Love a quick read - I was hooked by the title and cover.

The story is a little predictable BUT enjoyable. Loved it.

This was a very fun and light hearted read. I really enjoyed following along with Emily and she heals herself and comes into her own. The pacing was nice and the characters were fleshed out. I am interested in future Jennifer Page works and her career continues!

Emily has always dreamed of owning and running her own cafe. It was a dream she shared with her mum, before she was tragically killed in an accident. Now in her thirties, and out of work, she wonders whether it’s time to rekindle that dream, but getting a business off the ground and finding customers is harder than she anticipated.

This is a lovely story about finding friendship and learning to trust people. Throughout the book, Emily develops bonds with some of the people she encounters - customers who gradually become close friends. It’s about letting go of grief and learning to love again.

If you’re looking for easy reading chick lit, this is it.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Overall Rating - ⭐⭐⭐
Spice - 🫑
Character Development - ⭐⭐⭐
Trigger/Content Warnings - Death and grief

Overall Thoughts; For backstory, my love of boardgames also came similarly to Emily's. My friends would go to a cafe (Tim Hortons but it sells coffee so close enough) every Friday and play different games. It introduced me to board games, and I'm not an avid collector and enthusiast. It is part of the reason I was so excited to read this book. Low key, I also have the dream of running a board game cafe, and this gave me feels.
ANYWAYS. Generally, I liked it. It was slow to start off and pretty predictable, but cute. I had a few opinions about games, like Carcassonne and Ticket To Ride being unusual, but it's not just Hasbro games, so I can't be that mad about it. My biggest complaint is the cat's name being Catan. No one likes Catan that much LOL. I do however wanna name my next animal after a game. Maybe Anomia or Calico. But seriously, the looking into games and explaining them is great to get people into games! However the books on the side table to open a chapter was brilliant, I love that.

Plot; The plot is good, and I think moderately realistic, at least in terms of the cafe stuff. The beginning was drawn out a lot more than necessary, I think, but the plot points were good. The cafe stuff seemed realistic, and aside from the plot twist at the end being super pessimistic, I think it was a good challenge moment for the book.

Characters; Characters were good. They all seemed like real people with real problems and needs, and they all had multiple dynamics. I wasn't bored by any of them, and they were easy to remember who was who. They're all likeable too, which is probably the most unrealistic part to them.

Romance; The romance was fine? It was probably my least favourite component of the book though. It was really wishi washi about if it would be a thing or not, or if people had feelings or not, and that's carried on for literally 90% of the book. I kind of wish it had just been a secondary plot instead of the technical focal point. Still fine, I think the characters compliment each other well and I like their interactions when they're.positive, they just were infrequent.

Writing; The writing was fine, but again, kind of slow and predictable. Theres a lot of repeating phrases and thought processes, which doesn't help those points. If you can stick it out that, cute, and predictable isn't always bad. I'm not sure if it's the writing or Emily as a character, but there's a lot of pessimism, and it was a little much for me, but it definitely felt like being in the characters head as opposed to being told the information, so that's good. It's was fine overall though.

his was a super easy, super quick read! While the storyline was quite predictable (in parts) and the ending (mostly) what I'd predicted I did enjoy reading this story of self growth and following your heart!

However, some parts were just too ~perfect or didn't sit quite right with me (cold, stand offish, snobby future mother in law suddenly being pally with no reason for this change of?)

But overall a nice read, definitely recommend if you're in to board games, there was loads mentioned that I've never heard of before and am now off to look into getting!!

Tw parental death

I couldn’t resist this title when it appeared in my social media feed. As a fan of board games and food, I’d be an eager patron of a business that combined the two.

It’s not exactly what Emily had in mind though when, after losing her job and her fiancé, she takes a chance on fulfilling the lifelong dream she had once shared, and hoped to accomplish, with her late mother. In The Little Board Game Cafe Emily uses all her savings to purchases the lease on a cafe just outside of the village centre. It’s a little run down, having been closed for a few months, but the accounts suggest it was recently a thriving concern. After a small facelift, a new menu, and with a new name, Emily confidently launches The Lancashire Hotpot, offering all day breakfasts, lunches, cakes and pies (I had to google Chorley Cakes because I had never heard of them).

