La jeune Flora MacKenzie travaille à Londres dans un cabinet d'avocats. Jamais elle n'avait imaginé que son emploi la conduirait à retourner sur son île natale, au nord de l'Écosse. Une île qu'elle a brutalement quittée après la mort de sa mère, quelques années plus tôt.
La jeune femme sent très vite qu'elle n'y est pas la bienvenue. La plupart des habitants du village considèrent cette « fille de la ville » comme une étrangère, et les non-dits de l'histoire familiale compliquent les relations avec son père et ses frères. Jusqu'au jour où Flora tombe par hasard sur le vieux cahier de pâtisserie de sa mère. Et si elle avait trouvé la recette pour se réconcilier avec ceux qui l'entourent ?
Depuis qu'elle a ouvert son Cupcake Café à Londres, Izzy n'a plus une seconde de répit. À l'approche de Noël, quand la ville scintille de guirlandes colorées et que flotte dans l'air un doux parfum de gingembre et de cannelle, les commandes affluent et c'est encore pire. Alors qu'elle comptait sur son petit-ami Austin pour la réconforter, celui-ci lui apprend qu'il a décroché un poste à New York. La jeune femme voit son univers douillet et gourmand se fissurer. Comment ignorer les milliers de kilomètres qui sépare le couple ? Une chose est sûre : armée de sa bonne humeur et de sa poche à douille, Izzy est prête à tout pour que la magie de Noël opère une fois encore...
Maisons en pain d'épice, brioches aux fruits confits, feuilletés au miel... À l'approche des fêtes de fin d'année, Polly est débordée ! Accaparée par sa petite boulangerie, la jeune femme ne souhaite qu'une chose : passer un réveillon romantique avec Huckle, bien au chaud dans leur grand phare.
Mais les bourrasques qui balaient la petite île de Mount Polbearne pourraient bien emporter les doux rêves de Polly et faire resurgir du passé des souvenirs qu'elle croyait enfouis à jamais... Entre mensonges, surprises et trahisons, Noël cette année s'annonce finalement très mouvementé !
« Luke est plutôt... renfermé comme on dit. Il n'est pas... il est simplement dans son monde. Un peu distrait. Un peu bizarre. Mais pour un mathématicien, pas tant que ça, en fait. » Mathématicienne excellant dans un domaine masculin, Connie a toujours été considérée comme un peu bizarre. Mais jamais autant que Luke, recruté pour travailler à ses côtés sur un projet de décryptage top secret.
Mais Luke semble en savoir plus que Connie et ses confrères sur le mystérieux code. Pendant que tout le monde s'interroge sur ses liens avec ce message crypté aux origines non identifiées, leur employeur est tué d'une manière... singulière, et les services secrets s'en mêlent. Connie découvre que Luke n'est sans doute pas celui qu'il prétend être, mais leur confinement fait naître quelque chose en elle... Il n'aurait pu y avoir plus mauvais timing, maintenant que les deux scientifiques sont embarqués dans une course effrénée pour sauver... la Terre.
« Je n'aurais jamais pensé que je pourrais apprécier un livre sur les maths, les amphibiens et la fin du monde. C'est original, drôle et romantique. Et vous n'avez même pas besoin d'être calés en fractales. » Sophie Kinsella, auteure de L'Accro du shopping « Il est très rare que je tombe à ce point amoureuse d'un livre... Brillant, charmant, intelligent, drôle et émouvant. » Rowan Coleman, auteure d'Avant de t'oublier « Un cocktail détonnant d'action, de geeks matheux et de baisers passionnés. J'ai savouré chaque page de ce livre. » Matt Haig, auteur de Humains « De la science-fiction avec des personnages féminins dignes de ce nom ! » MadmoiZelle Mot de l'éditeur :
Parsemé de références geeks, ce roman hybride entre science-fiction et chick lit, le genre qui a rendu Jenny Colgan célèbre, fait la part belle à des personnages aussi colorés qu'attachants. L'autodérision est bien présente, ainsi que les clichés sur les scientifiques, démontés les uns après les autres. Le ton est déjanté et résolument original : humour cynique, romance légère et mathématiques abordables, l'addition parfaite pour un roman audacieux, haletant et à mourir de rire.
