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The Christmas Café

(No Greater Strength #2)

Amanda Prowse

4.09 · Rating details · 1,014 ratings · 89 reviews

Bea is fifty three, and she's just lost her husband after thirty years of marriage. To distract herself from grief, she throws herself into her work running the Reservoir Street Kitchen in one of Sydney's most fashionable districts.

But then an email from a cafe-owner in Edinburgh prompts her to take a trip to Scotland in the depths of winter. Her journey will be one of se

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Kindle Edition, 368 pages

Published August 31st 2015 by Head of Zeus

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Dec 13, 2018 Sarah rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction

The story starts of with Bea at her dying husbands bedside. It did make for some very emotional reading but it drew me to Bea instantly and by the end of the story she felt like an old friend.

I loved the story being set in Australia, which is very different to what Christmas is like here in England. Bea lives in a flat above her business of which she loves listening to the hustle and bustle from below. Whilst it’s something that would probably put me off, the author totally sold me on Bea’s hom ...more

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Oct 01, 2015 Cora Tea Party Princess rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: did-not-finish

DNF at 23%

AUDIOBOOK

I just didn't get on with the narrator. Shame. ...more

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Nov 08, 2015 Bookread2day rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This story opens up with great sadness. After thirty years of marriage Fifty-five year old Bea, held on to the hands of her husband's Peter until his final breath in hospital. For Bea she was going home to a dark and quiet apartment, with Peter's belonging staring at her in each room she went in. She buries her grief in hard work at the deli she runs. A letter arrives for Bea from a lady cafe-owner in Scotland, she runs a kind of little forum for owners of coffee shops, tea rooms and boutique ca ...more

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Oct 15, 2015 Rebecca rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: christmas-reads-2015, read-for-blog-tour

Originally reviewed on http://beccasbooooks.blogspot.co.uk/2...

There are hundreds and thousands of Amanda Prowse fans, fans that told me, during my reading of A Christmas Cafe, that Prowse is one of their most favourite authors. As I progressed further into this beautifully weaved, superbly told novel, I began to understand why. I can't believe that The Christmas Cafe is the first novel I've read by Amanda Prowse, but I can tell you now that it certainly won't be the last. I was utterly charmed Originally reviewed on http://beccasbooooks.blogspot.co.uk/2...

There are hundreds and thousands of Amanda Prowse fans, fans that told me, during my reading of A Christmas Cafe, that Prowse is one of their most favourite authors. As I progressed further into this beautifully weaved, superbly told novel, I began to understand why. I can't believe that The Christmas Cafe is the first novel I've read by Amanda Prowse, but I can tell you now that it certainly won't be the last. I was utterly charmed by this story, enchanted even, and felt like I could only come up for air once I'd turned the last page.

Prowse reeled me in from the very beginning of A Christmas Cafe, teasing me with tiny morsels of mystery and intrigue, and hinting towards a past which Bea, the heroine in this novel, just couldn't forget, regardless of how much time had passed. After the death of her husband, Bea's mind was finally free to wander, and just as she knew it would, it returned to the same man who had taken up residence in her mind for years upon years. With Prowse's delicate-as-a-rose imagery and unpicking of emotions, it was clear to see that this man, whoever he had been, had been more than just a fleeting love affair, someone who she had never once forgotten about. These delicious hints towards a past I knew nothing about spurred me on throughout my reading of this novel, so eager and desperate was I to delve into Bea's history to find out what had happened so long ago, and who the man was who had never left her side, not spiritually anyway.

The pacing of The Christmas Cafe was absolutely superb. Not once did I find a lull or dip in the novel, not once did I find myself questioning something in the plot. In fact, I absolutely flew through the pages, excitement and adrenalin coursing through my veins when parts of Bea's life began to unravel. From Sydney Australia, with it's scorching heat even during Christmas, to Edinburgh Scotland, with it's snowy pavements and freezing temperatures, Prowse truly gave me a feast for each and every sense. Her descriptions were spot-on, her choice of words so beautifully put to use, only ever giving me the full-effect of what her characters were doing/seeing/tasting/feeling. The plot was gripping, at times a tad torturous, but on the whole, incredibly moving, emotional and satisfying with a cast of characters who left a lasting impression on me.

