This was a fantastic book. The dynamics between the characters kept my interest. I highly recommend this story. If you like to read about family life, and all it's complexity, this one is for you.

Strengths:
Well-developed characters: Daisy is flawed but relatable, and her growth feels earned. The supporting cast (especially the family members and quirky bakery patrons) adds richness.
Atmosphere: The bakery setting is warm and vivid, with mouth-watering descriptions of baked goods that create a cozy, grounded feel.
Emotional resonance: The novel deals thoughtfully with issues like adoption, loss, and reconciliation.

Potential Drawbacks:
The pacing may feel slow to readers seeking high-stakes drama.
The plot relies on some familiar tropes (woman returns home, small-town charm, rediscovering purpose), which might feel predictable to some.

Final Verdict:
The Union Street Bakery is a heartfelt and engaging novel that will appeal to fans of family sagas and character-driven stories. If you enjoy tales about finding your place in the world, with a side of comfort food and a sprinkle of history, this one’s worth a read.

Sometimes a book doesn’t just tell a good story—it grounds you. The Union Street Bakery is one of those quiet, powerful reads that reminded me why I reach for stories about messy women, complicated families, and the weight of untold history.

Daisy McCrae isn’t exactly thriving when we meet her. Her life has completely unraveled—job gone, relationship over, self-worth in the gutter—and she’s reluctantly back in her family’s bakery, living in the attic and trying not to fall apart. Her adoptive sisters are prickly at best, she doesn’t quite know how to fit into the legacy of the bakery, and it’s clear she’s been keeping herself emotionally at arm’s length for a long time.

Oh—and did I mention she sees ghosts? Not in the horror-movie, jump-scare kind of way. Just…there. Unexplained and unsettling, quietly tied to the bakery and the family history she’s never fully understood. And while Daisy’s the only one who seems to notice them, their presence is a constant reminder that the past is never really gone.

Then comes Susie’s journal—a century-old firsthand account from a young enslaved girl with ties to Daisy’s family. And that’s when this story really sinks in its emotional hooks. Daisy’s journey of identity, purpose, and belonging unfolds in careful layers, and Susie’s voice becomes the thread pulling it all together. The way this book weaves past and present—through history, memory, and a few things that can’t be logically explained—is beautifully done. Quietly devastating in places, but always respectful and emotionally resonant.

I especially loved how the book doesn’t rush Daisy’s healing. Her relationships—especially with her sisters—are messy and slow to mend, and it feels real. Nothing is magically fixed by a single heartfelt conversation. She has to earn her way back to herself, and I loved watching her stumble, try again, and slowly figure it out.

This one felt like a hug and a gut punch at the same time—hopeful, heartfelt, and layered like the best family recipes. I’ll be thinking about Daisy, Susie, and the echoes of the past that linger just out of sight for a long time.

Big thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. I came for the bakery vibes and sister drama, and stayed for the soul-deep reckoning with identity and history…plus a ghost or two only Daisy can see. Five stars, hands down.

Mary Ellen Taylor’s Union Street Bakery is a warm story that mixes personal growth, family ties, and a hint of historical mystery. Daisy McCrae, the main character, returns to her family’s bakery at a turning point in her life, looking to transform herself while grappling with her past.

Feeling disconnected from her adoptive family and her own identity, Daisy’s journey is both relatable and impactful. The attic above the bakery becomes a special place for her self-discovery.

The story also includes Susie, an enslaved girl whose journal Daisy finds, adding depth and linking Daisy’s modern identity struggles to a painful history. As Daisy learns about Susie's life, she uncovers truths about her own family.

Taylor’s writing is inviting, bringing the bakery to life with vivid detail. The relationships among Daisy and her sisters are realistically messy, capturing the complex emotions of family.

Daisy was left at the Union Street Bakery when she was 3yrs old. Abandoned by her mother, she ends up adopted by the family who owns the bakery. As much as they loved her, and she them, that first abandonment stays with her and pushes her to leave first before ever being left again.

The book begins with Daisy leaving a fiance and losing a high powered job in finance. As she struggles to figure out what she should do next, receives a call from home - her family needs help with the bakery - her brother-in-law had passed away and her parents had reached an age where they couldn't do it anymore but her sisters were drowning. She couldn't be the reason that the bakery which had been in the family for over a 100yrs go down without trying to help.

After running away for so many years, she now begins to reconnect with her sisters as adults. First with sweet young widow Rachel who is the genius in the kitchen, baking sweet treats and raising twin girls while mourning the loss of her husband and partner. And then with oldest sister, Margaret who was cranky and chronically late and a huge history buff.

