Friday, May 30, 2014

The Irresistible Blueberry Bakeshop & Cafe - Review


Review by Deb Czajkowski
Ellen’s grandmother has one dying request: Will Ellen personally deliver Gran’s handwritten letter to Chet?  For her beloved Gran, of course she will!  But who’s Chet?

Even when Ellen can’t locate Chet at the address Gran so helpfully provided, Ellen remains resolute in her commitment to Gran to personally hand the letter to Chet.  Mailing it to MIA Chet simply won’t do.

Thus begins Ellen’s journey of discovery.  Discoveries, actually.  Where is Chet?  Who really is he, and why has he been so important to Gran to prompt this eleventh-hour letter?  Who is Ruth Goddard, the youthful Gran with surprising secrets?  And how well does Ellen really know herself, including a family connection that goes far deeper than Ellen ever imagined?

The dramatic first chapter is enough to get you into the book.  Then the real mysteries start to surface, bit by bit, pulling you continuously farther into Ellen’s journey and into the book.  I couldn’t wait to read each new chapter, always eager to learn more about Gran and the secret life she took with her to the grave.  And with each new finding, to watch Ellen’s own life unfold, a story as sweet as, well, a handful of blueberries.

The author, Mary Simses, skillfully unfolds Gran’s story, and Ellen’s, while making you feel like you are along for the ride and a part of each conversation and discovery.  This book is both an easy and satisfying read.  I highly recommend it.


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 About the Author:
I grew up in Darien, Connecticut and started writing stories when I was eight. I always loved to write but was too afraid I could never make a living as a fiction writer, so in college I majored in journalism. I worked in magazine publishing for a few years and then went back to school to become a lawyer. After I graduated from law school and began working as an attorney, I enrolled in an evening fiction writing class at a university in Connecticut, not far from where I was living. From then on, I was hooked. I wrote a lot "on the side," at night and on weekends, and managed to get several short stories published in literary magazines. Finally, I took the big leap and wrote a novel. I now live in South Florida with my husband, who is also my law partner, and our fifteen-year-old daughter, who is quite a writer herself.

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