A Cosy Christmas at Bridget’s Bicycle Bakery is the first book in a new series by Alex Brown. Bridget Carrington and her three children have moved back to Mulberry-on-Sea after a very sad and difficult year. Bridget’s young husband, Ted, died suddenly about a year ago leaving his family in a hardship. Luckily, Ted’s parents, who have moved to Australia, still own a small beach cottage in Mulberry-on-Sea where Ted and Bridget met and have offered it, with repairs needed, to Bridget and her children.

With little left to care for her family, Bridget packs up much of their belongings in her little car, her 14 year old twins Olly and Oscar, and 6 year old Freya, plus their big dog Henry and pair of Guinea pigs, and heads out for their new home. Will she and her family be able to find a good life awaiting them in their new home? Will Bridget be successful in her new business in this very small village? And will Bridget find a new happily ever
after in such a warm hearted story? I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I do recommend it!

I always love the books by Alex Brown and this one is a perfect cosy Christmas read. It is not all sweetness and light as Bridget has lost her husband but the way she bounces back from the hardship, with her family the main priority, makes it a lovely heartwarming read and the slow burner romance is the icing on the cake

Wow, how great to be back with the gang.it’s been great to catch up old characters and to introduce some new ones. Loved this book and can’t wait for the next instalment for Bridget and her family and of course her wee bicycle bakery.
Highly recommended

Well, when you have a title like that, you also have a cloyster named Cristiana (aka me) glued to it. I'm a sucker for cosy, wintery books with a bakery set. Like, I'm there for it.
So, this one was perfect, really cute and so drama-free which was absolutely refreshing!
Bridget was my absolutely favorite but I also loved Freya from the very beginning.
Living on the beachside and also providing a bakery service by bycicle is just so perfect! Highly, highly recommend!

Everyone loves a Christmas story right?

This is a heartwarming read that gets you right into the Christmas spirit.

lovely read

THE PERFECT thing to get me into the Holiday spirit and after the last few years being kind of harder than normal, I definitely needed it. This was a cute and comforting Christmas romance. A story of a widowed baker dealing with her grief and deciding when to move on. Completely charming story.

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley #netgalley

Perfect Christmas book. I wish I could stay in this book forever!

The excitement was real when earlier this year Alex Brown announced that her new book would return to Mulberry on Sea, the setting for her beloved Carrington’s series. Way back in 2013, the first Carrington’s book Cupcakes at Carrington’s was published and ever since then I have adored everything that Alex has written. It’s been a long, long wait but finally we return to the setting that cemented my love for this wonderful author’s work.

A Cosy Christmas at Bridget’s Bicycle Bakery is everything you want and more from a Christmas book and right from page one I felt instantly at home and I completely lost myself in the feel good story that unfolded. It’s a book that has you laughing on page one and for me that means I know I am going to love every minute of it and I certainly did. This book has such a gorgeous, whimsical Christmas cover that encapsulates the spirit of the story perfectly. It’s a book that makes you happy and transports you away to a magical place filled with warm and inviting characters that capture your heart and refuse to let go.

Bridget arrives in Mulberry on Sea a few weeks before Christmas with her 14 year olds twins Oscar and Olly and her six year old daughter Freya, oh and not forgetting the two guinea pigs and Henry the dog. Right from that first introduction detailing the hilarious car journey and subsequent arrival in the coastal town of Mulberry on Sea, famous for its Carrington’s department store, this story is packed full of humour and laugh out loud moments expertly balanced with the more emotional side of what Bridget is going through. This move is a big upheaval for Bridget’s family but it’s a necessary one. They have all been through the mill since the sudden and unexpected death of their beloved father Ted, just over a year ago. Now even though Bridget is still deep in mourning she knows she needs to focus on building a happy, stable future for herself and the children.

Bridget is exhausted from solo parenting. She feels as if she is making things up as she goes along and she would give anything at all to turn back time and have Ted by her side as they were such a great team and the love they had for each other was so deep and meant to be everlasting. They first met when she worked part-time in Carrington’s and now returning back to where it all began stirs up many memories for her. But she needs to put her best foot forward no matter how challenging this may seem and try and establish a new life for her family despite her anchor missing from her side. There is a quite fizz of excitement at stepping into a new chapter in her life but is she ready for the challenges coming her way? Her main goal is to put her family back together and to feel happier and cheerful. Will relocating to Mulberry on Sea allow her to achieve these aims?

Thanks to her in-laws she has a home to go to as financially things aren’t going that well for her. Arriving at their holiday home/beach house, which needs a little work and some tender care, amidst the sand dunes of Mulberry on Sea it’s pitch black and forgetting the key doesn’t have things getting off to a good start. Not to mention an unfortunate, cringeworthy but definitely funny introduction to local resident and bar man Jack, well things don’t go to plan for Bridget and her children. Bridget was such a fabulous character. You could identify with her feelings of grief and these words though few are so powerful is describing what it feel like. ‘Grief is love with nowhere to go’. This certainly made me stop and think. Bridget could have just curled up in a ball and stayed isolated at the beach house just doing enough to make it through each day but she knew she needed a purpose in life not to mention some money needed to start coming in or her children would not have the unfirms needed for their new school not to mention Christmas would be non-existent.