The heroine of The Christmas Cafe, Beatrice, Bea for short, was a character who I warmed to and sympathised with immediately. What I loved most about Bea was the fact that, despite her predicament which she'd found herself in, she was still completely loving and wholesome, a real golden-hearted woman, who I utterly adored, not only for her winning personality and gentle nature, but because she felt so real to me. The deli which she ran within the novel was so obviously her pride and joy, and I loved the scenes which took place within it, alongside her two lovely friends Nait and Kim, and Mr Giraldi, a disgruntled but amusing customer! Prowse brought forward the deeper issues between Bea and her son Wyatt, and her granddaughter too, who I also loved, and who I felt brought her own style of joy and warmth to the novel, and proved to be a very entertaining contrast to her grandmother. There were moments of giggling on my part, coupled with a few stray emotional tears and, overall, one of those smiles, when I reached the end of The Christmas Cafe, that seemed to last forever.

With such a beautifully poignant and moving story, coupled with snowy Scotland, ever-lasting love and the ties that bond two people together throughout the decades, The Christmas Cafe warmed me from the inside out, like a frothy, rich hot chocolate, cradled in my hands on a cold and frosty night keeping me warm. I was gulping back my tears, stifling my gasps and hoping against hope that it wouldn't turn out to be too late for Bea. And overall, I think that's what really shone through from within this book. That life is too short, that you should take every chance that you're given to be truly, unconditionally happy, and that in the end, the only thing that matters is that you followed your heart and took your happiness with both hands and held it tightly. Distance, time and circumstances doesn't change when it comes to 'the one.' I loved Bea, I adored her story, and this will not, I repeat NOT, be the last novel I read by Amanda Prowse. Beautiful in every single way possible. FIVE GORGEOUS CUPCAKES from Becca's Books!
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Dec 12, 2015 Margaret Madden rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own, lovereading-co-uk

4.5 stars.
Most book reviewers receive their Christmas themed books at the end of the summer, and have them read and reviewed by September or October. I have to admit that I cannot do this. I can't read a Christmas novel while wearing a bikini, or when there is no fire in the grate. I need dark evenings, cozy jumpers and a variety of Christmas decorations around me. Hence, this is only my forth Christmas read this season, However, it's a cracker (see what I did there)!

When Bea is widowed in her e 4.5 stars.
Most book reviewers receive their Christmas themed books at the end of the summer, and have them read and reviewed by September or October. I have to admit that I cannot do this. I can't read a Christmas novel while wearing a bikini, or when there is no fire in the grate. I need dark evenings, cozy jumpers and a variety of Christmas decorations around me. Hence, this is only my forth Christmas read this season, However, it's a cracker (see what I did there)!

When Bea is widowed in her early fifties, she is feeling lost and lonely. Her son has his own family and has moved on. her cafe, in Sydney, Australia, is her world and yet she still feels something is missing. Her memories come back to her and she dreams of her younger days with a heavy heart. When she is invitedd to join an online club for cafe owners worldwide, she learns how to use her laptop properly and finds some virtual friends. Her granddaughter, Flora comes for a visit and soon the girls are planning a visit to the other side of the world, where snow replaces sand and Christmas decorations don't look out of place. Scotland bites them with its chill, but embraces them with its charm. When they arrive at the Christmas Cafe, they step into a unknown scenario which may just change their lives forever...

