Book Review: The Cosy Croissant Café by Jane Linfoot

The Cosy Croissant Café by Jane Linfoot is a delightful, feel-good romance filled with humor, charm, and mouthwatering pastries. Set in the picturesque village of St Aiden, this novel offers readers an irresistible escape into a world of baking, banter, and budding romance.

The story follows Betty, who moves to Boathouse Cottage with her lovable rescue Shetland pony, Pumpkin, seeking a peaceful retreat. However, her plans are quickly disrupted by the arrival of Miles Appleton, a talented yet infuriating pastry chef and her brother-in-law’s best friend. The dynamic between Betty and Miles is full of sparks from the start—whether they’re trading witty jabs or battling over the future of the cottage, the tension between them is undeniable.

Linfoot has a knack for creating vibrant and relatable characters. Betty is strong-willed and resilient, yet vulnerable beneath her tough exterior. Miles, with his perfect pastries and cheeky charm, proves to be more than just a handsome face. Their chemistry is electric, and the slow burn of their relationship is perfectly balanced with moments of comedy and sweetness.

The supporting cast of characters, including Betty’s family and the St Aiden community, add warmth and depth to the story. The setting of the village, with its cozy vibes and the bustling atmosphere of the café, is vividly brought to life. Readers will almost be able to smell the fresh-baked croissants and feel the warmth of the café’s kitchen.

Linfoot’s writing shines in the humor woven throughout the narrative. There are laugh-out-loud moments, as well as tender, heartfelt scenes that balance the story’s lightheartedness. The blend of romance and baking is a match made in heaven—Miles’s culinary creations are described so delectably that you might find yourself craving a croissant or two.

The Cosy Croissant Café is more than just a romantic comedy. It also touches on family dynamics, healing from past hurts, and finding the courage to open up to love again. Linfoot expertly crafts a story that is as comforting as it is engaging, making it a perfect read for a lazy afternoon or a cozy evening by the fire.

Fans of Phillipa Ashley and Jenny Colgan will adore this book. With its sparkling dialogue, charming setting, and a romance that feels both genuine and swoon-worthy, The Cosy Croissant Café is a treat for anyone who enjoys a dash of sweetness with their love stories.

This one starts off weird as well as with the feeling that it’s a sequel? I was very confused and I couldn’t get past the fact she was walking around town with a horse. Maybe this one gets better but I had to Dnf before I found out

The cosy croissant cafe is such a lovely summery read , based in the most gorgeous picturesque Cornwall right on the coast, full of beaches, seaside cottages, and summery vibes!
A read full of family dynamics, friendship, romance and the most adorable pets pumpkin the pony and fudge the dog, not to mention the sumptuous, delicious, flaky bakes that you could almost taste from the descriptions.
I was so fully invested in Miles and Bettys on off relationship and where it was heading as they co existed in Boathouse cottage attempting to keep it as sparse and spotless as the owners Scarlett and Tate, not an easy task with a dog, pony and endless baking!
Would love to read a sequel to this book
Thank you NetGalley for this early read

Thank you One More Chapter/HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. for the opportunity to read "The Cosy Croissant Café" in exchange for my honest review.

We meet Betty who is the free spirited younger sister of successful fashion buyer Scarlett. Scarlett and her architect husband live in Manchester but have a lovely Cornish holiday home that Scarlett offers to Betty when she finds herself without a place to stay. Scarlett and Tate are travelling to New York for several months so she would be doing her sister a favour. St. Aidan, Cornwall seems to be the perfect place for Betty to pull herself together. Only problem is - Tate also made arrangements for the house to be looked after. His best man Miles Appleton is already in residence when Betty and her rescue Shetland pony Pumpkin arrive. Miles is a neat freak and totally opposite to Betty's character. She ends up finding possibilities that she never knew she had the strength to go after. Pumpkin is one of the best characters in the story and how Betty ended up with a Shetland pony.

I rated it 3 stars because I was expecting a cosy croissant cafe, but that didn't exist. So my first connection to the book was disrupted and after that I just got irritated at every single thing I don't like in books. Such as the dialogue, the in my eyes lack of connection between the MC's, the lack of background information...
Other than that it was a cute contemporary romance.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for the ARC and trusting me to write my honest opinion about it.

Eh - I did receive an eARC for this book and I thought it was gonna be just cozy but… the coziness got trampled by the fact we don’t even have a croissant cafeeeee ??