The gorgeous new book from Jenny Colgan that Goodreads reviewers are calling: 'A massive hug in book form', 'utterly charming', 'magical', 'heartwarming', 'feel good', 'a breath of fresh air', 'easily one of the best books I have read this year', 'perfect feel-good fare for the summer', 'a lovely, heartwarming read' ***** Escape to the Scottish Highlands where a tiny bookshop perches on the edge of a loch Zoe is a single mother, sinking beneath the waves trying to cope by herself in London. Hari, her gorgeous little boy is perfect in every way - except for the fact that he just doesn't speak, at all. When her landlord raises the rent on her flat, Zoe doesn't know where to turn. Then Hari's aunt suggests Zoe could move to Scotland to help run a bookshop. Going from the lonely city to a small village in the Highlands could be the change Zoe and Hari desperately need. Faced with an unwelcoming boss, a moody, distant bookseller named Ramsay Urquart, and a band of unruly children, Zoe wonders if she's made the right decision. But Hari has found his very first real friend, and no one could resist the beauty of the loch glinting in the summer sun. If only Ramsay would just be a little more approachable... Dreams start here... 'Wonderful story with a hint of magic about it. Just lovely' - Katie Fforde 'A funny warm book with fantastic characters... and books!' - Sophie Kinsella 'Gorgeous location, dancing dialogue and characters you'll fall in love with. Irresistible!' - Jill Mansell 'The Bookshop on The Shore is a charming, heartwarming, gobble-it-all-up-in-one-sitting kind of book, a tale of new beginnings with characters you'll love and root for from the very first page.' - Mike Gayle 'Such a sweet tale and beneath the surface she deals honestly and movingly with poverty, anxiety and loss. You read it quickly, but you won't forget it.' - Keith Stuart
Polly Waterford is recovering from a toxic relationship. Unable to afford their flat, she has to move miles away from everyone, to a sleepy little seaside resort in Cornwall, where she lives alone above an abandoned shop.
And so Polly takes out her frustrations on her favourite hobby: making bread. But what was previously a weekend diversion suddenly becomes far more important as she pours her emotions into kneading and pounding the dough, and each loaf becomes better and better. With nuts and seeds, olives and chorizo, with local honey (courtesy of local bee keeper, Huckle), and with reserves of determination and creativity Polly never knew she had, she bakes and bakes and bakes . . . And people start to hear about it.
Sometimes, bread really is life . . . And Polly is about to reclaim hers.
***WINNER OF THE RNA ROMANTIC COMEDY NOVEL AWARD 2018*** The first novel in the Mure series, from bestselling author Jenny Colgan. 'A heartwarming , charming and atmospheric story that made me long to escape to Mure. Total joy ' - Sophie Kinsella A deliciously warm and funny slice of life from Jenny Colgan, Sunday Times top ten bestselling author of Summer at the Little Beach Street Bakery and The Little Shop of Happy-Ever-After . Flora is definitely, absolutely sure that escaping from the quiet Scottish island where she grew up to the noise and hustle of the big city was the right choice. What was there for her on Mure? It's a place where everyone has known her all her life, and no one will let her forget the past. In the city, she can be anonymous, ambitious and indulge herself in her hopeless crush on her gorgeous boss, Joel. When a new client demands Flora's presence back on Mure, she's suddenly swept back into life with her brothers (all strapping, loud and seemingly incapable of basic housework) and her father. As Flora indulges her new-found love of cooking and breathes life into the dusty little pink-fronted shop on the harbour, she's also going to have to come to terms with past mistakes - and work out exactly where her future lies... Let Jenny Colgan make your dreams come true!
Dreams start here... 'Charming, made me long to escape to Mure. Total joy.' - Sophie Kinsella On the quayside next to the Endless Beach sits the Summer Seaside Kitchen. It's a haven for tourists and locals alike, who all come to eat the freshest local produce on the island and catch up with the gossip. Flora, who runs the cafe, feels safe and content - unless she thinks too hard about her relationship with Joel, her gorgeous but emotionally (and physically) distant boyfriend. While Flora is in turmoil about her relationship. her best friend Lorna is pining after the local doctor. Saif came to the island as a refugee, having lost all of his family. But he's about to get some shocking news which will change everything for him. As cold winter nights shift to long summer days, can Flora find her happy-ever-after with Joel?
Jenny Colgan is the author of numerous bestselling novels, including The Little Shop of Happy Ever After and Summer at Little Beach Street Bakery , which are also published by Sphere. Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe won the 2012 Melissa Nathan Award for Comedy Romance and was a Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller, as was Welcome to Rosie Hopkins' Sweetshop of Dreams , which won the RNA Romantic Novel of the Year Award 2013. For more about Jenny, visit her website and her Facebook page, or follow her on Twitter: @jennycolgan.
Christmas on the remote Scottish island of Mure is bleak, stark - and incredibly beautiful. It's a time for hunkering down, getting cosy in front of whisky barrel wood fires, and enjoying a dram with the people you love - unless, of course, you're accidentally pregnant to your ex-boss, and don't know how to tell him.
Voted Best Feel Good Read by Women & Home Readers! Summer has arrived in the Cornish town of Mount Polbearne and Polly Waterford couldn't be happier. Because Polly is in love: she's in love with the beautiful seaside town she calls home, she's in love with running the bakery on Beach Street, and she's in love with her boyfriend, Huckle. And yet there's something unsettling about the gentle summer breeze that's floating through town. Selina, recently widowed, hopes that moving to Mount Polbearne will ease her grief, but Polly has a secret that could destroy her friend's fragile recovery. Responsibilities that Huckle thought he'd left behind are back and Polly finds it hard to cope with his increasingly long periods of absence. Polly sifts flour, kneads dough and bakes bread, but nothing can calm the storm she knows is coming: is Polly about to lose everything she loves?