This is my first time reading Amanda Prowse, yet I have many more of her titles on my bookshelves. The cover was calling to me, in all its twinkling glory and the fact that the author is compared to JoJo Moyes and Freya North could only be a good thing, right? The first few pages were tear-jerkers. Bea's husband is dying and her relationship with her son is taut. Having a child at a young age, as a single mum, can be a blessing in the early years as you have the energy and fitness levels to keep up with them, but it can also have its downsides. Bea feels like her son resents her, yet can't figure out why. \her daughter-in-law is standoffish and she rarely sees her granddaughter. She even has to invite herself over for Christmas dinner each year. Something's not right. When Flora gets in trouble at school, a trip to her grandmother's house seems the logical way of allowing some cooling time between herself and her parents. Here is where Flora and Bea get to really know each other and even learn a lot about themselves in the process. Edinburgh is described with tenderness, from the tartan carpets of the Balmoral Hotel, to the historical castle and King Arthur's Seat right down to the narrow side streets of the city, steeped in atmosphere. This is a huge culture shock for the two girls, who are used to flip flops, and year-long sunshine. However, the biggest shock is yet to come. The Christmas Cafe's owner, has a surprise and Bea never saw it coming...

This was my favourite Christmas read for a long time. Having it based on two continents adds a little something extra and the emotional scenes had my heart giving a little flutter (corny, but true). Bea is a great character, although I would be surprised that someone in their early 50s wouldn't know how to send an email or even know how to use a smart phone. 50s is the new 30s, don't you know! One of my favourite scenes is where the two girls are descending the aircraft steps, after landing in Edinburgh. While Bea has experienced Europes colder climate before, Flora is flabbergasted, as only an Australian could be :)

"..this was the kind of cold that shrank your goosepimpled skin against your limbs and chilled your bones until they felt brittle. The kind of cold that hurt your ears and made you want to crawl beneath a big fat duvet and not emerge until the summer showed its face."

Even though Christmas is approaching its end, there are still many dark nights to be had, sitting by the fire and losing yourself in a good book. You could do a lot worse than this festive novel. Charming, with great character, it blends grief with hope and shows how sometimes life does only begin in the later parts of our lives. I'm off to root out Amanda Prowse's other novels...

Perfect for fans of Emma Hannigan and Cecelia Ahern.
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Oct 24, 2015 Rachel Gilbey rated it really liked it · review of another edition

4.5 Stars

The Christmas Cafe is a beautiful love story, of lost true love. I found it got off to a slightly slow start, possibly due to Bea's husband dieing, and the initial grief, but once it moved on a bit, I was entranced by the story, and just wanted to read more and more.

One year later, Bea runs a cafe in Surry Hills, Sydney and puts all of herself into her work, after her husband Peter dies. Out of the blue she gets an approach from The Christmas Cafe in Edinburgh, suggesting she become pa 4.5 Stars

The Christmas Cafe is a beautiful love story, of lost true love. I found it got off to a slightly slow start, possibly due to Bea's husband dieing, and the initial grief, but once it moved on a bit, I was entranced by the story, and just wanted to read more and more.

One year later, Bea runs a cafe in Surry Hills, Sydney and puts all of herself into her work, after her husband Peter dies. Out of the blue she gets an approach from The Christmas Cafe in Edinburgh, suggesting she become part of a group of cafe owners all over the world, to share business tips.

She starts emailing the owner of the The Christmas Cafe back and forth, and develops a e-pen friend. At the same time, her son Wyatt, is having trouble with his daughter Flora. Flora is 13 and is a slightly troubled teen, who has fallen in with not the best crowd at school. Flora is determined to stay with Bea.

On a whim, Bea and Flora decide to go to Edinburgh for the two weeks before Christmas, her Wyatt and his wife are off to Bali anyway. It is the full introduction of Flora into the story, and then the initial reactions of them in Edinburgh, Scotland that really made me fall a bit in love with this book.

The descriptions of an Australian teenager experiencing a cold Scottish winter for the first time, complete with snow, and seeing it through her eyes was magical.

There was another story going on throughout the book, which started off as a slow burner, Bea's memories, every now and then flaring up, and then as they get to Scotland, this becomes the main storyline and its a heart warmer.

As always Amanda Prowse has written an enchanting story, that you never want to put down and that leaves you feeling quite emotional. This is not a Christmas book in the sense, that its going to be a light hearted, jolly look at the time of year, as it has a lot more depth to it. That being said there are some very funny scenes, and it is not heavy going either.

