Thank you NetGalley and publishers for an egalley. All opinions are my own.

This book was so delicious! I absolutely loved the setting of this book. Any book that takes place in a bookstore is an instant winner. I really feel in love with the charactwrs as well. It was an easy, but wonderful read!

Thank you to Netgalley for a pre publication copy. In return for an honest review #ofliteratureandlattes #netgalley

Alyssa has run away from her worsening home life that she blames on her mother's affair and feels she is living her best life. Until it all comes crashing down around her and she's forced to go home to her parents penniless, unhappy and scared. Can Alyssa overcome her families barriers? Will she fit into small town Winsome ? And Will she get the break she deserves ?

The title drew me to this book although I'm not sure what I expected this certainly wasn't it! I do think the cover is a bit bland for the multiple threads this book has.

Their are some emotional subjects included such as affairs, addiction, lies, illness and suicide amongst others. However the author uses this to steer you onto a different character before it gets too heavy which also ends up leaving you on a cliffhanger for that character while you explore the next in more detail.

I found the book to have a slow start with a lot of characters and tooing and froing but once you settle into the authors style of writing you realise they fill in for each other and leave you wondering.

This book was so lovely! I really enjoy cozy books and if you do too this would be right up your alley.

It's a well-crafted story, the perfect comfort read with wonderful characters and a beautiful setting.

I felt by the end that there was more to the story.

I received a complimentary copy of this book.

Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Thank you Thomas Nelson for the approval, Katherine and NetGalley.

I did not finish this story because I had trouble getting into this story.. I couldn't connect with the characters.
It felt like I was missing some back story on some of the characters mentioned.. although it says it stand-alone novel, reading the Printed letter bookshop would have added to this story.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the publisher. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

This is a lovely portrait of a life and characters of small town. Because there is quite a lot of everyday life going on on there! Husband and wife dating again after cheating and divorce; the adult daughter of said couple back home - with under FBI investigation; the divorced dad trying his best to be there for his child, even if...
I find this authoress always going for the raw and messy realities of life (including Christian life), which is always commendable. I like that she is not taking the easy route with her characters and her plots. Here it is like that as well - and I especially love the the very real, conflicted mother-daughter relationship (and the resolution of their problems).
But i also confess that this smalltown piece of life is somehow...smalltown-ish. Sweet and comforting...yet very little of this novel will stay with me (which is different from my deeper takes from other novels from this authoress).

I really struggled to get into this. I’m normally a huge Katherine Reay fan, but the head hopping and narrative voice was too much for me. I stuck it out as long as I could, but ultimately just wasn’t a good fit for me. Lovers of literature with better attention spans who can easily get lost in the story will certainly feel quite differently!

This is a book I chose to read solely because of it’s title. When I requested it on NetGalley, I was loving my lattes and eager to do latte reviews in addition to book reviews on this blog. Then the pandemic hit and everything shut down, so I didn’t get a chance to do those latte reviews. I do see it on the horizon soon!

Back to the book, though, it’s a very cute storyline that I really enjoyed reading. Whether it’s the small town coffee shop, the nearby bookshop, the mechanic who bends his expectations, the fancy Italian restaurant, the young man who finds out the daughter he moved across the country to be near isn’t biologically his, or the young woman in distress, I enjoyed every moment! All of it and more!

Gosh, so much happened here in this book as you probably can tell. My favorite character is Jeremy. The poor man sold everything he owned to relocate to be near his little girl. She was mad at the world and standoffish at first, but warmed up to him, starting with borrowed Smurf toys. His ex-wife (her mother) wants to relocate their little girl to another state, away from everything 6 year old Becca knows. While Jeremy fights to keep Becca close by, her mother does a DNA test to reveal that Jeremy isn’t her biological father, even though his name is on her birth certificate.

He also owns the little coffee shop in Winsome, where the story takes place. It’s not very successful at first. Townsfolk don’t seem to appreciate big changes. Jeremy had his right hand man that he didn’t trust. Then he hired a high schooler who brought lots of business in. But his numbers just weren’t adding up. The teenager ends up getting arrested for selling drugs while in the coffee shop. The police take Jeremy to the station as well. What a mess!

That’s just one of the characters! I love how characters and their lives intertwine with others, especially in a small town, wherever everyone practically knows everyone else. I love how this new coffee shop started with hardly anyone appreciating the update to so many coming in to talk about a book, one that Jeremy worked with the bookshop and the nearby bakery to create a memorable event for all.

I give Of Literature and Lattes 5 out of 5 tiaras because I enjoyed it so much! I also enjoyed how the author twisted in symptoms of celiac disease. It actually got me thinking about why my own stomach has been achy after I eat gluten foods with a potential gluten sensitivity. Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for this complimentary fiction. All opinions and comments are my own.

Of Literature and Lattes is a quick, cosy read about second chances, family, friendship and forgiveness.
I adored the characters, the setting and the authors writing style.
Definitely recommend this one if you are after an easy, enjoyable read.

