The Little Board Game Café is a sweet and easy romance that you can easily get lost in.

What a fun and charming book! This story satisfied that craving I had for a sweet romance read. What a fun and charming book! This story satisfied that craving I had for a sweet romance read. If you love board games, you will enjoy this book so much. I’m not a big board game fan, but all the excitement and passion the characters had for these games just leapt from the pages and was contagious. I was itching to play a game when I finished reading this book.
Overall, this is a nice and easy read. The characters are all likeable, and the story moves at the perfect pace. I adored Emily and her dream to open up her very own café. It’s always so special getting to connect with a character when they are trying to make their dreams come true. I loved the fact that Emily didn’t have an easy journey when it came to running her new café. There were so many unexpected twists and turns, which made for an entertaining reading experience. It also made Emily’s journey more realistic and relatable. Also, I loved how there were no real bad guys in this story. At first, I thought Emily’s ex-fiance and his mother would be the horrible characters you love to hate, but they weren’t. They surprised me in a good way. They supported Emily and her business venture and only wanted good things for her. There were no hard feelings between Emily and her fiance, and the end of their book had them being friends. I loved the secondary characters in this book, especially Mr. B. That man was delightful and just charmed my socks off whenever he was on the page.
The love in this book is sweet. Ludek is a big old softy who is a complete and utter board game geek. The way that man treated his games is the same way I treat my books. It’s clear right from the beginning that Ludek is smitten with Emily, but he is unsure if he should make a move because Emily’s breakup with her fiance is still pretty fresh. Emily and Ludek are delightful together, and I devoured every scene that had these two together. Even though this is a more charming romance, these two have some hurdles and miscommunications to solve before they can be together. I enjoyed their romance. It had just the right amount of everything to make it a pleasant reading experience.

The Little Board Game Café is the perfect romance to read this spring.

Thank you, Aria & Aries for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was absolutely one of the sweetest debuts I have read, and I'm so happy for the author that her lifelong dream has come true!

I loved the scatterbrained, slightly ditzy Emily. The meet-cute was lovely, and the slightly nerdy (but cute) male protagonist was adorable. His efforts he made were so romantic and thoughtful.

I could relate to him 'making up for it now in adulthood for what he didn't have in childhood '

A few sensitive topics are touched on but done with sensitivity.

I loved the serendipitous way things worked out and came together for Emily despite a rocky start for her. Hitting a version of rock bottom can help you at times to see things in a new way and do something you never thought you were brave enough to try.

And as always, I loved the found family aspects.

I look forward to any future books that Jennifer Page will write.

From the outside, Emily has it all; a good job, a loving fiancè and a nice home. But this illusion is shattered when she's unexpectedly made redundant... by the man she's about to marry. Cue their break up and a major life crisis!

Realising this may be her only shot to pursue her dream, she takes a risk and buys a small cafè in her town of Essendale, Yorkshire. But the cafe business can be brutal and she struggles to bring in new customers.

Thank goodness for her new friend and GP Ludek who introduces her to the board game community. Changing course, she rebrands her cafe to become 'The Little Board Game Cafè' and is amazed to see the community grow almost instantly.

But when a chain Coffee shop opens on main street, will Emily's cafè survive? Or will she need to walk away from this dream forever?

This was a lovely, sweet read and I enjoyed getting to know the character of Emily. I felt for her over the early loss of her mother and how this affected both she and her father in very different ways. Emily's best friend Kate was the breath of fresh air the story needed, whilst Ludek was a great love interest.

This book was both light and sunny at times, then serious and focused at others. It's a closed door romance and it was definitely a slow burn with a lot of miscommunication. I'll admit that miscommunication isn't my favourite trope, but it made sense for the story.

Thank you to Author Jennifer Page, Head of Zeus and Netgalley for providing me with this ARC. All opinions are my own and have been provided voluntarily.

Thank you NetGalley and Aria & Aries for approving my request and on this book. I genuinely appreciate it so much.

This book was quite the cute and cozy read. It definitely takes you on a journey with the main character, Emily and her reaching these goals she has set for herself. I think that’s very lovely and is a reminder to never give up on your own dreams or ambitions. That even if you stumble upon some hard times and unfortunate circumstances, you can always turn it around.

The only con I have about this book is it felt a bit dragged on in some parts which kind of left me just feeling not so interested. But overall it’s a lovely read and I think many people would love to read it. I give this book a 4/5!