The Christmas Cafe has just the right amount of substance to it, to make it an enjoyable holiday read. ...more

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Jan 06, 2020 Clare rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2020-perusals-reading-challenge, 2020-audio-3000

Listened to in audio format.

I am a big fan of Amanda Prowse and I have read a number of her books.

The prologue left me with a lump in my throat. The story started with the death of fifty year old Bea`s husband Peter. Expat Bea was a single mother to her son Wyatt when she met Peter through work. They got married and although Peter adored Bea, Bea still had feelings for her first love.

Twelve months later Bea received an e-mail from Alex the owner of The Christmas Cafe in Edinburgh. Alex had invi ...more

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Jul 24, 2018 whitesidereads rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I loved this book.

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Dec 22, 2020 Lillian rated it it was ok

^ it’s a cutie. great for the seasonal feelings. not nearly as clichee as i was anticipating so that was very welcome.

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Dec 29, 2015 Sue rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommended to Sue by: Amazon

Shelves: fiction, read-2016

Bea is a lively women in her early 50s, who is widowed at the start of the book. After the prologue, we meet her a year later in her everyday life in Australia. She’s the owner of a small restaurant, who adores her teenage granddaughter Flora but hardly ever sees her...

Most of the book is about learning to accept one’s past, and to take steps towards finding truth, even if this seems difficult or risky. The writing is good, with a nice amount of description and believable dialogue. While I had e ...more

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Oct 05, 2015 Nats rated it really liked it · review of another edition

It did take me a few chapters to get into his story but once I did I certainly was not disappointed. I read the second half of the book in one sitting because it was unputadownable and a page turner I just wanted to know how it ended.

The Book had amazing characters which held the story together perfectly. I especially warmed to Flora the teenager. I loved the unexpected twists the book took I did not see them coming

I enjoyed the trip to Edinburgh, Amanda’s descriptive wording of the city was jus ...more

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Dec 23, 2017 Kitvaria Sarene rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: chic-lit-and-womens

This was a nice change from the other Christmas chicklit I've read, as the main protagonist is already a grandma (albeit a young one) and her granddaughter is also a main character. Those two POVs worked well for me.
I like how it is both about the past and the present, how one influences the other.

As so often it all was just that little bit TOO easy after such a long time, and the characters too good. But it was a nice read and I enjoyed it. ...more

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Dec 02, 2018 Kay Cardona rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Loved this. I did get over emotional but I loved it.

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Dec 21, 2018 Rachel Hall rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Prosaic, entirely predictable & heavily padded women’s fiction with a festive theme.

Having read two books by Amanda Prowse with decidedly mixed experiences I opted to read The Christmas Café in the hope that with a widowed protagonist of over fifty it might bring some emotional depth to the usual festive fluff. Sadly everything about this novel screamed of being rushed and poorly thought out and for the fifty pages of genuine insight there was a good two hundred and fifty of filler material, inc Prosaic, entirely predictable & heavily padded women’s fiction with a festive theme.

Having read two books by Amanda Prowse with decidedly mixed experiences I opted to read The Christmas Café in the hope that with a widowed protagonist of over fifty it might bring some emotional depth to the usual festive fluff. Sadly everything about this novel screamed of being rushed and poorly thought out and for the fifty pages of genuine insight there was a good two hundred and fifty of filler material, including throwing in a teenager to reduce the value of any potentially poignant moments of reflection to immature amusement.

The novel opens with Bea at the death bed of her beloved husband, Peter, as he loses his fight with heart disease in a hospital in Sydney. Happily married for twenty-seven years and living in the comfortable Surry Hills district, Bea runs the Reservoir Street Kitchen while twenty-five year senior, Peter, supported her unconditionally in the background. Mourning for the all-consuming, passionate love that she could not offer to her life partner, Bea looks back on her history, from her estrangement from her parents to the first six year of Wyatt’s life that she spent alone in a King’s Cross bedsit. Peter offered Bea an escape but also a very different life to the one she had always dreamed of, from the awkward relationship shared between Wyatt and step-father Peter to Bea’s distant relationship with Wyatt, his wife Sarah and ebullient thirteen-year-old granddaughter, Flora, who she barely sees. As Bea muses on the passionate love that passed her by when Wyatt’s biological father returned home to his wife and twins and she was ostracised by her devout minister father, she reflects on how fortunate she was to find a second chance at happiness, love and companionship with Peter Greenstock.