The beach setting seemed another world away from the town itself and I could easily visualise Bridget putting her plan into action which soon grew to something much more. She starts baking for her family and my god the descriptions were just mouth-watering and I was delighted to see some recipes included at the end. Sausage rolls, sourdough loaves, mice pies, gingerbread men to name just a few but it certainly made me really hungry whilst reading. Bridget bakes at nighttime as a way of trying to avoid the loneliness and having her mind drift back to darker times. Times she wishes to put behind her and emerge much stronger from. Soon she is on her bicycle to travel to town and spread some Christmas cheer distributing some of her bakes and this is what proves the turning point for her. Such a simple thing to do but it’s fuelling her passion. This is where the human side of the story really came into play as I loved reading of the people Bridget met as she went about her daily deliveries. Each had their story to share and in doing so Bridget herself was starting to heal and understand things. It was a simple but affective tool in helping Bridget to see that she was back where she belonged and needed to be and that with time she would be able to move forward and find harmony once she became settled and found her new rhythm. That the darkness would lift but Ted would always remain strong in her heart.

The entire book had a real sense of community about it, of working together when the town gets cut off due to ice on the road. Here is where Bridget’s little enterprise really starts to flourish and I loved the hustle and bustle of everything. How she is so busy she has no time to ponder and she finds herself at the heart of the community providing sustenance and help and in doing so she starts to make many friends. I loved her interactions with Jack as from their first meeting they really didn’t get off to a good start. They certainly rubbed each other up the wrong way and she finds him to be cocky and it’s like they start a tit for tat feud with lots of misunderstandings. It seems kind of obvious where this eventually might go but there is certainly long and bumpy road in store for them. I’m really keen to see how this will play out in the future.

A Cosy Christmas at Bridget’s Bicycle Bakery gave me everything I had hoped for and more from a book I have long waited to read. The characters and the picturesque setting - especially Bridget’s beach hut amidst the sand dunes - come alive off the page and you feel wrapped in their embrace. It’s feel-good fiction at it’s very best so much so that you’ll want to read it one sitting and to be honest I was completely gutted when it ended because I just wanted to read more and more. Thankfully there will be a follow up book coming in coming July 2022, A Summer Holiday at Bridget’s Bicycle Bakery. I most certainly will be ready and waiting and eager to read the next instalment in the life of Bridget and the residents of Mulberry on Sea. In the meantime, don’t let this magical, emotional and heart-warming story pass you by this Christmas season. It’s a sure fire winner from me.

I can’t believe it’s been NINE years since Alex Brown first drew me into the world of Carrington’s with her fabulous series.

I was so excited when I found out she was revisiting Mulberry-on-Sea with Bridget in a new series.

It says a lot about an author’s skill when, even after all this time, I was taken right back and remembered everything. I remembered the characters and how they made me feel. Amazing! I felt like I had come home and I was back with the old gang 🙂

Even though A Cosy Christmas at Bridget’s Bicycle Bakery was bittersweet for me (only because I hated seeing Bridget struggling!) it’s a fabulously entertaining story.

So many moments of pure laughter – the choir practice had me chuckling 😀 – and just as many touching moments. I loved the bbq on the beach and the sledging. I could just picture Henry’s face (Bridget’s dog) when he couldn’t find the snowballs! I’ve loved getting to know Bridget’s children and of course Jack.

This story is so uplifting. It’s not just about the romance (although that’s really great too). The community draw you in and wrap you up in love. If only I could bottle how this story made me feel!

I thought there was a positive message too – even if happy ever afters don’t last forever, be open to new but different possiblilites. Life still has surprises in store.

My only complaint is that it was over too quickly. I can’t wait until July when A Summer Holiday at Bridget’s Bicycle Bakery publishes.

If you’re in any doubt, I LOVED this story. You don’t need to have read any of the previous Carrington stories to enjoy this one (but they will entertain you just as much). Highly recommended.

Bridget is forced to move her family to a little beach hut that belonged to her deceased husband's family in the small town they both grew up in. Being back home with her kids but without Ted is hard, however Bridget suddenly finds herself baking away her pain. She begins to see a way through her grief and a chance to start a career, she's always wanted.

Aww what a cute little story this was. Its so sweet and yes predictable yet well written. I like how carefully her grief is handled and not just dismissed. The plot is steady and the ending is touching and perfect. Bridget is instantly likeable though I do wonder how she could bake so much, she's real baking whizz. I loved the transition her boys made through the story and of course the romance between her and Jack. There are some really funny and relatable moments. A fun, festive read.

