A slow-paced book, but the ending is satisfying.

The storyline is interesting, and while the book is part of a larger series with many previous installments, it can still be read as a standalone. The pacing is quite slow—maybe even a bit of a snooze fest—but it picks up after about 75%, and that’s when it gets engaging.

Betty gets evicted from her house and needs a place to stay. Her sister offers her country home while she and her husband, Tate, are away for five months. Betty also has a horse, which makes finding accommodation a bit tricky.

Miles is house-sitting too, needing a place after his mom’s boyfriend moved in with them. He’s into baking and enjoys spending time in the kitchen.

They agree to live together under one roof with some ground rules to cohabitate peacefully. Meanwhile, trouble brews between Scarlet and Tate, which adds tension for Betty. She plans to move out due to challenges living with Miles and even sublets a new place. But before she can leave or inform Scarlet, she’s told to stay put.

The story evolves with funny mishaps, unexpected moments, and how Betty and Miles begin to grow—both individually and together—as they also build a business from scratch. The people in the town slowly become part of their journey, intertwining in their lives in meaningful ways.

Thanks to @netgalley for the advanced copy. I love @janelinfoot and St Aiden, always nice to be back in any world Jane creates.

We meet Miles and Betty; thrown together by circumstance but destined to navigate the summer together. Betty has many reasons for hating Miles, she just needs to keep an eye on things on behalf of her sister. When opportunities arise and business proposals are too tempting to resist, can Betty stop seeing Miles in a different light?!

Romance, comedy, delicious food and summer by the beach. What more can you need! Lovely read.

I truly wanted to enjoy this book—the premise had promise, and I can see what the author was going for with a cozy, light-hearted romance. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite land for me.

One of the biggest challenges was the editing. The phrase “he pulls a face” appeared quite frequently,

The story also seems to take place within a larger universe, which could be interesting, but it wasn’t clearly established. That made it a bit confusing at times, as characters were introduced as if the reader should already know them.

The FMC appears to be intended as endearingly quirky and innocent, but she came off to me as a bit too naïve and inconsistent. Her profession was hard to grasp, and her past trauma was touched on briefly but not fully explored. Similarly, her dynamic with the MMC felt underdeveloped—I wasn’t quite sure why there was tension between them.

As for the MMC, he had potential but remained pretty one-dimensional. Other than being described as attractive, we didn’t get much insight into his personality or motivations.

Overall, I appreciate the intent behind the story and the cozy vibe it was aiming for.

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me. I was really drawn in by the title and cover art. I thought this would be a super cute, cozy spring romance! But instead of cozy, it was really just boring.

The start of the book is very slow. I kept reading it in small chunks and I had a difficult time wanting to keep going. At 23% in, I decided I wasn't enjoying it and wasn't invested in the characters or the story enough to keep going.

I feel like we weren't given any very compelling reasons to care about these characters or their cohabitation, and the reason for the forced proximity just didn't even really make sense.

Not my favourite read by Jane Linfoot but still an enjoyable one. I didn’t like the constant descriptions of Betty/Betsy/Eliza’s (I don’t even know her proper name!) clothes and I found her a little annoying in places with her constant putting down of Miles but I did love the whole idea of their shop/bakery and the descriptions of Miles’ baking sounded idyllic.

So much potential but this book just lacked depth and momentum for me personally. I'll go into a little more detail but the headline is: it's a cosy enemies to lovers romance with some forced proximity vibes thrown in there for good measure. Set in a cute small town, we watch two unlikely roommates start to grow pretty fond of each other despite their initial differences.

Firstly, let's go over some of the positives. I loved that Pumpkin the horse was such a key side character, it definitely added to the small town charm and was just a nice touch overall. There was also so much humour written into the cracks and crevices of this book. And it didn't feel like forced, 'this is the funny scene' moments. I did chuckle when Miles asked 'is it my eyes or are you wearing three dresses all at once?' I'm not even entirely sure that that was meant to be funny, but the phrasing made me laugh. Betty was so quick and witty too which did make reading this book enjoyable ('we all know how straight guys are with women's chests. That's how we don't die out as species' really got me good).