The story is definitely a slow starter and the first third of the novel is given over to introducing the Reservoir Street Kitchen, employees Kim and Tait and what is in effect a replacement family for Bea, who feels like an inconvenience to her offhand son, Wyatt, and misses her fast maturing granddaughter. Holding out for a Christmas invite from Wyatt an irate Flora, who is running into trouble at school and at loggerheads with her parents “who don’t listen”, is unexpectedly landed on gran, Bea. An opportunity for Flora to have some time out comes with the added blessing of gran and granddaughter getting to know each other better as they share intimacies and discuss plans for a shared Christmas. When a mysterious letter from a cafe owner in Edinburgh inviting the Reservoir Street Kitchen to join a global forum of cafe owner sharing recipes, photos and advice it sees cheeky Flora establish an email friendship with The Christmas Café proprietor. The spirit of Peter urging his wife to “be brave” and grab every opportunity in life sees the duo swapping the sweltering beaches of Sydney for the snow lined streets and raw winds of Edinburgh at Yuletide. Little does Bea know (the reader is never in any doubt!), but her Christmas trip is about to set in a motion a very eventful twelve months, a chance to recapture her first true love and the blessing of improving family relations.

I didn’t so much mind the predictability of the story as the many questionable inconsistencies in the plot, from protagonist Bea being considered “old” at a mere fifty-three-years and her inability to email or navigate the internet whilst coping fine with running a business, operating a satnav system and using a mobile phone. The backstory that Prowse gives to her character is also a little baffling and with the novel set in 2013 and Bea telling Flora of the attitudes thirty-years ago when she was pregnant with an illegitimate child and strictly religious parents it certainly doesn’t tally with the late 1970s to early 1980s that I recognise. And, given Bea knew that Wyatt’s father, John, went home to Edinburgh would she really not have been intrigued and looked him up before now? And more importantly, would she go to the self same city and yet not have even have been tempted to contact him?

A disappointing read of minimal substance, unconvincing characters and limited emotional depth that struck a false note. The moments of occasionally moving prose on the changing nature of relationships as we mature and every family needing a translator to help them understand each other are few and far between. In hindsight I think replacing teenager, Flora, with an older travelling companion and a character with more life experience would have benefitted the novel greatly and set a maturer tone. As it is the forced humour of nigh on every scenario reduces the sentiment of the whole novel and debases the story to anodyne festive fare. ...more

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Feb 04, 2019 Ritu Bhathal rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Yet another wonderful book by Amanda Prowse.
A heartwrenching story of Bea, recently widowed, and dealing with her wayward granddaughter.
Its a learning curve of a story, where both grandma and gran daughter learn a lot about themselves.
Letting love find you, finding first loves and a trip from Oz to Scotland.
A truly lovely read and a bonus when I read of some old favourite characters too!

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Oct 27, 2015 Susan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

The Christmas Cafe is not your usual seasonal read in that the book starts off in a hospital ward devoid of festive cheer. We meet Bea just as her husband Peter is close to death. Bea’s loss has left a big hole in her life, especially as she barely sees her son, Wyatt, and his family. Through the pages we find out that as much as Bea loved Peter she was not in love with him, but he had come along in her life just as she needed someone to lean on. Now that he has died she says sorry to him every ...more

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Oct 15, 2015 Edel rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This was probably one of the loveliest Christmas books I have ever read . The story is about a woman called Bea who owns a cafe , and through that on an online forum for cafe owners worldwide she meets another cafe owner on the other side of the world and they begin a friendship . The story is based in Auatralia and Scotland and was lovely expieriencing the story from both settings .
This story is about family, love and timing , and how important all these things are especially at Christmas. I c ...more

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Aug 02, 2015 Nicole Carey rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway and was so excited as I never usually win anything. We follow the story of Bea and what happens after her husband Peter dies. It took me a few chapter to get in to the book but once I did I raced through it reading the last half of the book in one evening. There are lots of other interesting characters in the book who made me smile. All in all a fabulous book Amanda Prowse always delivers a good story.

