I love this author’s books and this book instantly appealed to me with it’s bright colourful cover! My mind was straight away filled with images of small seaside towns and their piers and, of course, platefuls of waffles and pancakes piled high with various toppings! We are introduced to Sadie, a teacher in training. Her family have lived in the little seaside town of Salt Sea Bay all their lives and, apart from Sadie and her sister Lucy, all of her family work in the tourist industry – her parents run boat trips around the bay, her brother runs a diving school and her grandparents run the Waffle House on the pier. Their lives are devastated when her grandfather dies, and knowing that her grandmother can’t run the Waffle House on her own, Sadie gives up her teaching job to help run it.
I loved Sadie’s character! It felt that she didn’t really have much luck in life and you find yourself rooting for her from the very beginning! Even she would admit that she was a terrible teacher, but her business sense when helping out her grandmother was also sadly lacking! Thankfully she has good friends around her, and when we are introduced to Declan, her ex-boyfriend, you are kept wondering whether they would rekindle their relationship. I really liked Declan’s character and thought he would be ideal to show Sadie some love in her life…but that was all until we are introduced to newcomer, Luke! Luke, initially, really doesn’t make a good impression on her, or her family, but he does leave me with a dilemma as to who I would prefer Sadie to end up with!!
The story is such a lovely read that takes us through the trials and tribulations of a close-knit family who are obviously still struggling in the aftermath of their grandfather’s death. I loved her grandmother, April, and felt it was such a sad storyline as it became obvious that she was suffering from dementia. Whilst I’ve just painted a very sad view of this book, it really isn’t like that at all though! It was full of light-hearted, loving, funny and downright sexy moments! In between wiping away tears, I laughed out loud, especially at the stories of Sadie trying to teach her class, and blushed at the antics of Sadie and her man (and no, I’m not going to tell you which one it is!)
Of course, we couldn’t let a review pass by without mentioning the topic in the title – waffles!! I think a waffle house on a pier sounds absolutely divine and I’d definitely visit it if there is one in the next seaside town I visit! The descriptions of strawberries, chocolate and cream was just too much and it certainly made me want to reach into the pages and take a plateful! As with every other book by this author, I was totally caught up in the loveliness which oozed out of this book! The characters were all likeable and down-to-earth, the storyline holds you until the very last page and the location is just perfect! Would definitely recommend!!