This book lifted my spirits - the perfect antidote to some of the more gloomy books I've been reading lately! This is a nice easy read with some great characters. Grab this sunshiny book with both hands if you need a cheerful read!

Won't give away the plot (as ever!) but I liked the quirky characters, and totally "got" Willow and Tom, and could picture the setting vividly. I haven't read any of the other books in the series, though I have one in my queue - but this works as a standalone.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my copy, in return for my honest review.

This book is part of a series and although it is the first one I've read but I feel as though it is a stand alone book. A cosy easy read with a quirky set of characters who one takes to immediately. The book features Willow who is having to deal with the horrors of her mother's decline with Alzheimer's disease on her own but with the support of loyal friends, her siblings having disappeared long ago. Although the plot is somewhat predictable with the entrance of Tom, the requisite love interest (not sure about the zombie references though), in the first few pages, it is still utterly charming and describes the anguish of Alzheimers and there are some unforeseen and emotional episodes. I shall search out the previous books in the series, and notice that I have been asked to review another one of the Comfort Food series by Net Galley today which I look forward to reading, whether this next book is before or after in the timeline I shall shortly find out, A feel good read, uplifting with the thought that with the help and love from those around one can tackle the seemingly insurmountable obstacles life throws out

I was so happy to be back in ‘Comfort Food Café’ land again! This is the fourth in the series but, even though I’ve enjoyed reading them in order, they can definitely be read as standalones, as a different character is featured each time with the others in the background as supporting characters.

This time, we focus on Willow whose home life is sometimes difficult because her mother is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. Someone new arrives, someone who Willow is surprised to find that she knows from her childhood, and her life takes on a new meaning.

Debbie Johnson has written another beautiful story that deals with real-life issues sensitively, and it was a joy to read. I do hope we return to the Comfort Food Café again in the future!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperImpulse for an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I absolutely loved the return to the Comfort food, catching up with all the characters and falling in love with new ones. Willow features in this book. She is looking after her mum and working as a waitress at the café alongside her cleaning job. She takes on a cleaning job at Briarwood, The House on the Hill where her mum worked for a while. She meets Tom, who has just bought the house after spending time in care there as a child.

They are both dealing with troubling issues- but the spark of romance is there- and he sounds just lovely!

I love the whole cast of characters coming together for each other , a real sense of community. The café sounds like the sort of place you could spend many hours enjoying a cuppa and a delicious cake whilst overlooking the ocean.

At times I really could not put the book down- wanting to see that everyone was ok! Or enjoying the plans for Edie's birthday. I can't wait to see where we go next with this lovely series.

Damn you Debbie Johnson (*wildly shakes fist in the air*). You have only bloody gone and done it again. Just when I think I can’t love the Comfort Food Café series anymore you break out Sunshine at the Comfort Food Café.

The character focus of this latest instalment is Willow. We have seen her float in and out of the café with her wild pink hair but she has always remained a little bit of a mystery. Her tale is one of emotional hardship. She is a young girl dealing with the emotional strain of having a mother with Alzheimer’s disease. She feels swamped by responsibility what with looking after her mum, working two jobs and dealing with hospital visits. It is no wonder that Willow has no time for herself. Once again, the wonderful cast of characters have come to her aid and proven just how lovely it would be to live in Budbury.

For me, Sunshine at the Comfort Food Café was probably my favourite of the series so far and that is probably because as a character I can relate to Willow more than any of the others. How she reacts and how she deals with situations and even how she speaks would be how I would behave so I found that strangely comforting.

Sunshine at the Comfort Food Café is lovely. It is a sad yet uplifting story about family, those you are born with and those you choose. It is simply stunning.

Sunshine at the Comfort Food Café by Debbie Johnson is available now.

For more information regarding Debbie Johnson (@debbiemjohnson) please visit www.debbiejohnsonauthor.com.

For more information regarding Harper Impulse (@HarperImpulse) please visit www.harperimpulse.com.

For more information regarding Harper Collins (@HarperCollinsUK) please visit www.harpercollins.co.uk.

Poignant and tender, a book centering on the awfulness of Alzheimers disease. Willow is a part time carer for her mother Lynnie, and also has her own cleaning business. She has plenty to juggle and pressure looms large in her life.
There is compassion, desperation, quiet amusement and emotion in her dealings with her mother, and it is good to see the other side of her life in her new relationship.
For me, and I think I am the wrong age, there was a little too much of the 'zombie' theme, but that is purely subjective.

The cover looks light and happy, but this is a powerful, excellent story.
Another fantastic book in this wonderful series. There are a lot of 'chick lit' books around today that feature a café or cake shop, but Debbie Johnson manages to make these have so much more substance. Each book in the series is based on a different person and is usually written from their point of view - and the author writes so well that she manages to sound like a different person. This is the book where I noticed that most - all the other 'lead characters' had their own problems, but it was very clever to base it around Willow rather than a new person, although we did learn about a new person with the arrival of Tom. Having encountered Willow in the previous books, it was tempting for the reader to think they understood her, but here was Alzheimers in all its glory, together with Willow's back story.
The covers of these books look so light and fluffy, yet the author manages to cover gritty and sad subjects so well, giving this series of books so much more depth than many of this type.
And, let's face it, we all want to go and live there, with these people who have become our friends, don't we?

I have really enjoyed all of the Debbie Johnson Comfort Food Cafe books and was looking for an easy feel good read when I picked this up. This book did not disappoint, in this book you follow Willow and her mum Lynnie and their story about how they ended up at the Comfort Food Cafe.

I was hooked within the 1st two chapters and loved Willow, she is a brilliantly scatty character who is under a lot of pressure but still appreciates the small things, it was great to have the perspective of another of the fantastic characters that have been created in this collection of books.

I highly recommend this book, this can easily be read as a stand alone or you can read it for another dose of the brilliant Comfort Food Cafe, I really hope there will be another as have loved them all so far!

Sunshine at the Comfort Food Cafe is a lovely novel following Willow and her adventures in the village of Budbury on the Dorset coast. Full of heartwarming characters, you get a real sense of friendship, loyalty and camaraderie. It’s the first book I’ve read by this author and I look forward to reading more.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins UK Harper Impulse and the author for the chance to review.

Pure unadulterated escapism. I love the scene, the descriptions. I want t9 go and eat at the Cafe and meet all the characters. I loved it!

It is a real treat going back to the Comfort Food Cafe everytime so I just couldn't wait to go back this time and boy it did not disappoint.

I absolutely loved everything about this book
It was really good to get to know more characters and follow their storyline as well as catch up with the regular ones.
I laughed and cried throughout and the whole story was incredibly heart warming.

A pure joy to read!

I read a lot of books, and most of them are good but the 'Comfort Food Cafe series', has a magic sparkle that makes it's stories marvellously memorable, even when you read as much as I do.
It has a broad appeal; there's romance, lots of laughs and heartwarming poignant moments. The whole age spectrum is covered, including various charismatic animal friends. Most readers will see a little of their own lives written into the pages of these realistic, yet wonderfully escapist stories, which means they are relevant, contemporary and worth reading.

'Sunshine at the Comfort Food Cafe', the fourth book in the series is Willow's story. Willow is unique, definitely new age and the primary carer for her mother Lynnie who has dementia. The friends at the cafe support her in practical ways, which make her life easier and give her much-needed respite but she has put romance and having a family of her own out of her mind, her mother's well being her only focus.

Willow's meeting with Tom, echoes a vibrant childhood memory, he is intelligent, successful but a loner and quite probably Willow's soulmate in another life. Exploring Willow's life, the author illuminates some of the problems of living with Dementia and how it affects not only the sufferer but their carers. Willow is vibrant, eccentric and loyal and in a village full of lovely characters, she is my favourite. Her quirky sense of humour and positive outlook on life is refreshing. Willow is not a victim, she loves her mother and wants to care for her, but she deserves to have some lighter moments in such a dedicated life.

There are lots of humorous moments in this poignant story, learning to dance the 'Strictly' way is one of them, hilarious and the ' Mr Darcy scene in the pond is another. If you love animals, there is another delightful animal charmer to meet too.

It reads well as a standalone story; courtesy of Willow you get a handy 'Game of Thrones' style crib sheet introducing all the characters but if you get the chance read all the books because you're in for a treat.

Perfect to read at any time, it's as addictive as cake and coffee and just as yummy.

I received a copy of this book from Harper Impulse via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Another great book by Debbie Johnson. The characters in this series are so likeable and you will fall in love with them all. The community spirit and friendship is so lovely! This book tells Willow's story, and even though it's part of a series, you don't have to have read the others in the series first. You can read this as a standalone if you want to.

Wonderful book! Yet another great read by debbie! Great how all books are all joined. Fantastic book, cannot wait for the next one!

As soon as I saw Sunshine at the Comfort Food Cafe was up for review I had to read it. I LOVE this series. It’s quite literally like a warm hug in book form and you can’t help but smile as you read it. It’s the 4th (I think) in the Comfort Food Cafe series, a series of books I adore, focussing on a windswept cafe perched on a hill above the Cornish coast and the local villagers. Somehow, the cafe and its ballsy owner Cherie manages to change lives simply by being there for waifs and strays stumbling across the village before making it their home and of course, the locals too.

This book focuses on Willow, the cafe’s waitress, who lives with her mum Lynnie, who has dementia. Willow is run off her feet, coping with the ever-changing disease that has taken hold of her beloved mum, while trying to hold down a job. Then one day a stranger appears in town, changing Willow’s life forever. I'm totally in love with this book. Please say there will be another one in the series to look forward to.

The Comfort Food Cafe is located on the stunning coastal landscape of Dorset, and is a local focal point for great food, and gossip for the diverse range of characters that work and drop in there. It offers opportunities for the community to support each other and meddle in the lives of others. The wonderful Willow lives in the village of Budbury, with her dementia suffering mother, Lynnie. Willow is an eye catching character with her tattoos, doc marten boots and pink hair, working her socks off in running her cleaning business and working as a waitress in the eponymous Comfort Food Cafe. She is not close to her siblings who have all left, leaving her with the family responsibilities. Both Willow and Lynnie keep journals for different reasons, Lynnie to remind herself who she is and Willow as a form of self help therapy.

Willow is taken on to clean The House on the Hill aka Briarwood where geeky, socially awkward local boy made good, Tom Mulligan, now resides. Over a period of time, Willow and Tom gravitate towards each other, find the strangest things in common, including how to survive a Zombie Apocalypse. Slowly romance blossoms between the two, although it is not all plain sailing. I love the strong sense of community in the novel, the wisdom imparted, the range of characters, and the great comic touches and moments of hilarity. A feel good heartwarming read that knows how to entertain whilst touching upon serious issues. Many thanks to HarperCollins for an ARC.

Sunshine at the comfort food cafe is as great as the other in this wonderful series.
Oh it was so good to be back at the comfort food cafe, it feels like ages since I've been there but it's not really been that long!! This series just seems to get better and better, I love Debbie Johnsons writing style and her ability to create such real characters with real lives and real problems. All the characters in this series are completely relatable to and that makes this a very easy read.Sunshine at the comfort food cafe is book number 4 in this series and you don't have to read any of the others this can be read as a standalone but I think it makes it better if you've read the others as you have more insight into the other characters. I liked how there was a run through of who the characters were built into this book so enabled me to have a refresh. This book is based around Willow who has only had a bit part in the other books so it was nice to get to know her and realise what a busy life she has and how she has no time for boyfriends as she is committed to helping her mum. This was a book that at times was funny but did touch on some hard topics and opened my eyes up to a few things.
I felt this was the best one yet so can't wait for the next instalment!!!
I would like to thank Netgalley and HarperCollins UK for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

I got given 2 books of this... weirdly so here goes.
I'm a newbie reader to debbie johnson by reading the third instalment of the comfort food cafe series. No, you don't need to read in order as I haven't read 1 or 2. Each story focuses on the same village in Budbury on the Jurassic coast and I'm sure i can lace the setting with the cafe when I visited the Jurassic coast. It also focuses on an individual family within the village so the first book will probably give you the background information but I got right into book 3 and this one book 4 at complete ease and didn't feel like I was confused at all.
There's many characters but the main character is based on Willow and her Alzheimer's mother lynnie who are quite a hippy family. Lynne had 4 children but her older 3 are nowhere to be seen exploring the world and leaving the half sister willow to care for her. Willow is a waitress in the comfort food cafe and runs a cleaning business.
She meets Tom the man who has bought Briarwood manor, the house on top of the hill and they have the connection of wanting each other. Willow can't give him the time because she has no free time and when she spent time with him her mother went missing so she's feeling guilty. Then her sister appears auburn and helps as much as she can and all her friend from the village help too but when it comes to Eddie's 92nd BIG birthday bash, it's then that willow decides she can do this with the help of her siblings.. . As long as they are there to help she can find time for Tom. Bit Tom has left....
This book was brilliant. I loved Willow and I so wanted her to get Tom and those two divine dogs. The characters are so easy to like. The story is sublime and easy to read with other characters bit not too confusing. I just love her writing style.
If like to thank netgalley for this book. 10 stars

Introducing the 4th in the series based in Budbury, all the previous books have been firm favourites of mine because of the fabulous cast of characters and uplifting stories, but you don’t have to have read them to enjoy this book as it works perfectly well as a standalone novel; helpfully there is a clever trick in the book that recaps this and introduces all the characters well.

In a nutshell Debbie Johnson delivers everything you’d want in a contemporary romance, every time.

What works exceptional well with this series is the loving community centred around the seaside café on the hill; within this exists friendships that span multiple generations and though different, each character cherishes the café and the respect and support the community in there gives. There is a true emotional connection with each and every character.

This book it is the turn of Willow, a waitress at the café who also runs her own business and is sole carer for her Mum who has dementia. Willow has always been a favourite of mine in the books so for her to finally have her own book is exciting. She’s intelligent, warm-natured, sharp and dances to her own beat, yet in this book you get to explore more sides of Willow, her vulnerability and self-reliance. These last two characteristics get truly tested by the arrival of Tom Mulligan, the new owner of Briarwood.

Now, there’s a part of me that naturally rolls my eyes at the “arrival of a dark handsome stranger” trope but Johnson’s writing and the quirky ways she introduces him in to the fold means I can just about forgive this. Tom is delightful, he isn’t cocky, he’s introvert and a geek but he’s confident and unafraid to pit his wits against Willow and join her in her zombie apocalypse alter-reality. Their shared history and vulnerability is endearing, and the chemistry woven between them is electric. Tom and Willow’s childhood experiences are certainly different, but both have cause to be cautious and seem to have become used to coping on their own; this for me was an interesting aspect of the plot. Until now Willow’s family has been her Mum and the inhabitants of the café, now there are more people introduced to help and support her, but this book explores how challenging letting go some of that control can be. For me it was an honest and heart-warming look at the realities of being a carer and of dementia. It wasn’t romanticised or treated as a plot line only convenient for empathy. The true, tough, complex, unpredictable and inescapable nature of being a carer to someone you love was covered very well; compassionate, raw, genuine and written with soul.

There isn't much cake and coffee featured in this book (boo!) however with the current snow we are having that was probably for the best before I started craving treacle tart (that never ends well... oooh tart and custard...) ahem, anyway, the runaway stars of the show for me were the dogs; Rick Grimes and Bella Swan (yes!), I don’t even think I need to say any more than that, they are (as all dogs are) fabulous.

I am hoping to God that by the time this book is published in a week this UK freeze has thawed and we have some resemblance of “sunshine, daffodils and bare feet on grass” Spring time, however you may want to preorder this as a literary back-up plan!

There are some books which are destined to be read, ones which will find out completely out of the blue just at the perfect time. Sunshine at the Comfort Food Café is that book for me, I was provided with an advanced copy for honest feedback via Netgalley UK. It has given me hope when I was in a dark place, why? You ask. Well because my current situation is not dissimilar to that of the lead character, Willow, who looks after her mother who has dementia. Now don't go thinking that this is a depressing subject for a romantic comedy or be put off by the subject. Debbie Johnson handles the pitfalls with care, whilst keeping it based in reality, she doesn't gloss over the dark moments brought on by the disease but shows something that I have recently come to learn in my own life. It takes a village, Willow does not have to do everything alone, she has friends, family and a lover, mistakes happen, you do lose yourself, Debbie, via Willow, shows that it is okay.
Love is at the heart of this story, both familial and romantic, Willow falls for Tom almost immediately, but it's her struggle with her feelings and how new relationships will affect her role as a carer that is at the core, leaving the question will she get her happily ever after?
It is both Debbie's writing style and her ability to create, characters with flaws that make this story work as a romantic comedy, there were many times when I laughed aloud on my commute to work, whilst other moments I cried, my heart aching at the unfairness of it all and that's what makes the characters and story, human and real.
I highly recommend for anyone to read this book, if they are in need of a light-hearted yet emotionally packed read.