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Oct 28, 2016 Anne-Marie rated it liked it · review of another edition

A pleasant read, a little slow to start. The characters were well written and easy toward to. The descriptions of a cold Scotland and the Christmas Cafe were lovely.
Bea is an easy character to like, although she has her own issues to correct, which come to light later in the story.
The ending was a little twee, but enjoyable non the less.

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Oct 16, 2015 Emma Crowley rated it really liked it · review of another edition

The Christmas Café is the fourth book from Amanda Prowse this year and I'm still left wondering where on earth does she find the time to write so much? To write so many books and never lose any substance or depth to her stories is quite an achievement. Having read all her releases this year she is now firmly one of my favourite authors, one of those whom you eagerly await news of each new story to come. You are always guaranteed an emotional read from Amanda as she brings relevant, everyday topi The Christmas Café is the fourth book from Amanda Prowse this year and I'm still left wondering where on earth does she find the time to write so much? To write so many books and never lose any substance or depth to her stories is quite an achievement. Having read all her releases this year she is now firmly one of my favourite authors, one of those whom you eagerly await news of each new story to come. You are always guaranteed an emotional read from Amanda as she brings relevant, everyday topics to the forefront of our minds that other authors may be afraid to tackle.

The Christmas Café is the latest in the No Greater Love series (the three books released already this year come from the No Greater Courage Series) and it has the most beautiful cover that instantly catches your eye and arouses your curiosity and makes you question just why is that girl going into the café with a suitcase and just what kind of story does she have to tell? As a reader you can almost imagine yourself doing your Christmas shopping and needing a breather and stopping off in The Christmas Café to relax and unwind and watch the crowds pass you by as you sit in the window. I think a Christmas Café should be compulsory in every town and city in the weeks leading up to the festive period.

The book opens as Bea Greenstock is saying goodbye to her husband of over 30 years, Peter. His time has come and although she loved him dearly and she will miss him, there is still a deeply hidden longing in her heart for the one she let get away. Well on further reading it seemed she had no choice in this matter. Bea lives in Sydney, Australia and is still only 53 she has to continue on with her life as she has a son Wyatt and grand daughter Flora although her relationship with Wyatt is not always on the best of terms. The past always seems to be haunting them, things left unsaid that really should be out in the open.

Bea also has her café to run 'The Reservoir Café' which she set up to make people feel like they have a place and family and friends even if they had no one. Bea can't let her staff members Kim and Tait down they, like her customers, rely on the supportive atmosphere the café offers. If Bea were just to give up what would happen? This quote sums up how Bea feels 'Her loss and exhaustion sweeping over her like a wave that left her gulping for air'. I sensed early on that there was a lot more to Bea than first meets the eye, that she had a past that was still very firmly affecting her present and future. Yes she did love Peter but was he a stop gap and a way of bettering her young son's life at a time when she needed every ounce of support she could get both financially and emotionally. One thing I couldn't get over was how young Bea was in the story, she obviously had had Wyatt at a very young age but seeing her referred to as a grandmother by Flora made her seem older at times and I did have to remind myself she really did have an awful lot more living and enjoying of life to do. But what will get her out of her slump and renew bonds that have been left to fray and splinter?

