Good morning, readers!
In Maplewick,
forty-eight-year-old widow Susan Howarth inherits a bakery that is one bad week
away from closing for good.
The ovens cut out at random, the inspection is overdue, and the landlord has made it clear the lease can be pulled if the doors do not reopen fast. Susan is determined to start over, but she has a deadline she cannot afford to miss.
The only contractor who can get the shop ready in time is John Barrow, fifty two, the high school sweetheart Susan never truly forgot. John is calm, steady, and back in Maplewick for reasons he keeps to himself. Working side by side before sunrise, they fall into old rhythms that feel dangerous and familiar.
An ex-developer wants the building empty, and he is pushing for the bakery to fail.
If Susan can reopen on time, she keeps her fresh start and the place her town loves. If she cannot, she loses the bakery and the last piece of family she has left.
A clean, closed door,
later in life second chance romance novella with a clear happily ever after.
I loved the setting for this story and the fact that the author created 'later in life' characters. While most contemporary adult romances feature characters in their mid-to-late twenties, reading about the pitfalls and promise for the senior generation is a nice respite. As I say this, I now my characters fall into the twenty-somethings. Maybe something for me to think about.
Overall, The Main Street Bakery Ledger was a comfortable read. I found a couple of editing problems that would have been easy to fix. My biggest thing was the 'ledger'. While the story opens with the ledger, there isn't anything further about the book. No secrets left by Aunt Margaret to be revealed every time Susan checked the ledger. In fact, she never looked in it again. I think from that aspect, the book could have been better titled.
For those reasons, I'm giving The Main Street Bakery Ledger:
You can find out more about Anna Hart and her books by following the links below:
All my best!
~ Angela