I love that Emily finds the courage to take such a big leap. It’s not the most sensible of decisions given she has no formal training or experience either in cooking for a cafe, or running a small business, but she is motivated and enthusiastic. I felt for her as, able to attract barely a handful of customers a day, she realises that failure is a real possibility, but refuses to give up. Emily’s idea to turn things around is inspired, though she only achieves it with a lot of help.

The Little Board Game Cafe has some appealing supporting characters including Emily’s best friend, Kate; regular customers Mr B and Marjory; and later Annie; who offer Emily much needed encouragement and support. The romance that develops between Emily and local GP and board game enthusiast, Ludek, has some really sweet moments, though I wish they had spent a little more time together.

A feel good story about following your dreams, friendship, community and love, The Little Board Game Cafe is an engaging read.

The Little Board Game Cafe is Jennifer Page's debut novel, and it was a strong first book! Emily finds herself without a fiancé, a job and a home, so she moves in with a friend. With these big life changes, she finds herself needing to find a new path in life. When she stumbles upon a closed cafe, she decides to embark on a journey to live the dream she and her mother once had - to open a cafe. And when a patron makes the suggestion to have a game night at the cafe, everything changes for Emily and her little cafe.

I absolutely loved the board game aspect of this book - and hello! There were Ticket to Ride references! That is one of my favorite games of all time, so that was fun to see!

The small town setting was the perfect choice for this story. Throughout the story, there was a lot of growth seen and a huge sense of community and I think the setting played a big part in both of these things.

Another aspect of the story that I thought was a great touch was the list of books by her bed at the beginning of the chapters. Simple, but a fun addition!

While I loved most of this book, I found it to drag towards the end of the book. The page count wasn't too high, but it felt very long at the end. Additionally, I didn't care for some of Emily's actions. She made decisions that were poor and without research which caused more problems and overall just annoyed me. But these things weren't enough to curb my overall enjoyment of the story and the little board game cafe within the story! This is a must read for lovers of board games!

Interesting premise for a Cafe…coffee, lattes and board games. Emily is at a crossroad in her life, losing her job and fiancée basically at the same time. Almost penniless and homeless, she jumps into a long awaited dream, to own her very own cafe.

Unfortunately for me, this book fell flat. Characters were one dimensional, I couldn’t relate and their growth came far to last for me to get vested. Emily, seemed very immature and stunted emotionally, jumping into situations without fully researching the consequences. A BFF on a search for The One, but going thru men at random. A doctor with a penchant for board games. A father facing his grief, at the expense of others. A definite misfit of characters, lovable in their own right but I just couldn’t connect.

Even though this book wasn’t for me, other readers might enjoy this fairly quick, story with quirky characters. Easy to pick up and put down.

Thanks to Aria and NetGalley for this ARC. Opinion is mine alone.

Fabulous. Loved this book, warming, exciting and intriguing.
Kept me wanting more, hurry with the next one.

This book is so cute! This book will also have you reading does your dreams. Failing may happen, but the successes are even better! I loved this town, its people, and of course, The Little Board Game Cafe.

A super cute story of friendship and romance. Taking risks and believing in yourself. A delight to read.

This book had such a cute plot, but once I started reading it, I just couldn't get past the first 5 percent. The epilogue paired a mom and her daughter up running a cafe and that hooked me, but Chapter 1 lost me when I realized that the book was about the daughter and I just could not connect with her at all.

Thanks to NetGalley and Aria for this ARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Emily's dream was always to open a cafe with her mother. In fact, one summer they took over the cafe where her mother was a waitress and ran it while the owner was on vacation. Both Emily and her mother loved it and couldn't wait for Emily to grow older. Of course, things don't always work out as we plan.

A few years later Emily is working as an administrative assistant when she is made redundant. With just a small amount of lay-off allowance and the money from an inheritance, Emily decides it is time to open her cafe. A place to eat, drink coffee or tea, and play a board game with your neighbors and friends of course.

