Sunrise by the Sea: A Little Beach Street Bakery Novel

Book #4 in the Little Beach Street Bakery series reintroduces us to Polly, Huckle, and their now-5-year-old twins, who live in a lighthouse in the seaside village of Mount Polbearne in Cornwall. Polly owns and operates the Little Beach Street bakery, while Huckle owns a honey distribution business, and Neil the puffin is still their frequent companion.

But the focus of this book is on Marissa, a town registrar, whose landlord suggests she move to one of the vacation cottages in Mount Polbearne when she develops an anxiety disorder following the death of her treasured grandfather in Italy. Marissa keeps herself housebound after her move until her new therapist prescribes a gradual plan to expand her horizons. Complicating the plan, however, is the bear-like piano teacher who moved in next door on the same day Marissa arrived, driving her crazy with his loud and seemingly discordant playing at night, not to mention his easily-heard commentary on his students' progress by day.

Like all of Colgan's wonderfully appealing books, this one has unique and lovable characters, drama (a hurricane and financial near-disasters). food (from both Polly and Marissa), and a satisfying ending. It also includes the most extravagant children's birthday party you've ever seen, as well as the ingenious idea to leave a FaceTime connection open 24/7 between Marissa and her grandmother. Always charming, always reliable and heart-warming.

Makes me think this was written just to sell books, capitalizing on her prior successes. I loved all of these books in the series. This one, not so much. Nothing happens for endless pages. It’s focus is a character named Marisa who is painfully boring to read about. I just didn’t care what happened to her. Where is the whimsy that I love from Colgan? So disappointed.

Sunrise by the Sea is a warm visit to the friend’s we know and love from Jenny Colgan’s Little Beach Street Bakery (LBSB) Series. This one while still partly about Polly the main character from LBSB mainly focuses on a new character who moves to Mount Polbearne, Marisa Rosso. After the death of her grandfather, Marisa finds herself unable to move passed the grief and retreating into herself. She moves to Mount Polbearne for a lot of reasons but hopes that peace and solitude will help her find her way back to her previous life. She quickly realizes that peace and solitude will only be possible in short passing moments with a piano-teaching neighbor, a bustling small town, and a struggling bakery. Marisa is aware that Mount Polbearne is more than she signed on but maybe…just maybe it might be exactly what she needs.
This book is such a relatable and cozy read. Visiting Polly again and seeing what she and the rest of Mount Polbearne are up to is always fun, but Marisa and her neighbor have become some of my all time favorite characters in Colgan’s worlds. Grief, isolation, self-doubt, guilt, are emotions all of us have had to face especially in this “new normal” we have found ourselves in. Colgan writes a story about living with and overcoming it without it being a story about the pandemic. It was refreshing to escape the world of COVID but still feel like a story can help me cope with it. With a focus on culture, family, selfcare, and of course food, Sunrise by the Sea takes you in and through many worlds leaving you feeling as if you have traveled to many places while being tucked in bed.
After reading Sunrise by the Sea, I felt understood and that I’m not alone. At a time when isolation is encouraged and the norm it is hard to explain that some of us have been dealing with these anxieties since before 2020, but Colgan gives us a character who understands and battles it out on the page to encourage us to battle it in our own lives. A cozy read and beautiful story about what means to live with grief, to live with anxieties, and how to carve out a life for ourselves in a way that matters.
*I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. *

What are your favorite comfort reads?

Jenny Colgan is one of my favorite authors and one that I turn to when I’m looking for comfort reads. I love her characters and really like the Little Beach Street, Summer Seaside Kitchen, and Scottish Bookshop series. I always can’t wait what is in store for the characters next.

Sunrise by the Sea is a new book in the Little Beach Street Bakery series. Marisa Rosso has moved to the village of Mount Polbearne to try to start over. Marisa’s beloved grandfather has passed away and she can’t get over her death and move on. She realizes she has anxiety and tries to figure out how to deal with it. Unfortunately, the peace and quiet she craves, quickly vanishes when a piano teacher, Alex, moves in next door. Will she be able to get over her fears and work with him to find peace and quiet? Will she be able to get to know her community and Alex?

While there is a new character, old favorites Polly, Huckle, and there twins also are part of the story. The story moves between Polly and Marisa. Polly’s family is having a hard time with finances and making their businesses work in these trying times. How can they make it all work and what is the most important thing to them?

I really liked having a new character while still enjoying old characters. I really liked the exploration of anxiety and grief in this novel and how Marisa was able to get the help she needed. I also loved Marisa’s relationship with her grandmother over Skype. She didn’t know here that well as she had always spent time with her Grandfather. I love that they cooked together, watched TV together, and talked. They were two lonely people who found comfort with each other over the distance.

Favorite Quote:
“But being an introvert meant that often she hadn’t quite managed to pluck up the courage to tell people she didn’t like them that much, and things could bumble along, or she would lack the courage to make it clear to people she did like that she liked them, and they’d pass her by.”

Overall, Sunrise by the Sea was a nice comfort read that continues as one of my favorite stories.

Book Source: Review Copy from William Morrow. Thank-you!

Jenny Colgan sets her novels in England and Scotland . This one takes place on a small island off the coast of England, and there are others in this series. Her characters are portrayed with warmth and humor. A wonderful read.

I won a copy of this book from a National Examiner sweepstakes. When I started reading it, it was so obvious that it was a sequel. I was worried it wouldn’t stand well on it’s own. It does! The beginning was hard to warm up to, but by the time the main character started cooking Italian food, I was both hooked and hungry. The cooking descriptions are completely luscious. For a romantic comedy novel, this book has unexpected depth, as it deals in a serious way with mental illness. It is handled with so much heart. As a musician who loves Italian food, I was smitten. So much so that I now want to go back to the first book in the series and see what I have been missing.

Another story by Jenny Colgan dealing with grief, acceptance, love and understanding. Perfect for a night by the fire complete with a happy ending.

I love this series. It's an easy feel good read.

This is a nice story in the Bakery series, about a woman who suffers a loss and becomes agoraphobic. The story is told with Colgan's usual good sense of humor and the human mind. It is a very quick read, and I enjoyed it.

Love, Love, Loved every word, Wonderful story! I can’t say much as I am a woman of few words but this book is the best!!!