Bea undoubtedly misses Peter and wants to turn and tell him things but yet the guilt is beginning to creep in that maybe her heart had belonged to someone else. She feels vulnerable and lonely but her granddaughter Flora may just be about to take her mind off everything. It was evident for anyone to see that Flora was going through a really tough time, both with her parents and school. Staying with Bea enables her to get away from the situation and have time to think. Tensions and arguments are not doing anything to help the situation and Flora needs her own space to see where things are going wrong. Flora was simply just lost and on the cusp of becoming a teenager and entering womanhood yet still underneath it all a vulnerable young girl who really wanted a shoulder to cry on and support to be given when needed and maybe just that little bit of responsibility taken off her shoulders as she wasn't ready for it. Bea was so supportive to Flora, never telling her what to do or offering her own opinion. Instead through her actions and counsel she slowly leads Flora to make her own decision and to realise she may not have things so bad after all. Bea's own relationship with her son was not that great and as the story unfolds we learn why. Wyatt came across as spoilt, ungrateful and non compassionate. He didn't seem to care his mother was hurting and maybe there was something else eating away at her underneath. I can't say I liked Wyatt at all even in the end his arrogance just didn't endear him to me in the slightest.

So what of The Christmas Café as suggested in the title? Well Bea receives a letter from an Alex McKay living in Edinburgh and running the Christmas Café. Alex has set up an online forum for café owners all over the world to interact and share their stories. Soon with a little help from Flora (who really did grow on me as I saw her transformation begin) Alex and Bea are emailing back and forth with Bea pouring out her innermost feelings to a stranger but it all feels so natural like it was meant to be. Surely Bea will therefore never be embarrassed at some of her deepest confessions being out in the open. Soon Bea and Flora find themselves on their way to Scotland and a trip which will change the course of their lives forever. I'm not going to say much more as here the story really did take off and an awful lot happened. Bea's past does come back to meet her and I loved how it all panned out. I got that moment I was longing for and really Amanda had me fooled right until the reveal moment. I just love to be kept guessing and I think most readers will not uncover the truth, it's original and cleverly done and couldn't have happened any other way. Bea and Flora's adventure in the snowy city of Edinburgh was a life changer but ultimately in a good way. I think what follows really sums up the heart and soul of this book and is a philosophy we should all live by in our own lives 'How do you know when you've met the love of your life? That's a good question' Bea smiled. I suppose the answer is that you just have to trust your little voice of instinct'.

The Christmas Café is very different from Amanda's previous releases this year. It's not as hard hitting, yes there is emotion but not in the gut wrenching way I experienced in say A Mother's Story or Three and a Half Heartbeats but really there is actually nothing wrong with this at all. After the emotional, heart breaking journey Amanda has taken us over the last few of her books I felt I wanted and needed something lighter yet something that had a lovely message full of hope and strength at its centre and that is what I got with this book. This may sound so clichéd but this really was a heart-warming, enchanting book. Yes the first half was slow to get going but once Flora and Bea head to Edinburgh things really picked up and the magic started to happen. I was there with them as they wandered through and explored the city streets on a cold, dark winters day lost in the sights, sounds, smells and memories of Christmas. I was waiting and waiting for that jaw dropping moment that Amanda usually provides and for once I sadly thought I wasn’t going to get it but then out of nowhere Amanda did it again and I had not seen it coming so cleverly was it done. It made the book even more enjoyable to see such a twist and to prove love and romance will win out over everything else each and every time. This book is a true, genuine romantic story extremely well told with a clear beginning, middle and end and I adored both the story and characters.

The Christmas Café is the perfect read for the festive season. If you were to wake up on Christmas morning with this delight wrapped up in nice shining paper and a sparkly bow around it trust me you wouldn't be disappointed. My only question remains will Amanda's next release be from the No Greater Love or No Greater Courage series or does she plan to take her readers in a whole new direction. I'll guess we'll have to hang in there until 2016 to find out. ...more

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Oct 22, 2019 Maddy Cordell rated it it was amazing

Bea loved her husband Peter very much, and was devastated when he died, however there was always the underlying feeling of guilt that he wasn't the love of her life. When Bea met Peter she had already loved, and lost, and had a son by her lover. Peter took on her and her son, and cared for them both.

