The Little Board Game Café is the debut novel by Jennifer Page and yes it has taken me some time to get around to reading as it was published around this time last year but better late than never as they say. It also means that I have book two to catch up on and book three will be published in June. So perhaps waiting to read this wonderful and engaging read has paid off as I read can read the books more or less one after the other instead of patiently waiting for each book to be published. I loved the cover for The Little Board Game Café as it was so bright and colourful and it reminded me of the Love Heart Lane series by Christie Barlow and yes having now read this books I do thinks fans of Christie will love Jennifer’s writing. I’ve read lots of books set in cafes or shops etc that need renovating or something drastic must be done to make them survive and to be honest I am a sucker for this genre. But this book was different, original and inventive as it focused on a board game café. Such a unique idea and if you weren’t a fan of board games prior to reading this then you definitely will be by the time you reach the end.

The prologue introduces us to Emily who as a teenager works in the same café as her mum Trixie during her summer holidays. Emily would wait tables and Trixie would run the kitchen. Their dream was to one day open up their own café together but one fateful summer a fortnight after she returned to school her life totally changed and that aspiration was no longer a possibility. Fast forward many years later and Emily is having a very bad day. She has just been let go from her job. Admittedly she had never wanted to work there or really fitted in but the fact that it was her fiancée, James who did the firing makes it a bit of a bitter pill to swallow.

Following the bad morning Emily wanders through the village of Essendale where she has lived for three years. She ventures down a street she has never gone to before. Here she spots a building with a sign saying Nico’s café is for sale and as we know from the prologue her dream has always been to have a café of her own but can she do it without her mum who was meant to be by her side? It’s clear from the outset that Emily is not someone who likes taking risks and let’s be honest you have to have a certain strength and inner confidence about you in order to do that. Having a boyfriend in James who is so uptight and wants to mould her into someone else doesn’t help her really either. So I was glad when they split up within the first few chapters as it meant the focus really could be on Emily and her next moves. I was delighted when Emily bit the bullet and used her inheritance to buy the lease on the café.

Emily really stepped out of her comfort zone when she took on the café and it takes great courage and grit to do this especially has she had no formal food qualifications but what she lacks in this area she makes up for in enthusiasm, eagerness, energy and passion. But will that be enough? As when she opens up the café under the new name of The Lancashire Hotpot, the costumers fail to materialise. Only for one regular named Stan who I felt was coming through a sense of routine for him rather than any real loyalty to Emily. Although that does change over time and the friendship that developed between the two was lovely. I don’t think without Stan and some of the others that Emily comes to know would she have continued on the way she did. Despite tasty and delectable cakes and savouries the costumers just don’t come through the door. The Café is off the beaten track and as the days pass by Emily becomes more and more despondent as she can see her dreams dissipating before her very eyes.

When best friend Kate makes Emily join a running group with her it’s not Emily’s idea of fun, but she does meet GP Ludek and instantly I could see she her interest was aroused. Ludek is part of a board games group that takes place at the local pub and he invites her to attend. This is when the book really began to take off and the title starts to come into play. To some people the topic of board games might seem a bit nerdy and boring but it wasn’t at all. What made it different from the norm and that little bit more exciting is that a whole new world was opened up for Emily as traditional games like Monopoly and Buckaroo etc although fun and mentioned here, were not exactly what Ludek and his fellow board gamers played. Such inventive games were mentioned and the seriousness with which they took everything astounded Emily and she was drawn into a world she knew nothing about.

In doing so she started to really connect with Ludek although for a lot of the story I felt he held himself back a bit and yes he was slightly obsessive when it came to his own personal board games that filled his house but at the same time that was a sweet side to him as well. One evening when the pub is double booked for the board game club Emily steps in and volunteers to hold it at the café. Soon she realises she needs a unique selling point to try and attract customers to the café or otherwise she will have to shut up shop but she is not about to go down without a fight. Having the board game cub at the café sparks an idea and she decides to rebrand the café as The Little Board Game café and with the help of Stan and some others she sets about transforming her little café.

I really enjoyed reading these scenes as the author let her creative mind let rip with all the quirky details included in the café. I was desperately hoping that things would be a success for Emily and was rooting for her all the way. She comes up against many obstacles and setbacks many of which were very interesting and added some drama to the story, but she kept plodding on and this made me admire her more and more. The Ludek strand of the story developed nicely even if it was a little bit predictable at times with crossed wires, misunderstandings and times when you wanted to give the pair a good shake. Will they realise that they both actually like each other? Will the board game café succeed, or will it become another statistic in the ever growing list of shop closures? You’ll have to read this delightful book yourself in order to discover the answers?

The Little Board Game Café, was just such a lovely book to read. It had the right balance of angst and needing to work hard to achieve something combined with lots of moments of laughter, comradery and or course romance. Emily, takes brave steps and learns to not let what’s happened in your past hold you back in your present and it’s advice we can all take on board. Jennifer Page has demonstrated through this heartfelt, appealing and warm story that she is a talented author that will go far in the future. This was a great debut read and I am delighted now that I can get stuck into book two, Love Letters on Hazel Lane and Second Chances at the Board Game Café will be another one to look forward to as well.

A cute, easy read book, set in a delightful cafe with fun friendships blooming across the ages. It’s one you will enjoy reading but will struggle to remember once it’s finished, probably a perfect holiday read. Thank you for the opportunity to read it.

I love having game nights and this was a perfect little read! Now I'm definitely wanting to open a board game cafe! I'll definitely be reading more of Jennifer Page in the future!

