Description (from Amazon):
Amazon buy link
Amazon buy link
Hannah Robinson is just about to open the doors to her new shop Cupcakes on the Corner when out of the blue her boyfriend Patrick announces that he's leaving her for another woman. Faced with starting a business on her own, Hannah begins to wonder if her life-long dream has just turned into a nightmare. So her best friend Adam sets his birthday as a deadline - seven months to make her shop a success, or walk away from it all. And as Hannah immerses herself in her new business, she soon discovers that she's too busy to think about Patrick and his now pregnant girlfriend ...or to notice an increasingly regular customer who has recently developed a sweet tooth for all things cupcake. But while Hannah is slowly piecing her life back together, family friend Alice's is falling apart. Her husband Tom's drinking is getting out of control and things are about to get a whole lot worse. As the seven-month milestone approaches, Hannah must decide her future. And while she's figuring out what's really important, it becomes clear to everyone that happiness in life, and in love, is all in the making.
from the publisher:
"The first edition of SEMI-SWEET was published in Ireland in February 2010 and spent five weeks in the Top 5 on the Irish Bestseller list. Roisin Meaney is the author of six books and is a consistent bestseller in Ireland. The Last Week of May and The People Next Door went to #1 and #2, respectively. Heralded as the new “Maeve Binchy,” Meaney has received high acclaim in the Irish press."
My Thoughts:
Semi Sweet is not a book that I would typically pick up to read, but from the description I thought I would give it a try and broaden my horizons yet again. From the very beginning I was pulled into Hannah's life. On the night that her friends and family were having a dinner to celebrate the upcoming opening of her Hannah's dream cupcake shop, her longtime boyfriend drops the bomb. He has found another, "didn't mean to fall in love, it just happened" and now he is moving in with the other woman.
Hannah didn't drop into a puddle of tears and hysterics she calmly told him to get dressed or they would be late. Leaving him sitting on the bed she heads out to the dinner and makes excuses for his absence...why ruin everyone else's night.
Over the next few days she does tell her friends and family and even considers not following her dreams and opening the cupcake shop. Childhood friend, Adam, won't hear of it and sets a seven month goal...Hannah absolutely cannot throw in the towel, no matter how hard or how bad it gets with the cupcake shop. Over the course of the seven month period Hannah comes to grips with the loss and betrayal of the boyfriend, meets a couple of new guys, and becomes a success with her cupcake shop.
You not only see Hannah's life, but we are introduced to a small town and the people living in it. Their lives are entwined with Hannah's in a sort of six degrees of separation scenario. There is heartache a plenty to go around. At times I did find all of the other subplots a little distracting, but they worked well with the overall story. Because I am a huge romance reader, I would have loved to see more of it in the book. Overall Semi Sweet was a very enjoyable read, and I do recommend reading it.
I know that there are a few authors that I read that don't hale from the States, but it was very interesting to know before hand that I was reading a book that was originally published in another country prior to being released here.