When a neighborhood nonagenarian dies, she leaves an old diary for Daisy and Margaret reveals that she had been interviewing Mabel and delving into local history.

Daisy tries to find ways to leave, another finance job, or maybe hiring someone from outside the family to manage the bakery, because she doesn't 'really' belong there...but eventually she learns that she was always right where she belongs.

This was a very quick read. It did have an unnecessary ghost component that didn't really add anything to the overall story. Gordon's appearance also felt a bit tacked on and improbable.

This was my first book from Mary Ellen Taylor and I so enjoyed it! At first, I expected the story to focus on Daisy getting back on her feet at the bakery but this was so much more than that. A beautiful story of family, life changes and how we never truly know where we came from. Highly recommend!

Thank you to Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Available on Kindle Unlimited June 24, 2025

I was not expecting a book about family (found a blood) to include ghosts. Let's just start there. The main character, Daisy was adopted after being abandoned at 3 years old and the lack of closure surrounding that event has stuck with her for 30 years, but when she returns home she's forced to face her past, what really happened, who knew, and all the other secrets surrounding her adopted family and their shared family bakery.
Truthfully it become slightly difficult to keep the characters from the past straight, even with a partial family tree.

This charming read spotlighted second chances and finding oneself in the present with a unique introduction of a character from the past.

I immediately empathized with Daisy and the troubled road she’d travelled. I appreciated her willingness to return to the past to seek healing. I’ve often said ‘never’ to a perceived unwelcome experience, but Daisy showed me the benefits of being flexible where personal growth and healing is possible.

With a focus on where we come from and what direction we are headed, this is a great start to what I believe will be an interesting series. Originally published in 2013, this series has been updated and offered by a new publisher.

I was gifted this copy by Montlake and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

The Union Street Bakery by new to me author Mary Ellen Taylor was previously published in 2013. This first book in the Union Street Bakery Series is re-published by Montlake.
Daisy is a young woman who hit rock bottom. Lost her job, had a break up with her boyfriend and is living above the family business. She inherits a journal from the 1850ties and while reading she's learning about her family, her heritage.
A beautiful heartwrenching story, splendid, remarkable, 5 stars.

All I can say is Wow!! What a story!!
This story hit home so hard for me. I related to Daisy more than anyone knows.
I've felt that her story was my story in more ways than one.
I've felt her thoughts, feelings and even her emotions too. Goodness!
I couldn't put this book down. The historical details that were brought in was fascinating. They are what kept me turning the pages.
I loved Daisy's siblings so much. I felt like they were mine too. Wow!
I really admired Daisy's mom. Adopted mom not her real mom. I hated her real mom.
This is a powerful reminder that family isn't always blood related. To me, it who takes the time to love, nurture and raise you. That's true love. I should know. I was adopted too. I too have finally come to accept it as it's meant to be.
I loved loved this story so much that I hated to see it end. I really recommend this beautiful story of sacrificed love. Cause that's what it is.
5 stars force an amazing adventure that made me feel so many emotions with Daisy's and her family.
My thank for a wonderful story that I'll not stop thinking about bc it resonated with me deeply. I was NOT required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine.

Having been through the wars with recent life events, Daisy McCrae reluctantly finds herself in a situation where she is stuck trying to save the family bakery business, (which was not part of her plans!) and figure what to do with herself.

But sometimes, life's most unexpected twists can yield the best results, and Daisy is about to find out the situation is not really nearly as bad as she thought...

A delicious story about second chances, family dynamics, and unexpected career choices, this is a charming story that gets 3.5 stars.

I don't recall reading anything by Taylor in the past, so this was a fresh beginning into her work. I liked the concept of the self-discovery storyline. It is well-executed. The book left me feeling hopeful. Great characters and family relationships throughout. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Check out the full review at Kritters Ramblings

The first in a series that takes place just moments from my house in Old Town Alexandria, VA in a small family owned bakery that has been in existence for generations. The youngest McCrae returns to Alexandria as she lost her job in DC and needs a place to retreat to to put her pieces back together. She is adopted and doesn't always feel a part of the clan, but retreating to help put the bakery together really brings her into the fold.

First, I am biased because this book takes place in one of my favorite places - Old Town and I could picture each and every moment of this book and it made me fall in love with it. I also loved the family, the three daughters - two biological and one adopted and how this affects each in the family and where they feel they fit in the equation.