What a cute book! 🥹
It's that kind of book that really warms your soul. I only didn't give it 5 stars because the ending was a bit repetitive, but it was a great read. A light story, much more than a simple romance, in my opinion. It is a book where we follow a person who want to follow her dreams, to regain her self-esteem and what to do when things go less well.
I hope the author brings us a second book because I want to know the future of the remaining characters in the book 🥹💕

The Little Board Game Café is the first novel by British author, Jennifer Page. On Thursday, Emily is living with her fiancé, James, working at his engineering business, and having her wedding organised by his bossy, snobby mother. By Saturday, she’s been made redundant, realised that James is not the right man, and is living in her best friend, Kate’s spare room.

Is this the right time to throw her life savings and her mother’s bequest into their long-held dream of owning a café? Perhaps not, but soon she has signed a lease on a tatty-looking, dismal, out-of-the-way café in Essendale, painting walls, scrubbing the kitchen and devising menus. Down the street, Sweet Treats is always busy: surely she can have a share of that? Nico’s Café becomes The Lancashire Hotpot, serving All Day Breakfasts, lunches, coffee and tea, cakes and pies.

But, apart from a few regulars, there are no customers, and Emily’s savings are dwindling fast. “Had she been tricked into buying what basically amounted to a failing business? Perhaps so, but it wasn’t going to be a failing business anymore. She was even more determined to turn things around.”

Then local GP and board-game geek, Ludek, whom she met while acting as wingman on one of Kate’s quests to find “The One”, asks a favour: could his board game club hold their Friday night get together at her café, as their regular venue was unavailable? Indeed they could! And seeing the delectable Ludek would be a bonus.

Even though custom picks up a little, her ex suggest that her café needs a Unique Selling Point to succeed and, after a false start, she lands upon the idea: The Little Board Game Café. With lots of help, the place is transformed, and invitations are sent out for a launch event. Emily gets so busy, she begins to think she needs a helper.

News of a chain café soon to open nearby is a worry, but turns out it’s not worst thing that can happen. And when it does, will Emily have to say goodbye to her dream?

Page gives the reader interesting and appealing characters who often share insightful observations and offer sound advice: “you shouldn’t marry someone you can live with. You should marry someone you can’t live without.” In a cute touch, some chapters are prefaced with Emily’s bedside reads, reflecting her mood and interests. This light-hearted cosy romance is an outstanding debut novel, and more from this author is most welcome.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Aria & Aries

A really lovely book to read. The characters were very likeable and the premise of a board game cafe worked really well. Beautifully written and a great ending.

SUCH a cosy book! I loved this. It was a quick read that was hard to put down. The character building was great, and being from West Yorkshire I could picture the town perfectly. I was really routing for Emily throughout this book, however I really struggled with Kate and found her SO irritating. The reveal at the end of chapter 10 had me actually crying in the middle of my flight to Tenerife (and sat in between two random blokes who probably wondered what on earth was going on!), however it also made me laugh lots! I definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves a cute, cosy read.
Thanks to NetGalley, Jennifer Page and Aria & Aries for this ARC copy.

I just love it. If you're a fan of board games and romantic books, this is your book.
Everything is well written and the characters are lovely, although sometimes you hate them a little. Emily is fabolous. I can't say nothing bad about it, as my personal life is a bit similar to her, with the board games.

The book is a real gem! A fantastic feel good read which should not be missed at any cost.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review.

I loved this book. Emily wants to open a cafe but along the way she meets various obstacles but with the support of her nearest and dearest she does. She also has difficulty with relationships so friend Kate guides and supports her beastie. A light hearted story with fun characters and a few surprises along the way. Thanks to Jennifer and her publisher. Thanks also to NetGalley. An easy 5 ⭐️

This was an exquisitely beautiful little read. I've read this in one sitting over a few hours. It really is a wee gem of a book. Lovely characters, a great premise and a happy ending. The perfect feel good read.

A sweet book with the triumph of hope over failure. I really enjoyed the tale of Emily living up to her dream of running a cafe - just as she wanted to do with her mum. I thought the characters were interesting and well-drawn - and could really imagine the Yorkshire ladies being busybodies! An enjoyable read 4*

Emily has been sacked by her fiancee - both from her job and his life.
She has always wanted to run a cafe and when she finds an empty one she decides to take a chance.
When it doesn't take off as she wants she decides to turn it into a cafe where people can come and talk and play games. Will it be a success this time?