A lovely warm Christmas romance. Bridget loves baking, and after returning to her town of birth, after her husband suddenly dies, she quickly finds a demand for her baked goods. She and her children find that life by the sea in a little town community brings them together and the grief can subside, while her bread rises. Hot Jack, who works at the local pub, could also help her move on, if she is ready... You can smell the freshly baked bread!

3,5 Stars

A Christmas book which leaves you very snug and comfy after reading it (preferably with a mug of hot cocoa or mulled wine by your side, just like our protagonist Bridget likes to have ready at hand). It's full of community spirit, of new hope after a heavy loss, it's about making the most of it when you have not much left and about cherishing the moment and the little things. A tiny bit it's also about finding a new love, but especially this thread of the story was not so well done in my opinion. Jack and Bridget both fell in 'love at first sight', but I didn't feel them together at all. The romantic part was missing, also due to the fact that a large part of the story is dedicated to other issues in Bridgets life.

I did like those other issues, especially how she was welcomed by the people in Mulberry-on-sea and how she started her bakery business (with the help of her kids). But of course, lots of all that was also a bit too good to be true, too many lucky breaks. I tend to overlook those overly kitschy things in Christmas themed books more easily than in other books, and the same is true here - but sometimes I really had to roll my eyes.

Nevertheless, I really would like to follow up Bridgets story in the next book, which is already advertised at the end of the book.

If you are in need of a wonderful and warm Christmas story that will make you want to curl up with this book and a cup of cocoa and a nice warm fire well this is your book. I just recommend it so highly to everyone who likes to read.

I really enjoyed this Christmas read and seeing Bridget as she settled down to her new life with her family. Here’s hoping she learns to save some cash to fix that roof

A feel good Christmas read. After Bridget’s husband, Ted, passes away unexpectedly she has some tough choices to make. She decides to move her kids back to her and Ted’s hometown. From there it’s time to grow, heal and discover who she is going to be from that point on. Can’t see what happens for Bridget and her family in the next novel.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you NetGalley, Alex Brown and Harper Collins Publishing Ltd. for this edition and hearing my honest review. Looking forward to reading more with you
#partner

This book was a relaxing read with characters that were easily likeable. Nothing complicated just a nice story that entertained.

A Cosy Christmas At Bridget’s Bicycle Bakery by Alex Brown is a wonderful contemporary festive offering that will warm your heart. It is the fourth book in the Carrington’s series but can be read as a stand-alone.
The story is a study in love, grief and new beginnings. We witness a family recovering from the loss of a father and a home as they return to the seaside town of the mother’s childhood. Here they get a warm welcome as they meet friends old and new.
Grief brings many feelings including that of guilt for being alive and beginning to live again. A young child has a beautiful attitude to the loss of her father which will bring a tear to your eye and a smile to your lips.
There is much love within the community. There is kindness too as neighbours look out for each other.
New ventures are greeted enthusiastically as a need is met within the town.
All the characters were well drawn and welcoming. They are easy to empathise with. The inclusion of animals turns houses into homes.
The novel was warm and witty. There were times when I was laughing out loud. Whoever has read the book will never be able to forget the ho, ho, ho scene!
This was my first novel by Alex Brown but I want to read more by her. A Cosy Christmas At Bridget’s Bicycle Bakery was a positively charming novel.
I received a free copy via Net Galley. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.

A gentle, slow moving story about moving forward with life after a great loss. The book features a lovely family, a beautiful setting, a heart warming romance, and many descriptions of baked goods!

I love, love, loved this book, but be aware it will most likely make you crave bread or other baked goods, so please makes sure you have something to hand to snack on while you are reading.

Bridget, newly widowed with a young daughter and twin teenagers heads back to Mulberry-on-Sea thinking this is the place where she can heal and her family can start again. With only a few weeks to Christmas she seeks sanctuary in the beach house that her widowed husbands parents own.

Not perhaps the ideal way to start another Christmas without her husband, trying to make a home in a beach house that is perhaps not quite full waterproof and a car about to drive its last mile. Her introduction to the community doesn’t leave a lot to be desired, but she soon find solace in coming back here.

Bridget turns to her love of baking, bread especially and finds herself sharing her loaves with the locals. She meets up with old friends and makes new ones with people who are on their own for whatever reason and just want some company. All of this means that suddenly Bridget’s bread is gaining in popularity and when her twins set up an little enterprise from their own home, it seems that Bridget is well and truly now part of the community.

At the same time, the children are blossoming and they are finding this second Christmas a little easier to deal with. Even when you have to deal with drunk grandmothers on zoom calls and rather exuberant dogs.

This really is a Christmas read which has community spirit rising off the page, just like the bread that Bridget bakes. The best bit is the fact that you can smell and taste the bread and you don’t put on an ounce of weight! The thought of freshly baked bread, eaten with lashings of butter and a large cup of tea on the beach, all wrapped up warm had me wishing I was spending time at Mulberry on Sea.

A book to whisk you away, full of Christmas, community and carbs – what more could you want! I hope to see more of Bridget soon.