Rosie Hopkins is about to face major upheaval. Her elderly aunt Lilian - feisty, independent Aunt Lily who never talked about her past - needs her help, so Rosie is moving to the depths of the countryside for a few months to look after her. Plus Rosie will be away from Gerard, the man she hopes to settle down with soon, and they'll miss each other dreadfully... won't they?Lilian Hopkins has spent her life running Lipton's village sweetshop, through wartime and family feuds. As she struggles with the idea that it might finally be time to sell up, she also wrestles with the secret history hidden behind the jars of beautifully coloured sweets.And the longer Rosie and Lilian spend together, the more they realise they can learn from each other...
Issy Randall, proud owner of The Cupcake Cafe, is in love and couldn't be happier. Her new business is thriving and she is surrounded by close friends, even if her cupcake colleagues Pearl and Caroline don't seem quite as upbeat about the upcoming season of snow and merriment. But when her boyfriend Austin is scouted for a possible move to New York, Issy is forced to face up to the prospect of a long-distance romance. And when the Christmas rush at the cafe - with its increased demand for her delectable creations - begins to take its toll, Issy has to decide what she holds most dear.
This December, Issy will have to rely on all her reserves of courage, good nature and cinnamon, to make sure everyone has a merry Christmas, one way or another . . .
Indulge yourself and your sweet-toothed friends with Jenny Colgan's new novel, simply bursting with Christmas cupcake recipes and seasonal sugar-fuelled fun.
Amanda''s old schoolfriends can''t believe it when the social-climbing queen of preen, Satan''s very own PR girl, pulls off the ultimate publicity stunt in getting herself engaged to a Scottish laird. Who cares that Fraser McConnald has worn the same pair of Converse trainers for the last three years and that his castle is a pile of rubble - she''ll be a Lady! Gentle, decent Fraser is clearly ignorant of her wiles, and Mel and Fran, still smarting from the memory of all the mean things Amanda put them through in their days at Portmount Comprehensive, set out to sabotage this mismatch of the century. Between keeping Fran''s deadly manoeuvres with the opposite sex under control and trying to win her own war of love with the elusive but gorgeous Alex, Mel finds herself preparing for a wedding that''s everything you''d wish on your worst enemy.
Roman «Ecoute, pourquoi est-ce que tu ne lui parles pas franchement ? Dis-lui, "Fraser, n'épouse pas cette fille, c'est une chieuse. Une chieuse de chez Chieuse, avec un petit cul et des cheveux décolorés. C'est une chieuse totale. Une chieuse irrécupérable."» Il y a des filles à qui tout semble réussir. C'est le cas d'Amanda. Elle est riche, jolie, et va épouser Fraser, un lord avec château en Ecosse. Et pourtant, tout le monde s'accorde à penser que c'est une pimbêche insupportable ! En particulier Fran et Mélanie, ses deux amies d'enfance, qu'elle s'amuse à humilier régulièrement. Avec Angus, le jeune frère de Fraser qui, lui aussi, déteste Amanda, elles vont tout imaginer pour faire échouer ce mariage...
«Il tend lentement le bras. Je lui tends la tasse, l'anse tournée vers lui, autant dire que je me brûle au troisième degré, mais aucune importance parce que quand il la prend, le bout de ses doigts effleure les miens et je jure sur tout ce qu'on voudra que c'est le choc électrique.» Après avoir fui une colocation désastreuse, Holly trouve refuge auprès de son ami Josh qui partage son logement avec une BCBG au bord de la crise de nerfs et un fondu d'informatique beau comme un dieu. Ce mystérieux colocataire nommé Addison ne quitte presque jamais son écran d'ordinateur, et pour nouer une relation avec lui, Holly devra traverser des situations toutes plus rocambolesques et loufoques les unes que les autres...
Une comédie enlevée et irrésistible, à l'image de son héroïne, attachante et imprévisible!
Includes mouth-watering recipes Rosie Hopkins, newly engaged, is looking forward to an exciting year in the little sweetshop she owns and runs. But when fate strikes Rosie and her boyfriend, Stephen, a terrible blow, threatening everything they hold dear, it's going to take all their strength and the support of their families and their Lipton friends to hold them together. After all, don't they say it takes a village to raise a child?
Where have all the men gone? Faced with 25, 000 more women than men in London, and gleeful media reports that it's statistically more likely for single women to be murdered than get married, Katie is reached an all-time low. But all is not lost. Another romantic comedy from Jenny Colgan.
