To fulfil your dreams, to find a family…

Synopsis

Family is everything…

In the years since her death, Gemma has been running her late mother’s café with devotion, and when an opportunity comes to buy out her next-door neighbour and expand, she jumps at the chance.

She knows she will do her mother proud – keep her legacy going strong – but deep down she knows there’s still something missing. With her mum in her mind more than ever, and the knowledge that she may never start a family of her own, she can’t stop thinking about what life has in store for her.

But sometimes family are those you choose, or those who choose you! And with a growing community of supporters cheering Gemma on – including some new faces at her blossoming bistro – and maybe one in particular, will she really spend the rest of her life alone?

My review

With the chance of expanding her late mother’s café, Gemma is over the moon being able to buy out her neighbour.
But expansion also means hard work. Luckily Gemma can count on her sister and the whole community to help a hand.
However, no matter how cheery Gemma may seem, when on her own it’s when she starts to ponder if she will always be on her own, and if she will never have someone by her side.
Gemma also knows that she cannot manage the café on her own. Luckily she is able to hire teenager Occy as a help. A bond is quickly formed and Gemma is feeling very protective towards the girl. And with her father Jude Adams, Gemma is starting to feel that perhaps love is on the cards for her. That is, until both their pasts resurface? 

Kim Nash is an author that I haven’t know that long, but with the books she has written and I have read, I have realized that perhaps it’s the most ‘simple’ stories that can truly touch your heart. 

Gemma is the kind of character that feels so real, so recognizable. But she is also a hurt character, in so many different ways.
Unfortunately she is one of those women who had to give up her own dreams of having a family. But to make things even worse for her, it also meant losing the man she thought she loved. And that in a terrible way. 

While Gemma on the outside is a bubbly characters, always ready to help out, we also see the darker moments in her. While attempting to keep her late mother’s dreams alive, she is doubting herself. Is it all good enough? Would her mother be proud of her?
We see those doubts, and even the hurt she feels, further on the story very clearly.  

Yet it’s clear that Gemma is one of those persons that feel very deeply. She would do anything for her sister. And when Occy starts to work at the café, Gemma feels so protective towards this teenager.
Gemma is the kind of person you can always rely on, for having a shoulder to cry on, for some advice or just having a friend to have a laugh with. 

I found it funny to see how at odds this great woman was with local fire and safety officer Jude Adams.
Yes, Jude doesn’t make a great first impression, but I knew deep down that it was a misunderstanding and that Jude would turn out to an amazing man. 

Jude is an amazing father to Occy, yet maybe at moments a bit overprotective. But learning about what he and Occy have been going through, and how Jude is just doing his best for his daughter, I could understand where he was coming from. 

It warmed my heart to see how Gemma and Jude slowly are growing closer together. It was sweet to see how Gemma and Jude are being friends, relying on each other as just that, trusting each other and confiding each other.
And it’s only later on that things are evolving even further. But this slow burning romance is exactly what they both need, they need a strong base to build upon.
Both main characters are going through so much growth, also with thanks of them having each other. And seeing that growth, even if it isn’t without trial and error, was wonderful (even if at one point heart – breaking) to read. 

We also see that Gemma is trying to understand what *her* dreams are. Because it’s admirable to see how she wants to continue her mother’s legacy. But that doesn’t mean that there isn’t place for her own dreams too.
And we see her realizing that perhaps having a family doesn’t mean it has to come in the traditional ways, but that even if it comes as a ‘package – deal’, it can give you the love you were searching in a different yet perhaps even magnificent way.   

This story has characters that aren’t flawless. Gemma, Jude, even Occy and other characters have made and are still making mistakes. But that is also how it goes in real life. Because with every decision or choice, there the chance of making the wrong one. And that doesn’t make us perfect, but just human. 

I found this a marvellous book to read, as it’s filled with so much warmth, love and understanding.