So sweet I got a toothache. There’s just something so wholesome about cute small town stories. I just had fun with this one

I absolutely loved this story. I love reading stories about people trying something that isn’t guaranteed to be a success. And a board game cafe?!? I’ve been to one in real-life and it was amazing. A bit different than the one in the story, but fun all the same.
I found it really easy to fall into this story and the characters were really likeable. Will definitely read it again.
Thank you to NetGalley, Jennifer Page and Aria for a gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book! It was so cosy and easy to read and the story was so heart-warming. Couldn't put it down

I loved this heartwarming read! As a boardgame fan, I was excited to jump into this one. It definitely didn't disappoint! A realistic heroine, swoony love interest (who is gloriously nerdy) and a wonderful setting. What more could you want?

The Little Board Game Cafe by Jennifer Page

Made redundant from her job by her fiance, Emily decides to follow a long-held dream of running her own cafe. The path to success is far from smooth but she is helped along the way by her family, best friend Kate, friends Mr B and Margery, and the board gaming community, including the lovely Ludek!

What a lovely book - absolute perfection! I loved the story, the characters, the community.... everything! Very VERY highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

Unfortunately this book missed the mark for me. I wanted to love this, I adored the synopsis and was hoping this would be a cute read. I was not a fan of the decisions the main character made and was not a fan of her best friend. Emily tended to be a pushover and could not communicate her feelings or what she wanted. The premise sounded so cute but bits of the story tended to be heavier than I anticipated. Sad to say, this just was not the book for me.

I enjoyed this book. Great characters and a really cosy feel. A lovely lighthearted read. Highly recommended by me.

An absolute gem of a book. I loved Emily’s story and the community behind her. A nice easy read which leaves the reader smiling
Thank you to Netgalley, Aria and Aries and Jennifer Page for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review

3.8

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was very sweet! It tells the story of Emily and her dream of opening a cafe. I really enjoyed getting to know Emily’s small town and see the progress of her business. This was a slower read than I typically read, but the pacing fit the storyline and the setting well. I do like how everything tied up very nicely for our characters and side characters’ storylines finished up just as well as main characters.

I must admit to choosing to read this book almost solely because of the title. I am more than a little fond of board games, although I do not play as much as many other hobby board gamers. This story is a little more revealing in its title than the book needed since the board games come into the picture slowly but surely only after a few other trials have been experienced.
Emily is one of those protagonists who has tailored her life based on her parents' example. Almost a how not to just to ensure she never reaches the stage her father has after the loss of her mother. She has chosen a sedate and stable man for whom she feels only affection and no extreme emotion that could go wrong if things were to go south.
As the blurb also reveals, things do change, and Emily is now left with only her dreams of opening a cafe and the money her mother had left her. With no job and no other plans, she starts up a cafe. The cafe is not in a very suitable position, and things do not start off in a grand way. Parallely, she is trying to build a new relationship, one that begins with her being invited to play board games.
Our protagonist only goes because she is interested in the man and knows next to nothing about games. Her imagination of what the experience would entail is pretty authentic. I have seen it myself. Once she gets involved, however, she starts to get interested herself. After a few other events, the two separate parts of her life merge into an idea that she struggles to bring to fruition.
I liked the details that the author put into the narrative and the overall arc of the cafe. Surprisingly, I did not enjoy the central love story. I was not convinced by their progress (and when there was a slowdown, the lack thereof). Sometimes, when the background arc is so strong, I sometimes wish for the absence of a romance at all!
I think people who are less picky than me would enjoy this book even more than I did. I would recommend the author and this particular book to readers of this genre.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

I loved both Emily and Ludek but absolutely loved Mr B. The up and downs of the little rundown cafe was great and at times I really did feel for Emily. It was a perfect distraction to the current bad weather and I read it in one sitting with hot tea and biscuits. Perfect

Such a pleasant easy read. I enjoyed meeting Emily and the characters in and around Esseendale within this book.
It was so well written that you could actually picture yourself there.
This author although her first novel i feel is going to go far.
Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this lovely book.

My three biggest hobbies intersecting, say what? books check, coffee check, board games check. This was such a good cozy story. I totally appreciate that the board game references are legit too! There were even a few games in here I hadn’t heard of and want to check out.

I loved this book. It was such a sweet story and I would love to hang about in a place like that. My idea of heaven. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

This was delightfully and authentically geeky. Emily has always wanted to run a little cafe and jumps on the opportunity when it arises; but the cafe is a failing business due to it’s poor location, and even her delicious baked goods can’t compete with lack of foot traffic. When a local gaming group’s customary meeting place falls through, she finds success in hosting their get-togethers, and learns some fun games in the process. She can’t get a good read on the attractive convener; is he interested in her, or not?

This is a very charming and sweet story that will have you cheering for the underdogs. Sometimes characters venture into stereotypes upon meeting and then settle into more realistic, fully dimensional people. Sure to be fun for foodies, gamers, and fans of cozy reads set in English villages.

I received a free, advance reader’s review copy of #TheLittleBoardGameCafe from #NetGalley.

I went into this hoping for a cute little story about a woman thriving and opening up her own café. While the story is sweet and cozy enough for me to enjoy, there are several issues I had with the book: The main character has so little self respect to stay in a relationship she doesn't enjoy and when she finally finds the courage to leave her boyfriend, she falls in love with the next guy she meets. While this seem like common topics for romance books (which I don't usually read), they sort of triggered me and gave me the ick. Nevertheless, I mostly enjoyed the story and stayed til the end for the grand (and a bit cheesy) finale.

Emily followed her dream to own her very own café. Add a great location, tasty food and the opportunity to play any board game you fancy. I found Emily a bit clueless and lacking in common sense, however you couldn't help liking her .I loved the community spirit of the village. A good debut.