There is also undeniable chemistry and you can feel it brewing very early doors which was exciting. But it did feel like it plateaued from 25-50% mark in the book. If anything they weren't really enemies for long enough before they started softening to each other so it didn't feel as rewarding when their romance blossomed. There also just didn't feel like there was much at stake. They're both living together temporarily and there were parts where it felt like I was just reading everyday life of two people who had a crush on each other so the momentum really slowed for me to almost a snail pace.

There were some plot points and things that felt slightly unrealistic. Betty showers...with a t-shirt on?! I get wanted to protect your nudity when showering but even a bikini would've felt more realistic. Who in their right mind showers with a t-shirt on?! Also when Miles turns up to Zofia's house, this felt weird and creepy and even though it's later explained that he was invited this scene did feel a little forced and weirdly convenient.

A really lovely summer read.
I really enjoyed reading this book. An easy read filled with likeable, fully-formed & believable characters I found myself rooting for the two main characters almost immediately.
The storyline held my attention from beginning to end and I finished this book quickly as the author’s style of writing is perfect.
I do, however, think the book title is a little confusing as there is no cafe - there’s a shop selling croissants but no cafe, which I found a little strange, but then again it’s make believe so anything can happen,
A wonderful read for summer.

While I appreciate the opportunity to read this book, it was just not for me.

It was overly detailed, a little chaotic and no chemistry between the characters.

The Cosy Croissant Café by Jane Linfoot

Rating: 3.5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Thank you to HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter, Netgalley, and the author for access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was such an entertaining, fun read that has absolutely impeccable spring/summer vibes!

Due to unforeseen events, Betty, the FMC, has to be around Miles, the MMC, best friend to her brother-in-law, and she is instantly reminded of everything she dislikes about the pastry chef along how annoyingly gorgeous he is. Boathouse Cottage was supposed to be a safe place for Betty and her rescue Shetland Pony, Pumpkin, but now as her sister's marriage falls apart and the family cottage needs to be protected, Betty and Miles battle for it. However, Betty soon realizes that working with Miles may be more beneficial in the long run than fighting against him.

Overall, this was a sweet, entertaining, and cozy read! Perfect for anyone looking to read a fast paced, lighthearted romance.

A heartwarming story wrapped in cozy charm

If you’re looking for a summery read, and somehow the title of this book hasn’t already convinced you to pick this one up, this is just the right book. Full of romance, swoon worthy moments, and sweet treats <3

I really wanted to love this one. It had all the ingredients I usually adore in a romcom—forced proximity, a summer house setting, unresolved tension from a wedding mishap—but unfortunately, it just didn’t quite hit the mark for me.

We follow Elizabeth, who moves into her sister’s summer home (with her pony in tow) after losing her home. The catch? Miles—one of her brother-in-law’s groomsmen who majorly embarrassed her at the wedding—is already living there. Cue awkward tension and a silent battle over who gets to stay without alerting the Scarlet and Tate to the drama.

What Didn’t Work for Me

➖ The setup felt forced – I struggled with the basic premise from the get-go. The whole “let’s not tell Scarlet and Tate about this mix-up” just didn’t make sense. Like… just text them? Call? It felt like the entire conflict was based on miscommunication that could’ve been solved in five seconds, and that’s a tough foundation to build a story on.

➖ Where was the chemistry? – I kept waiting for some spark to kick in between Elizabeth and Miles, and it just… never really showed up. They had moments that should’ve been swoony, but they didn’t land for me emotionally.

➖ Elizabeth tried too hard to be quirky – I love a unique FMC, but this felt like trying to prove she’s “not like other girls” through a constant stream of unironed outfits and offbeat behavior. It didn’t feel authentic—it felt performative.

What I Did Like

✔ The first half had promise – The setup, despite my confusion over the logic, was actually enjoyable at first. There was a cozy, summer-read vibe I could get behind.

✔ Cute romcom elements were there – The potential was strong. I could see what this book was trying to be, and if it had landed with more believable tension and stronger characters, I probably would’ve been all in.