My Thoughts
While this particular subgenre of fiction is not something I usually pick, the title drew me to it…

WHAT I LOVED
I fell in love with the title and the theme of this novel. After all, what is not to love about books set in small towns, and involving coffee shops as well as book stores?! The small-town warmth seeped through the pages, and having grown up in a small town myself, I enjoyed basking in it.

And I did love watching Jeremy’s interactions with his daughter, as well as reading about the town itself, and its charming bookstore!

WHAT COULD HAVE MADE IT BETTER
I ended up struggling with this book. With the title of the book, I would have loved if the meat of the story was the development of the relationship between the two lead characters, and of course between literature and lattes in the process. I would have loved to see more of Jeremy and his daughter’s relationship as well.

But it was not to be. There were simply too many characters thrown in, and their stories adding to sub-plots which interrupted the flow quite a bit. Maybe reading the first book in the series might have helped; yes, this is a sequel to another book set in this charming town, called The Printed Letter Bookshop.

Even Alyssa’s troubles because of her past job kept cropping up at the oddest moments, and then stayed for longer than expected. This particular set of troubles could easily have been in the past instead – just before the story started rather than through the storyline – and the story would have been fine.

Overall
If you love small-town romances, or enjoyed the first book in this series, then you can read this for that small-town warmth.

Disclaimer: Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the digital review copy of this book. All the opinions are my own.

I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience.

Reminiscent of Maeve Binchy's style with full, interesting characters and settings. Plan on immersing yourself in another time and place. I always look forward to a new Katherine Reay title. The only downside is reading them too fast.

I wanted to love this book. I live in small town Illinois and I like it, but this book is just to cheesy for me. I'm okay with like 80% cheese but this was 100%. Dnf

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Katherine Reay has been one of my favorite authors ever since I read The Brontë Plot and then HAD to go back and read her previous novels. This book is right up there with them and showcases her talent as a writer.

This book follows the events from The Printed Letter Bookshop, bringing in new characters and letting us know how everyone from the previous book is doing. Reay did a wonderful job with the characters relationships and the emotions that go into each unique situation. Wonderful job weaving everyone’s lives together, but also letting each story stand on its own.

I loved this book from Katherine Reay. I loved the character development and the way the writing was so honest and you could really see the characters hearts while reading. Thank you to netgalley for a copy of this book!

DNF. I couldn't get through this book. I felt nothing for these characters, and I just couldn't get into the story. I didn't realize that it was the second book in a series.

I feel silly saying this, but I've sat on reading this book for quite a while! *face palm* I don't like doing that, especially when it is one I've committed to reading and reviewing. I'm really slow getting this one read and reviewed. Ugh. It didn't have anything to do with the book itself, more so just life and me and not being in the mood to read this one. I really enjoyed the first book and was excited to read this one and go back to the charming town of Winsome and the characters that I connected with and loved. But if I'm not in the mood to read a book, I don't end up liking it as much. So I was afraid that might be the case. So I waited. And waited... way too long. But I'm so happy to say that I finally read it. And it was so much fun to connect with these characters again and meet the new ones who joined the Winsome family.

I worried that it had been quite a while since I had read the first book that I wouldn't quite remember everything. But that was not the case. It was like I just picked up right where I left off and no time had passed in between. I grew to like the characters even more and couldn't help but cheer with them, ache with them and yes, I shed some tears with them. To me, that is the mark of a good book. When I am connecting with the characters and sharing their emotions. I love to read and to feel and this book did that for me.

If you haven't read the first book, The Printed Letter Bookshop, I recommend you doing so. You could get away with reading this book as a stand alone. The author does a good job giving back history for those who haven't read book one, or like me, it was a while ago when they read the first book. But I think you'd definitely enjoy this book better with knowing who the characters are.

When I came to the end of the book (I wanted to say closed the book, but I was reading a digital copy and that doesn't work), I was definitely hopeful there would be a third one following soon. I would enjoy returning to Winsome again to see how these characters are fairing.

Content: Clean. Some Christian fiction aspects, the characters talk with a clergyman about scripture and finding healing and moving forward in their lives. It was tastefully done.

I received a copy from the publisher, Thomas Nelson Fiction, via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions in the review are my own.

Happy Reading!!!

After reading "The Printed Letter Bookshop," this one definitely caught my eye. I liked this story that takes us back to Winsome and back to the lives of the characters we met in previous book. The story moved a little slow for me in parts but overall it was an interesting story with definite surprises along the way. The ending seemed a little abrupt for my tastes and seems like it left it open for another return visit to Winsome. I would have liked a little more finished ending. Good read but not a great one for me.

Enjoyed this story, highly recommend to fans of this author.. Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

This was an enjoyable quick read. Even though I have not read the first book, I was still able to enjoy the second. The characters were partially flat but it did not take away from the book to much. It was a delicious romance perfect for a summer day on the beach.