Boring and way too long.

This story is okay if you're running towards the end of your library and are in desperate need of some background noise, but that's about it.


There are parts of the story which are left unfinished and as such it seems pointless they are even mentioned in the book at all. After the "sudden tragedy" the story takes a turn for the worse and the majority of the events that follow made me feel like I was re-reading Cinderella... A knock off version you'd find in a bargain books corner.


The majority of the characters are one dimensional and have no real depth, sadly this includes the main character, Fay, who could easily be replaced by an old doormat. The only real selling point for this book are the two minor characters, Lija who adds humour and Stan who adds wisdom, which Fay clearly lacks.


I was also pretty disappointed at the lack of cake and food description, given the cover and title of the book I was hoping for more. That being said, I was hoping for more in every sense with this book so it's not a surprise even the cake lacked flavour.

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1 person found this helpful

A lovely story.

Really lovely story, characters show a lot of every day emotions and characters from all sorts of backgrounds.

Lots of family dramas and a good little twist in the middle.

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wrong choice for narrator

Although the author refers frequently to the main characters age as if she is ancient she is in fact only in her 40s, but they chose a narrator who sounds over 70. An odd choice that made it very hard to work out what was happening to begin with. I stuck with it until the end as it was an easy listen but I could just have easily given up ,quite dull overall.

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Add 10 years

The character seemed like another 10 years beyond the 40 odd years. She behaved like she was at least 50 and sounded like it too.

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1 person found this helpful

A Comfort Read.

Lovely story, easy read or audio, girlie book, downloading another of Carols stories to see me through the chilly February evenings.

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So lovely I bought the next one straight away!

Loved - narration, story, characters, speed, that it was full of joy, tears and hope
Didn’t like - the fact that I wasn’t living on a narrow boat
Off to listen to the next one now <3

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Irritating

Voice of main character would have suited someone much much older. Main character was irritating and weak at start of book and her love interest was not endearing but came across as controlling and selfish. By the end of the book the main character was also incredibly selfish and I was horrified that she let her best friend and saviour down for a man! The best ending should have been completely different.

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Too long!

Not my favourite Carole Matthews book. A little dull in places and too long. The narrator also sounded too old for the main character.

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3 people found this helpful

Easy listening, no great literary work!

The reader wasn't great - too old and her accents were hopeless. Story was pleasant and an easy summery listen. The lead character was frustrating at times but it was nice enough.

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1 person found this helpful

What a brilliant find 😊

Having read several Katie Fford books read by Jilly Bond I was looking for something similar. The Cake Shop in the Garden is possibly slightly better.
Chapters are much shorter which is possibly better as it's easier to pause more frequently if busy whilst listening.

Certainly one of my favourites.

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