Thank you NetGalley, Jennifer Page and Aria & Aries for the ARC of The Little Board Game Café. This is my personal review.
The idea of reading a book wrapped in a story about board games, friendship and starting over was a perfect combination to grab my attention.
Emily loses her job, her fiancé, and all the reams she had for what her life would be and all happens in a short amount of time.
She had a dream of opening a café are the direction she heads.
Things are not as smooth as she hopes they will be.
The characters in the book are likable. The romance is there but not the front and center of the story.
I enjoyed the book but wanted a bit more. This is the first I have read by this author so I plan to seek more by her.

This was a new to me author and while the story was a slow to start it soon had you hooked rooting for the characters and their personal growth into their happily ever after.

The book dealt with emotions of grief, fear, love and lost love to name but a few along with changes in circumstances like redundancy then starting up a new business. Emily the main character in this book experiences all these emotions through the different circumstances within her life. You see first had how events in her childhood (I wont mention these as they do make part of the story) shapes her emotions and how she deals with things in her adult life. Because of this she risks missing out on a lovely future however due to friends and a good talk with her Dad she does being to let go of the past and embrace what life holds.

It was beautiful to see Emily's character development and I could relate to all the emotions she went through. The other characters were also a joy to read about with their quirky personalities and the love they each grew to have for Emily.

I would definitely recommend this book for a fun loving read but do keep in mind it does talk about death of loved ones, grief and there is some bedrooms scenes if these are triggers for you.

I will definitely be reading more from this author thank you to Jennifer Page and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review this book as an ARC copy.

The Little Board Game Cafe by Jennifer Page is such a sweet story. It's an enjoyable quick read about Emily and her dream of opening a cafe. But it's not one of those stories where everything magically falls into place. Emily struggles both in her professional, as well as her private life.

Emily dreams about opening her cafe. It's a dream she always shared with her mother. Seeing her try to fulfill that dream made me feel for her, with so many hardships coming her way. I would definitely want to visit her place. This was such a pleasant, heart-warming, and cozy read.

The Little Board Game Café is a sweet romance following Emily from fiancé to a fancy businessman with an overly attached mother to owner of a local café competing for it's place in the small town and the love she finds along the way.

This book is a cute, sweet, romance with a great board game theme. You don't need to have any experience with board games to enjoy the book, but if you are a board game lover, you will enjoy the references to some great games like Ticket to Ride, Scrabble, and Azul. There are plenty of board games I didn't I recognize, like Wasabi, also leaving me something to look up and take with me from this read.

The atmosphere and setting of this book was where it really shined and was the most well developed.

I thought the book lacked a bit in the area of character development, character relationships, dialogue, and pacing. Some of my concerns might have been related to cultural mannerism differences between the UK and the US. Emily sometimes came off as not very smart, when I don't honestly think she was meant to be portrayed in that way. In some moments, I questioned if Kate and Emily were really friends, as they both were just unkind to each other on occasions. In other moments the dialogue fell a bit flat when otherwise supported by a wonderfully developing story. Sometimes exciting moments were just truncated and left behind in order to move on to the next moment of drama in Emily's life, in lieu of further developing those emotional moments and it stunted the characters and story in those moments.

I think the plot and theme of this book make it more than worth it's time. It's a bit of a slower paced book and it feels like in many places readers can see what's coming around the bend, but we have to wait for it to get all the way to us. In that waiting time the author includes enough trials and tribulations for Emily to last her a lifetime, but in the end, I feel like the book is true to itself and the happily ever after shines at the conclusion. If you're looking for a book that is heavy on empowered women on their life journey and lighter on the romance, this book is definitely for you!

Calling all board game lovers! 🎲
My husband and I love playing all sorts of board games so I knew I had to request this one.
I really liked the references to a bunch of games I know and love like Ticket to Ride, Wingspan and Patchwork. And I even got to learn a little bit about board games I had never ever heard of before!
That was all really fun and cute but I feel the meh parts of this book had to do with the fact the MC is probably the ditziest girl alive. I could see certain things being cute or goofy that a MC does it says but I sometimes felt she was downright dumb. Doing zero research on buying a closed down establishment is only the start of this. She was a little too aloof for me.
There were times that I felt this read a little too YA for me and that might also be why I wasn’t too keen.
Although this was cute enough, I don’t think it hit the right spot I was looking for in this book. I do encourage my feel-good bookies out there to give this one a try!
A big thank you to NetGalley and Aria for a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This book will be published on April 13th, 2023!

A cozy and comforting book about love and friendship as well as building a place where people feel like they belong.