Jenny Colgan books are my guilty pleasure, my escape to a far off town, and my guarantee I’m going to love kinda book. Her characters are loveable and the storyline usually quite sweet. I mean with titles like “Welcome to Rosie Hopkin’s Sweet Shop” and “Meet me at the Cupcake Café” you know the stories are going to be winners right? My favorite book of Jenny’s is The “Bookshop on The Corner” and I recommend it to all my friends and bookworms. I would love nothing more than to travel to London to meet Jenny in person to get my book sighed by her. #goals “Sunrise by the Sea” is part of the Little Beach Street Bakery series so you’ll see a few of your favorite characters make an appearance but this book can be read as a standalone.
Marisa is struggling with the recent loss of her grandfather and finding it hard to move on like everyone else. Plagued with terrible anxiety Marisa must work from home and avoid going outside whenever possible. Needing an escape and time to heal she has moved to a remote Island on Mount Polbearne. Renting a sweet little cottage right on the water she’s sure she’ll have the peace and quiet she requires, that is until her piano-playing all hours of the night neighbor moves in. How can this oversized gorilla man not realize he might be keeping her up all night? Children’s lessons during the day and him banging on the keys at night there simply isn’t any escape, especially since Marisa cannot leave her house! Video chats with her grandmother slowly help her to heal and the beautiful gift baskets of spices and ingredients from her home town in Italy remind her that home is always near.
During a piano lesson Marisa meets the local bakery owner and hears of her financial troubles. She approaches her buffoon of a neighbor and offers to sponsor the twins to help out her new friend. In exchange for him keeping his silence and not playing the piano at night she will cook him meals. With the ingredients from her grandmother and the love of cooking she will slowly form a friendship with the Russian and come to understand him as being as misunderstood as she is. Little by little she will start to open up to her new friends and heal her broken heart. When a storm hits the town will need everyone to come together to help the community and that includes Marisa. Now is the time she must put one foot in front of the other to prove to her friends and herself that she belongs in Mount Polbearne.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow and Custom House for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Another lovely, lighthearted, and fun read by Jenny Colgan! We return to Mount Polbearne, a picturesque seaside village in Cornwall that we were first introduced to in the Little Beach Street Bakery series. While we are reacquainted with Polly, Huckle, and the loveable puffin, Neil, this story focuses on Marisa, who moves to Mount Polbearne hoping to overcome the struggles she’s faced since the death of her beloved grandfather. This book encompasses all the reasons Jenny Colgan is always a must-read for me. The idyllic setting, relatable and quirky characters, and entertaining storyline make this another favorite in the long list of Jenny Colgan books I love and enthusiastically recommend. My only question…how long do I have to wait for the next one?!

I loved this visit back to Mount Polbearne and the cast of characters Colgan has so lovingly created. Even the new characters shine as this small, island community continues to grow and adapt to the changing world around them. Marisa is a well-rounded character dealing with many mental health anxieties and issues that do not feel forced or contrived. Seeing old favorites of Polly, Huckle, Kerensa, and Reuben was a treat as well! Another strong book in the series!

I enjoyed this story. Colgan's stories are always sweet and enjoyable but begin to sound very similar the more you read. I like that her stories take place in out of the way locals but again they all seem to run together after awhile.

This is good story about nice people in a small town on an island in Cornwall. It was an entertaining feel-good read. A young woman who cannot get past the grief she suffers after her grandfather's death moves to the island where it is easy to stay isolated as the world starts to recover after the pandemic. She meets a baker and her family who start to help her recover. She also meets her neighbor, a Russian musician who is renting the cottage next door. A relationship starts to develop between them. They all find a way to survive a massive storm and learn to start over,

Jenny Colgan's Sunrise by the Sea is a wonderful continuation of the little island, Mount Polbearne, on the Cornish Coast. Colgan introduces adorable new characters in Marissa, who is grieving the loss of her grandfather and bear-like, Russian piano player, Alexei. The story is precious and fans of Colgan's will devour this one!

A refreshing trip without having to haul luggage around!
I enjoyed the introduction of two new characters to the Little Beach Street community. They both have interesting jobs and backstories.
The book is a well-written tale of loss and acceptance set in an intriguing location.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing the free galley copy in exchange for a review.

Jenny Colgan has done it again. Another great enjoyable story with old friends and great new characters. Polly and Huckle are back, but this time they take a bit of a backseat to Marissa. Marissa is a new transplant to the island. She has had a tough time lately. Marissa is a very honest portrayal of someone struggling with anxiety. Written perfectly with respect and humor. It is so rewardable to follow her journey in finding herself and her happiness.

A lovely, light, gentle read about love, the power of good food, stubborn nonnas and community.

I raced through this book, with my mouth watering and my heart heavy for Marisa and her troubles. Anxiety and agoraphobia are real and difficult issues. Jenny Colgan dealt with them in a realistic, sensitive way. Some of the characters grated on me a little and came across as cartoonist. I would not like to be friends with Reuben and his son!

