, to cook just a little, and sends her care packages. It turns out she is an excellent cook and our story begins. This is a fast and enjoyable book, with no huge surprises but a real pleasure to read nonetheless. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Sunrise by the Sea is a warm visit to the friend’s we know and love from Jenny Colgan’s Little Beach Street Bakery (LBSB) Series. This one while still partly about Polly the main character from LBSB mainly focuses on a new character who moves to Mount Polbearne, Marisa Rosso. After the death of her grandfather, Marisa finds herself unable to move passed the grief and retreating into herself. She moves to Mount Polbearne for a lot of reasons but hopes that peace and solitude will help her find her way back to her previous life. She quickly realizes that peace and solitude will only be possible in short passing moments with a piano-teaching neighbor, a bustling small town, and a struggling bakery. Marisa is aware that Mount Polbearne is more than she signed on but maybe…just maybe it might be exactly what she needs.
This book is such a relatable and cozy read. Visiting Polly again and seeing what she and the rest of Mount Polbearne are up to is always fun, but Marisa and her neighbor have become some of my all time favorite characters in Colgan’s worlds. Grief, isolation, self-doubt, guilt, are emotions all of us have had to face especially in this “new normal” we have found ourselves in. Colgan writes a story about living with and overcoming it without it being a story about the pandemic. It was refreshing to escape the world of COVID but still feel like a story can help me cope with it. With a focus on culture, family, selfcare, and of course food, Sunrise by the Sea takes you in and through many worlds leaving you feeling as if you have traveled to many places while being tucked in bed.
After reading Sunrise by the Sea, I felt understood and that I’m not alone. At a time when isolation is encouraged and the norm it is hard to explain that some of us have been dealing with these anxieties since before 2020, but Colgan gives us a character who understands and battles it out on the page to encourage us to battle it in our own lives. A cozy read and beautiful story about what means to live with grief, to live with anxieties, and how to carve out a life for ourselves in a way that matters.
*I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. *

Jenny Colgan is my favorite writer and she did not disappoint. I was glad to be back in Mount Polbearne and seeing what the characters were up to as well as learning more about the newest members of the community.

I’ve read this series from the beginning –and loved Polly, the little rock of Mount Polbearne, Neil the puffling (now full grown puffin) and the changes that everyone went through. We return some years later to find Polly and Huckle have twins – a boy and a girl, they are living in the lighthouse, Neil is still a pet and ensconced in the house, and while things have always been difficult, financially, they’re really pressed now. Huckle is traveling more and more to sell his honey, Polly is increasingly stressed trying to figure out new ways to make the bakery more profitable in the non-tourist season, their friends Kerensa and Reuben (along with their own child) have made major investments – but this has made everything else pricier for everyone.

A new school is coming – and Reuben has placed the music teacher, Alexei – a large, bear-like Russian man into one of the homes, while his cousin has turfed out a roommate and arranged for her to have another house on the island. Marisa has been caught in a depression and anxiety after the death of her beloved grandfather in Italy. Retreating from society, never leaving her house and allowing the anxiety and loneliness and her own insecurities build. Getting to Cornwall was a trick: arriving at the house only to find it next to another that houses Alexi, his students, his piano and another person she may have to face is just one thing too far.

Yet, in the manner of all Colgan books – we have gentle (and not so) moments that bring change to everyone – particularly those who need it most. The reinforcement of friendship, community and family as Marisa spent long hours on Skype with her grandmother in Italy, to the recognition (for Marisa) and a reminder for us all – that everyone who “appears to have it all together” just may have struggles and trials of their own, to the generosity of Reuben (even if it feels as though a catch is involved) and the joy of Polly’s children with Neil and without gives this a sense of ‘coming home’ - where nothing is ever REALLY too much to handle – not with the support of friends, family and community – and there are always bright moments even in the worst of circumstances. You will enjoy this story if you’ve never picked up a Colgan book before (how is that possible?) but to truly come to love and understand Mount Polbearne, Polly, the community and where Neil fits in (anywhere his chubby little body can fly – or walk) you’ll want to start at the beginning. A lovely return to wildness with a dash of civilization – all full of heart, love and hope, reminding me why it is a favorite series with this most important installment.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href=” https://wp.me/p3OmRo-aVb /” > <a> I am, Indeed </a>

As a side note, y'all - few things (or authors) make me happier than Jenny Colgan - which is why reviewing her books is far more difficult. I get lost in her stories, the places, the characters and even the cute-overload that ALWAYS happens .... so bear with me - grab the books, and just enjoy the ride!

SUNRISE BY THE SEA By Jenny Colgan
Romance fiction
368 Pages


Marissa Rossi is an Italian young woman who goes through a very terrible time when she loses her grandfather. She develops agoraphobia and cannot figure out what is wrong with her. An ex boyfriend actually is the one who helps her by giving her access to a house in a remote town in England. There she meets a village full of people who without her even knowing it helps her work through her illness.  Going to the remote city turns out to be the best thing that ever happens to Marissa.

Jenny Colgan has an Irish/Scottish way of telling stories that suck you in. Her writing can charm you and you root for her characters. I love reading about all the cities in Scotland and Ireland and the people she writes there. I always feel a calming happiness when I read a Jenny Colgan book. There not sappy but give you a calming happiness if you know what I mean. I recommend all of her books to everyone.

Always love Jenny Colgan and this series is a go to for my gentler readers. Thank you to NetGalley for the complimentary advance ebook.