I enjoyed the Little Board Game Cafe. Emily will have you rooting for her as everything she touches seems to break. The people around her are loyal and the author brings the readers along as she tells the stories of all the different people supporting Emily and how Emily finally figures out what she needs.

#Netgalley #TheLittleBoardGameCafe #JenniferPage ##HeadOfZeusLtd #BloomsburyPublishingPlc #RomCom

I was scrolling on Instagram when I came across another review for The Little Board Game Cafe and was instantly drawn in by the cute cover and book’s title. After reading the description I knew I needed to request a copy and was excited when I got the email notification it was approved! I wasn’t disappointed. This is a cute, clean romantic comedy that hints at more deep emotional themes like grief and the importance of risk-taking. Sprinkle in some mouth-watering dessert options (I still don’t know what a chorly cake is) and numerous board game references and you have basically summed up The Little Board Game Cafe. I enjoyed it and will definitely be mentioning this book to my friends.

The Little Board Game Café by Jennifer Page is a delightful romcom, which will make you want to find a board game café at the earliest opportunity, or it did for me! I apparently have one less than two miles away! Anyway, this was such a beautifully written debut novel, with a fabulous cast of characters. I loved Emily and her best friend Kate, and the way in which Kate rallied around Emily when she lost her job, her home and her relationship with her fiancé in just a few days.

Emily had dreamed of running a café with her mother when she was younger, but when that idea is shelved, she never quite loses the desire to do it. Needing to make some money, she finally decides to take the plunge and buy a small café in a cul-de-sac. Her first day at the café brings her into contact with a lovely old Polish man who becomes her most frequent customer, but also a really supportive friend. There are such a lovely group of people that Emily befriends as her business develops, but none quite so cute as Ludek, the local GP. Ludek and Emily seem to have that lightning bolt of instant attraction that really makes a romance flow, but they are both quite nerdy and insecure in how they feel.

I loved the idea of the board game café and although I was unaware of many of the games mentioned within the story, it made me want to check them out. I understand that the author and her husband are board game aficianados which made a lot of sense, given how effortlessly knowledgeable the author appeared.

I loved the way the local people rallied round to help Emily make a success of her business, and there were some really quirky characters. It sounded like such a wonderful community. I especially loved Mr B, and also Emily’s challenging ex-mother in law to be, Florence.

The Little Board Game Café is a sweet, slightly nerdy but adorable romance that will have you hankering after a bacon roll, a cappucino and a chorley cake, with a game that includes some meeples!

After getting made redundant, Emily follows her dream and opens the card her and her late mum had always planned. Things don't go well so she rebrands as a board game cafe. A great read.

This is the perfect book to put a smile on your face.
Easy escapism at its best.
Thoroughly enjoyed it and would highly recommend.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this copy in exchange for an honest review

I am in love with this book - the plot is fantastic, and it's hard to put down! It follows Emily's journey on starting a small business ,after losing her job and fiance, fulfilling her and her mother's dream of owning a cafe. Despite facing numerous challenges, including failure, frustration, and fear of losing everything, Emily gains loyal customers and friends who support her both in her business and love life. The Little Board Game Cafe not only serves coffee and cake but also fosters a sense of community that connects people in the Yorkshire village. The book is a rollercoaster of emotions as the characters experience failure, learn from their mistakes, and ultimately achieve sweet success. It's a touching story that has stayed with me long after reading. If you're in the mood for a heartwarming tale about family, romance, and friendship, I highly recommend The Little Board Game Cafe. Plus, if you're a fan of board games, you're in for a treat! As a bonus, be sure to check out Mr. B - I adore his character.

I loved this gorgeous novel/novella!!! Emily is such a fun MC to read, and the idea for the cafe is brilliant.

This is a medium-paced, easy-to-read story, with characters that add value. I strongly feel that this is a good place for beginners if they're new to Women's Fiction, or reading in general. I put the book down feeling full and happy, knowing I'd spent my time on something great.

I received an eARC from NetGalley and Atria in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, this certainly made for a different read. I have never heard of a cafe like this one but it is a fantastic idea.. Great characters and the story line made for an excellent read. This is one not to be missed. Well worth more than 5 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for this ARC