After Peter died Bea was stuck in a bit of a rut. Her Granddaughter Flora was playing up and staying with her to give some distance between her and some undesirable friends (and her and her parents!) ...more

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Dec 22, 2019 Sandra Pearson rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I thoroughly enjoyed this lovely book. I picked it up at our local book swap because I wanted a Christmas read. To tell the truth you could read this at any time of year though. Christmas features yes but as an incidental not main theme. The characters are believable, cleverly written. Our sympathies are swept from one character to another and back again starting with Bea the main character. Hints at sadness in her past follow her through the early pages and leak into her current life and recent ...more

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Dec 23, 2018 Linda Tilling rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle-books, amazon, christmas

5 stars for this Christmas book by Amanda Prowse.

"Bea does not believe in second chances. A widow at fifty-three, Bea knows she must accept that she will be alone forever. She buries her grief in hard work, and soon the deli she runs in Surry Hills has a reputation for the best carrot cake in Sydney.

But then an email from a cafe-owner in Edinburgh leads her to take a trip to Scotland in the depths of winter. There, transported by the twinkling lights and falling snow of a traditional Christmas, ...more

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Sep 09, 2019 sharon mason rated it it was amazing

A really nice story, one of Amanda Prowse's best!

There was a couple, Bea and John, who fell in love when they were young. However there was two big problems, one I'll let you discover yourself but the other one is that they live half around the world from one another. As circumstances usually go, perhaps the stars were not right and they spent 30 years apart, raised families, thought they had finished their life chores, until in their 50's, the stars choose to align. This is a lovely book, with ...more

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Dec 10, 2019 Emma Bunting rated it really liked it · review of another edition

What a book this is. Absolutely loved it from beginning to end! Such an easy read with a great storyline based on revisiting the past, with some really heartwarming stories running through it, and a few surprises along the way. I absolutely loved Bea and her relationship with her granddaughter... and the absolutely beautifully written scene on the beach with her son. I was driving at the time of listening to this and had to keep wiping my stinging eyes. The way this book ends is just beautiful, ...more

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Apr 21, 2020 Kate rated it it was ok

Started off well but got more and more over-sentimental and maudlin. Also really not happy with the interaction with the granddaughter and her love interest, the fact that the boy rifled through her bag and she got punished for reacting is wrong and the usual blaming of the victim, with no consequence. And the over-sentimentalism about an affair, where Bea was seduced by John and the meeting up again was too much. Written well, but much too romanticised about an affair that all magically resolve ...more

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Dec 08, 2018 AnnMarie rated it it was amazing

Fabulous story

Yes this is a Christmas story but it can be read anytime of the year as the messages are relevant all year round. The book is a fantastic read set in both Sydney and Edinburgh. Being fairly local to Edinburgh I recognised lots of the places and despite never having been anywhere near Australia it still felt very real.

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Mar 08, 2019 gloria jones rated it it was amazing

Absolutely unputdownable! Due to having similar younger life stories and same age as Bea I could empathise with her especially as I wept when realisation dawned that Alex was John's son Xander! I carried on sobbing right to the end smiling at the same time..beautifully written...well it's 4:31am so best get some sleep 😉 ...more

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Dec 24, 2018 Anne Whiting rated it it was amazing

What a great story. I have just finished it with a happy tear in my eye. I loved Bea, Flora the cafe staff and customers and of course John. I was so pleased that there was a happy ending which I hoped there would be. Amanda is a wonderful writer. What talent. Thank you.

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Jan 13, 2019 Rachel Clarke rated it it was amazing

Gripping

Well deserved 5* rating as this novel was gripping. Amanda Prowse is a genius author who takes you on a journey with her writing from start to finish. I love the character Bea she's relatable and you feel you are on the journey with her. ...more

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About Amanda Prowse

Amanda Prowse

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Amanda Prowse was a management consultant for ten years before realising that she was born to write. Amanda lives in the West Country with her husband and their two teenage sons.

Other books in the series

No Greater Strength (6 books)

Books by Amanda Prowse

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Quotes from The Christmas Cafe

“Life is for the brave, Kim. You have to chase the life you want and grab it. So if you really want Tait, and I believe you do, then make it happen! Don’t be defined by anyone else; don’t worry about Janine, or whoever. Just be yourself, because one day you’ll blink and it will be too late to tread your own path. You might find you’re walking the route that someone else has ploughed for you.” — 0 likes

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