Marisa is not dealing with the death of her grandfather, she struggles to do every day things including leave the house. A series of events has her relocating to a house in remote Mount Polbearne where she is finally alone. But the noisy Russian piano teacher keeps disturbing her peace and so does the owner of the local bakery. Plus Marisa's grandmother in Italy has discovered skype and together they spend time together in the kitchen. Will Marisa find a way to become part of the community and make a life?.

Mount Polbearne, Cornish Coast - Present Day

Polly and Huckle Miller live in the small, scenic coastal town of Mount Polbearne, where Polly runs the local bakery, and Huckle sells honey. They live in a converted lighthouse with their five-year-old twins, Avery and Daisy, and Neil, the Puffin. Scraping by on the bakery income, and what Huckle can do with his honey business means working hard, and hoping to save enough money to replace the windows in the old lighthouse. They could ask for the help of Polly's best friend, Kerensa's, amazingly rich husband, Reuben, but both are loathe to do that. Life goes on, and Polly struggles to deal with Huckle's sales trips, while keeping the twins happy, and her bakery running. And then Reuben's "waifs and strays" arrive in town.

In Exeter, Marisa Rossi hides in the room she rents from Caius, a casual, and very rich and handsome friend. Since the death of her beloved grandfather, Marisa has been unable to function, even to the point where she cannot go in to work, and, instead works from her tiny room. She is getting counseling, via her laptop, and her doctor is trying to get through to her, but Marisa is frozen, and even her family can't help. It isn't until Caius rents her room out, and gets her a cottage at his Uncle Reuben's property in Cornwall that Marisa is forced to face reality. She arranges to continue working from home, and heads to Mount Polbearne.

Marisa arrives in town, terrified of the crowds of tourists milling around, and finds the little bakery where she must retrieve the key to her cottage. The kind, but harried baker, Polly, notices right away that Marisa is having a panic attack, especially after a real live puffin flutters into the room, closely followed by two children, and then a massive man. It's no wonder Marisa can't function! Polly calms everyone down, realizing that Marisa and the big man are the new tenants of Reuben's chalets.

Still in a funk, Marisa settles into the neat little cottage, sets up her work station, and makes plans to have her groceries delivered, and plans to avoid any people. That is until she realizes that the walls are very thin between the cottages, and that the big man next door is the new piano teacher for the local school. The "noise" is never-ending, even during the night, so her insomnia gets no help, nor does her fear of confrontation.

What ensues in SUNRISE BY THE SEA is the struggle of a young woman who has lost connection to the real world. Marisa knows she must help herself, and her new therapist works hard to encourage even the smallest step into reality. Alexei, her neighbor, is confused by her anger at his music. Things start to change when Marisa begins Skyping her grandmother in Italy. But, at first, Marisa doesn't realize it.

SUNRISE BY THE SEA is such a great story of human struggles in so many areas. Polly and Huckle work hard to take care of their little family and home. Marisa has many mountains to climb, and Alexei has his own personal tribulations. In the meantime, there is plenty of humor as Neil, the puffin, and the twins manage to get into all kinds of scrapes. Even the interplay between Marisa and Alexei will bring smiles.

Don't miss the latest of Jenny Colgan's Little Beach Street Bakery books.

It was nice to visit with some old friends. A sugar sweet romance. Liked the link with the grandmother and the 'bear' next door. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

A newcomer is introduced, actually two newcomers have come to enjoy life on the island. At first I missed reading about the original inhabitants but grew to love the girl who had withdrawn from the world and her noisy neighbor.. I should have known better as Colgan has once again delivered a heart warming story with glimpses of people who live and work together on their island. Cogan never fails.¡

A delight as always. Jenny Colgan's titles are always a solid first-purchase for collections where light WF is popular.

After the death of her beloved grandfather, Marisa begins to suffer from depression, anxiety and agoraphobia. Her living arrangements change and she moves to Mount Polbearne. Enter some of our favorite characters from this series, namely Polly and her lovely family. Marisa struggles to make friends and survive but slowly and surely she reaches out and finds friendship and love. Obviously for anyone who loves Jenny Colgan but also for fans of Felicity Hayes-McCoy.

Ms. Colgan's books are always a good bet for a happy read even if they start out with unsettling or unwanted major life changes - broken heart, lost jobs, failed relationships, and now agoraphobia. Because her characters are flawed and human and struggle mightily to come out on the 'plus' column of life, we can relate and pull for them to find their rightful place in society. This newest character is one I could relate to -- an about thirty year old was flattened by her reaction to circumstances beyond her control but she kept struggling to get better, to get past the mental issues constricting her world into a tiny, tiny space. Once she found therapy, she found the key to getting better, which opened a lot of new doors and new friends. Besides, who wouldn't want to live in a place as wonderful as this small island in England, at least for a while?