The main couple didn’t really feel like a couple. DNF’ed at 70%

The Cosy Croissant Café by Jane Linfoot is such a good book. I rated it 5 stars because it's that good. I totally recommend everyone to read this book as fast as they can because it's really good and the characters are fantastic.

-ARC provided in exchange for an honest review-

I’m sorry, I really wanted to like this book but I just couldn’t.

Aside from the story itself, the biggest issue for me was the editing or lack thereof. The phrase ‘he pulls a face’ was used so many times I’ve lost count. There were missing comas, way too many exclamation points, weirdly built sentences… this needs a serious review before getting published.

As for the story, to start with it’s obvious you step in a ‘series’ world type but it isn’t outwardly explained, so you feel sorta confused during the whole book because characters pop up you’re supposed to know but don’t.

The FMC is supposed to be ditzy charming and innocent - but reads annoying childish and incompetent. Her job literally makes 0 sense. She has a traumatic relationship that gets discussed… once. She hates the MMC because? No clue.

The MMC is hot, maybe? That’s pretty much all we know. He’s got 0 personality, pulls a face constantly then disappears.

I see what this book tried to achieve, but unfortunately this really didn’t hit anywhere close to the mark for a cosy read.

Betty goes to stay at her sisters Boathouse Cottage with Pumpkin her pony only to discover that Miles Appleton is already there. She despises him for what he did on her sister Scarlett's wedding day They now have to share the cottage until October.

A fab read but don’t read if you are hungry. A lovely feel good read. Perfect for a Saturday afternoon on the sofa. Loved Pumpkin the horse. Set in Cornwall..The baking flavours are yummy. It is a slow burn love story too. There are some laugh out loud moments . Won’t spoil it. Betsy is a fab main character, love her dress sense. Just read it

This was such a gorgeous and cosy read about self-discovery and coming out of your comfort zone. I really loved Betty, she was an eccentric character who had never settled in life so when she comes to the stunning setting of St Aidan's, a sense of community has made her think otherwise. Miles was also a delightful character to follow, he was Betty's biggest cheerleader in every aspect and charmed his way into her heart.

It really is the cosiest book.
Just perfect for cuddling up with on a cold night.
The perfect mood booster!

This was a really lovely book about being courageous and doing something outside your comfort zone. It definitely is inspiring me to go out and there and do more with the world. I didn't like how long it took the book to "start" - I feel like there were a lot of times when the book was being set up but about 50% in the book really took off. I enjoyed the character development and getting to know the characters and how it ended and I really want to know what happens next with Betsy and Miles. A really good comfort read. Warning - there is a scene which includes rape.

I loved The Cosy Croissant Café by Jane Linfoot. It took me to the picturesque and beautiful seaside village of St Aidans, following Betty and her adorable Shetland pony, Pumpkin. Pumpkin is Betty's loyal friend, who belonged to her late Mum, and their bond is so very special and unique.

Betty moves into Boathouse Cottage, looking for a peaceful retreat. Boathouse Cottage belongs to Betty's sister, Scarlett. However, things don’t quite go to plan because Scarlett's husband has been allowing their friend, Miles Appleton, a charming pastry chef, to stay there. Miles has let Betty down in the past so this is the last thing she needs and she certainly does not want to be living under the same roof together. Even so, there is a spark between Betty and Miles that Betty does her very best to ignore. Nevertheless, Betty is determined to move forward and try and leave the past behind.

The village of St Aidans sounds such a wonderful place to live. The community is amazing. Friendly neighbours will say hello to you and look out for you. You can walk along the beach, and then head for coffee and croissants at Miles's café! A perfect day! Made me want to go straight away! Everyone in the village seems to love Miles’ croissants and cannot walk past the café without purchasing some!

I loved the characters of Betty and Miles. They have fantastic chemistry which neither of them could ignore, and I love their interactions together. And you can't help but root for their romance. I was cheering for them both from start to finish.

Letting go of the past is never easy, but by embracing change and moving forward, you may just open the door to a brighter future filled with endless possibilities.

The story beautifully blends romance and humour, making it a cosy and delightful read. The characters are so brilliantly well-crafted and relatable. Their unique traits make them feel like real people you can relate to.

The book made me smile and laugh so much! The Cosy Croissant Café is such a heartwarming story about love, friendship, and enjoying life's simple pleasures. Enjoying these simple pleasures can bring great happiness and fulfillment. It’s often the little things that make all the difference.

If you are looking to escape to a charming seaside village, then this book is for you! Such a lovely lovely read. Make sure you have some croissants to eat while reading this lovely book!

Thank you very much HarperCollins UK , One More Chapter and NetGalley for my advanced copy. This review is based on a NetGalley ARC provided in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.

I was so excited about reading a cute and cozy summer romance but in actuality it was a massive let down for me.

The extremely short tldr: Betty (or Betsy, Betty Beth, Betsy B or whatever Miles is calling her today) is in need of a place for her and her pony, Pumpkin, to stay. Betty’s sister offers up her cottage in St. Aidan’s. When Betty arrives, she discovers she’s not alone. Miles, her brother in law’s bestie, is currently residing there with permission from the bro in law. Neither knew the other would be there. There’s history between the two and after the sister and bro in laws marriage goes sideways, Betty and Miles both have to stay in the cottage or risk their parties losing rights to it.

To begin, the title is a bit misleading. The Cozy Croissant Cafe doesn’t really exist in this book. Betty and Miles open a series of shops about 50% through called ‘Betsy and Milo’ that sells an eclectic selection of local artisan handmade goods, postcards made from photos Betty has taken and Miles’ boathouse buns. The store is never referred to as a cozy cafe (at least not that I could recall) so I just feel a bit mislead.

The chemistry between Betty and Miles also felt extremely strained. Betty is not interested in a relationship and has a phobia of being tied down to anything. She’s very much a free spirit. She has a tendency to get railroaded by her older sister and ends up getting railroaded by Miles a lot, too. Miles for his part is a bit of an ass right off the hop. He refuses to compromise and seems like he always wants the last word. For a solid 60% of the book these two are constantly bickering. And not like ‘oh such cute banter!’ bickering. It was more ‘why are you willingly engaging with him when all he does is piss you off?’ bickering. Even when they started working together and becoming close, Miles would still do things relatively impulsively without getting buy in from Betty. (Looking at you, Fudge.) Plus the calling her different names every time they converse thing got old quite quickly for me.

I feel like this book would have benefitted from a dual pov. We only ever see things from Betty’s perspective which means we don’t know what’s going through Miles’ head. I feel like if I knew what he was thinking at any given time I’d probably feel a bit more charitable towards him.

I feel quite guilty leaving such a bad review but I honestly just did not enjoy this book. The only enjoyable things for me were the recipes at the back (even though they did NOT include the recipe for the boathouse buns that were the star of the book!) and the cover is beautiful and cheery.

Thanks very much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Fun, summery read! An enemies to lovers with loads of sweet treats and a pony too. Miles and Betty's love/hate relationship was filled with banter, snarky comments and flirting! St. Aidan is the perfect location, with friends, a beach and cute little shops galore. I've read other books in this series and this one was just as good!

I found this novel to be ok. I can’t say the plot really gripped me and the characters, for me, weren’t stand out. Still it was a pleasant enough novel that I will rate 2.5 stars, rounded up to 3. Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter and the author for the chance to review.

Usually, I love a cosy contemporary romance. However, this was not for me. The entire storyline was extremely confusing and hard to understand at most points. Betty and Miles had the worst dialogue. Every time they talked, it felt like they had no connection and were extremely boring together. The beginning of the plot, with them meeting through Betty’s sister and husband, Miles best friend, was okay. And it was quite funny with how they met. However, it went downhill from there. I really didn’t understand what exactly they were doing or why. Near the beginning, Betty is said to have experienced some kind of trauma with a man and expresses guilt, however it’s never really talked about after that or given context to how it affects her later on.

As for the sister and her husband, they clearly had PROBLEMS, as shown but it was never really fully explained as to how it happened and I feel like that could have been a way better addition to the plot. I get that Miles and Betty were kind of in opposite ends with Miles being the husband, Tates, friend and Scarlet being Betty’s sister, but it was just really off.

Overall, I just couldn’t get into it. It wasn’t for me at all. It felt like there were a lot of holes in the plot that needed to be rectified to make it more readable.

This was a cute and sweet read with all the spring vibes to it. I really enjoyed how this book was set up and the little village it was in. The characters were adorable and i really enjoyed their growth throughout the book! The romance was realistic and cute and the setting was warm and comforting in their village. Also the mentions of food in this book made me so hungry! Betsey was a cutie pie and i strive to be like her!

A well written story that kept me interested from start to finish.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review..