What when life throws you an unexpected curveball?

Synopsis

Autumn’s summer is off to a smashing start… sort of.

Earlier this year, Autumn’s life looked great: she had a great relationship with her brilliant teenage daughter Chloe and from September she was all set to be Deputy Head at the London school where she works. And with a pay rise on the cards, she was excited for her and her long-term boyfriend Marc to buy their first home.

But Autumn’s barely opened the estate agent’s website when Marc vanishes with half their savings, leaving her no choice but to move into grandma’s rural home in Kent. And things go from bad to worse when Autumn is involved in an accident during the move, leaving the village’s dashing new baker Jake in plaster cast, and making her a local outcast before she’s even unpacked her bags.

Determined to put things right, Autumn offers to help Jake in the bakery over the summer holidays. But as things heat up in the kitchen, Autumn can’t help noticing that Jake is a lot more Paul Hollywood and a lot less Mr Kipling than she originally thought.

Maybe this summer isn’t such a write off after all?

My review

When Autumn hears that starting from September, she will be Deputy Head at the school she works at, she truly believes that it’s her and her family’s time.
Because with her promotion, Autumn and her long – term boyfriend will be finally able to buy their first home.
But Autumn is in for a shock, when one morning she wakes up, and Marc has disappeared, taking half of their savings with him.
With now having financial problems, Autumn and daughter Chloe have no other option to move back, temporarily, to Autumn’s mother, in Kent.
Things already start great, as Autumn is involved in an accident, resulting in local baker Jake in a plaster. With the rumours quickly spreading, and putting Autumn in a bad daylight, Autumn is determined to make things right again, and she offers Jake her help in the bakery for as long as the summer lasts.
Even if her life isn’t going as planned, Autumn, and also her daughter Chloe, learn that even when things have went awry, it isn’t all that bad…

In this book, both the characters as the readers go through a whirlwind of emotions.

I was ecstatic to read how Autumn has the chance to be Deputy Head, showing us that skills prevail over seniority. And I could understand that she was over the moon, that now her perhaps unconventional family would be able to buy their first family home.

It was strange to see how everything seemed to be working, as Autumn and Marc truly are getting along, there is a lot of affection visible between the pair.
Knowing that a disappearing act would be taking place, I couldn’t comprehend why Marc would possibly ever would want to leave.
And it made me furious to see how easy it was for Marc to just pack and go away, without any regards for his family. And to make things even worse, to take half of their savings with him!

What angered me also, was seeing how Autumn is going through worst case scenario, even calling the police, to realize that in fact Marc was just being selfish and took off.

But I also admired Autumn’s resilience. She is going through a terrible time, and has no other choice to return and stay with her mother. And even after the incident with Jake, she tries to make the best out of the complete situation.
I liked it how she didn’t just let the gossip pas her by, but she stood up for herself.
But I especially liked her kindness in general. She didn’t have to help out Jake, but she did it because that’s just the kind of person she is.

It was sweet but also hilarious at the same time, seeing three generations living together. I loved how the trio live together, tease each other, but mainly just love and support each other.
It was funny to see alliances shifted with each new situation!

I have to say, while I enjoy baking myself, working in a bakery would definitely not be my cup of tea… I need my sleep and to get up that early would be my personal hell. So in that view, I admired Jake as he truly is passionate about his baking skills, but I also admired Autumn, as she is ready to help in out.

Autumn and Jake, what a lovely friendship that they have created! Both being hurt and burnt by love, they probably understand each other better than anyone else could.
What starts as an act of kindness, becomes  something genuine, honest and real.

There is also so much growth in this book, for each main and side character. While not every character was someone to dislike, the more the story evolved, the more changes happened, the more I liked each character. From Autumn to Chloe, to the village gossiper, that managed to turn into a lovely person!

This book was so easy to read, it captured my attention, refused to let it go for even just one instance. The lovely Phoebe MacLeod shows us with her amazing writing skills that sometimes the ugliest thing that happens to us, can turn out to be the best that could happen to us. And all of this wrapped in a beautiful story, with wonderful, strong female lead characters!