One retreat without problems, is that really so much to ask?

Synopsis

Escape to the gorgeous island of Corfu with this wonderfully uplifting romantic comedy, the fourth in a brand-new series from the author of The Cornish Confetti Agency and Villa Limoncello.

Welcome to the Hummingbird Hotel!

When Corfu’s newest hotelier Abbie Coleman is asked to host a Bakes & Beaches retreat for a group of Bake Off enthusiasts from a regional TV and radio station, she knows she needs as much help as she can get. Baking is not her forte, and with cupcakes, traybakes, pastries and showstoppers to co-ordinate – along with a whole host of terrifyingly high-octane water sports – she’s worried that her guests’ culinary creations will be more ‘curdled catastrophes’ than ‘tasty triumphs’. For any successful enterprise, preparation is key, so, along with her new assistant manager and all-round astrological guru Felix Morgan, Abbie sets about preparing a long and detailed To Do list.

But this is the Hummingbird Hotel, and the words ‘straightforward’ and ‘drama-free’ do not feature on the menu. So, when the salted caramel cupcakes are heavier on the salt than the caramel, and a guest’s expensive watch takes an unscheduled dip in the pool, Abbie must once again join forces with chef-turned-vineyard owner – and now fiancé – Nikos Angelopoulos, to unravel the mystery and maintain the hotel’s reputation for delivering beautiful bakes instead of mayhem and mistakes.

Can she turn burnt buns into sumptuous soufflés? Or will her future on Corfu be over before it’s begun?

My review

Abbie Coleman is now really an inhabitant of Corfu, running the Hummingbird Hotel the best she can. The hotel is often used as a retreat for groups, and the next group staying at the place, is a group of colleagues working at a regional TV and radio station, all Bake Off enthusiasts, having a Bakes & Beaches  retreat.
Even if baking is so not her cup of tea, Abbie is ready for the next adventure at her hotel, hoping that this retreat will be a catastrophe – free one. But of course Abbie is wishing for the impossible as again there is a saboteur present with the group.
Together with her new assistant manager Felix Morgan, her other friends, and obviously her fiancé Nikos, she wants to figure out who is turning the creations into disasters.
However, the baking is not the only thing that is making Abbie dubious about her plans, as her own dreams seem to fall apart… 

I truly enjoyed returning to the Hummingbird Hotel! And I somehow wish I could go there myself, meet Abbie and Nikos, but o course not being part of all the disasters taking place! 

What I truly love about this series in general, is that Abbie’s dreams wasn’t owning a hotel, but she realizes that dreams can change, and that new dreams doesn’t mean to discard the old ones. 

It was wonderful to see how Abbie found her home in Corfu, not only making new friends, but also has found love. Her life isn’t what she envisioned before her move to this wonderful island, but she now has everything she could dream of. 

She is the kind of hotelier everyone wishes to have. There isn’t a thing she wouldn’t do for her guests, even if that would mean to participate in their own Bake Off contest, while Abbie can do anything, except bake.
Obviously, her wish to have guests without any disaster lurking around the corner is not granted. And that is again the charm of this book. Yes, there is sabotage, but it’s so funny to read about them, because they are also rather innocent.
Of course there aren’t any life threating issues but the sabotages are all done for a right cause. 

There were moments that my heart went out to Abbie, because she has also a few setbacks, while she hoped that those events would be the start of completing her dreamlife.
I understood the devastation when her creation wasn’t appreciated, or the doubts that were arising when another meeting with Nikos’ family again had been postponed.

But this author wouldn’t be loved so much if somehow she found a solution that would be even better than the initial plan! And having Abbie surrounded by so many people that love her and want to see her succeed, put a smile on my face.

This was again a wonderful read, giving me all the “summery” feelings I needed while being in the cold days of winter myself. It’s filled with happy feelings, hilarious catastrophes, love, all in a beautiful setting.
The author delivered again, and I devoured this new chapter in Abbie’s and Nikos’ lovely tale!