Final Thoughts

This one had the bones of a great romcom, but it just didn’t come together for me. I think readers who love low-stakes, small-town romantic setups might still enjoy it, especially if you’re more forgiving of light miscommunication tropes.

Thank you to NetGalley and One More Chapter for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was an enjoyable read, so heartwarming and cozy. I loved Betsy and Miles; their story was so charming.

I was looking forward to reading this but half way through it got a bit tiresome, with the constant descriptions of clothes, yes she is quirky but we don't need to know every detail, there didn't seem to be any chemistry between the main characters, felt a bit forced really

Thank you One More Chapter for giving me the opportunity to read and review The Cosy Croissant Cafe. Unfortunately, I have to say that this book did not quite work for me.

I generally really enjoy contemporary romance novels - especially ones set by the sea with animals. I expected to be charmed by this one due to the sea side location and the lovely horse Pumpkin. However, those were the only aspects of this book that I did find charming. The premise of the story itself was confusing and not entirely convincing. Thinking about the fact that realistically Betty would have just told her sister about the miscommunication kept taking me out of the story. Betty's character itself felt undeveloped and honestly, annoying. Miles was equally so, and there was no chemistry between the two.

Overall, I really struggled to get into this book and by the 25% point I was already contemplating DNFing. I think the story itself has promise, but the characters and motivations behind their actions lacked development.

Jane Linfoot is a fabulous author and her ability to transport you to the magical village of St Aidan is escapism at its best. I found the characters of Betsy and Miles hard to get to get my head around to start but as the book progressed and we learnt more about them as they did each other they drew me in. All in all it was a thoroughly enjoyable read and beautifully written just slightly confusing at times. Looking back I think that confusion is intentional as it mirrors the turmoil in the characters lives. The romance was hard won but worth the wait and there were some strong underlying messages woven throughout which kept my mind turning long after the last word. Would recommend for fans of Phillipa Ashley, Sarah Bennet and Cressida Mcglauglin.

I just loved this book so much! I just loved all the characters and it’s such a heartwarming book. I would love to live in St Aidan as it just seems an amazing place where everyone has your back and is there for you.

I would highly recommend reading this book and the other books in this series as they are all just amazing.

I would like to thank One More Chapter and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book early.

The Cosy Croissant Cafe follows Betsy and Miles and their love story. The setting is in a small beach town called St. Aidan. Betsy is a free spirit, animal lover, afraid of commitment, a writer, a bit quirky, and is very unique in her fashion choices. Miles has a type A personality, a business owner, and a baker.

Tropes: Enemies to lovers, found family, forced proximity.

St. Aidan sounds like a dreamy place to vacation for the summer. It would be a vacation though without Miles' pastries, Pumpkin and Fudge in tow while walking along the coast. Nothing sounds more relaxing! I’ve really enjoyed reading Cosy Croissant as it was the first book I’ve read by author, Jane Linfoot.

I really wanted to enjoy this cosy romance but I really struggled with it. I found there was too much going on in the plot that I found myself struggling to keep up. This book could really have been something more but the characters were a bit lack lustre.

📚I was able to read an advanced copy of title thanks to NetGalley, Jane Linfoot and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter📚
📚All reviews and opinions are entirely my own📚

The Cosy Croissant Café-Jane Linfoot

Finding herself in beautiful St. Aidan's in Cornwall due to a very sudden change in circumstances, Betty takes refuge in her sister's beautiful little holiday cottage. Her slice of heaven is shortlived when she discovers that Miles, her brother in laws friend, is also inhabiting her cottage refuge. Miles and Betty have some history that makes for a tense and awkward living situation.
As Betty settles into life in St. Aidan with her trusty steed Pumpkin by her side, she meets some new people and new, unexpected opportunities come her way. Will Betty finally put down roots somewhere and embrace adulthood?

This book was the gorgeous, indulgent, cosy hug that I needed this weekend. It's was everything about modern romance novel should be and more. I really loved watching both Miles and Betty's characters grow and develop. It was just what I needed on a wet, gloomy weekend. DYING to get stuck into @janelinfoot back catalogue now.

A beautiful setting, a cute pony, sexual tension and of course croissants. What's not to love. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend.