A Bicycle Made for Two

Lana runs a restaurant in the yorkshire dales with her brother. Their dad is seriously ill, so they have put their lives on hold to care for him.
Despite the sadness in their lives, they live in a great community. When Lana hatches a plan to get a bike race through the village and a tribute to her father, everyone pulls together to help, including Stewart, the man who hurt her once before.
Looking forward to reading more from this author.

I loved Mary's last book and this new one lived right up to my expectations. It is a lovely story about family and community, working together for something that really matters to them. Throw in a vulnerable heroine, a sexy hero and a few false starts, and you get a love story too - one that feels real and convincing, and moves at just the right pace, saving the best til the end. I found this book a lot of fun, highly readable, well written and very enjoyable. I read it in little over 24 hours. Five stars from me!

Yet again, a book by Mary Jayne Baker that made me read first person narrative. It’s well written and works so well written in first person that it felt like I was really there. I loved the characters and the relationships between them and just the general theme of the whole book, although it made me feel a bit guilty for letting my own bike gather cobwebs in the garage! 4 stars, love this author!

Loved this story! It’s fun, funny, heartwarming and bang up to date. A story of love, people, community and work8ng together.

This is the first book I have read by this author and it certainly won't be the last she is amazing this book is so well written and has amazing characters and shows real community spirit and full of romance as well. The setting is in beautiful countryside and the book has you hooked from the first page. Makes you laugh in places and full of wit and love highly recommend this read.
The book is based is a beautfuk yourshire village and Lana runs a medieval themed tourist trap resultant with her brother and they run this as a distraction for loosing their father. She wants to remember her father and he had a real passion for the village. Lana wants to increase Buisness in the area and hatches a plan to get the grand depart route which is a famous bike race going through there village. In order to this it means she has to really get the community to work together and can she's do this and in doing so can there be love in the air and can everyone's pull together and change the route. At times they think they are doing it and at others they think it's to muh and they will fail but Lana is determined to get the race through their beautful village.
This a delightful read and highly recommend you read it had me really laughing in places but shows what you can do when you pull together as a community.

This book is a great light read. You start caring about the two main characters very quickly. I've had a lot of the same experiences with loss, so it's easy to feel for them and know what they are going through. You go through emotions with them and really have hope for their cause. I love that the community get behinds the cause and really comes to help out, even with their reservations. It's has humor, sadness, and fun all in one book.

I am from the States, so the slang and terminology from England is always fascinating to me.

A Bicycle Made for Two by Mary Jayne Baker is an emotional story. It is both sweet and sad. Some humor is planted within this romantic journey. The path of pain, loss, grief, and healing are told here. Family, second chances, and love are the other major themes featured in this novel. Lana is a strong female protagonist. Her dad is is constant pain due to terminal cancer. Her and her brother Tom, end up losing their father. While working the family business, Lana meets Stew. A cousin of a jerk. Their romance has its ups and downs like a real life relationship. I was not sure what the final outcome of their relationship would be. Mary Jayne Baker kept me entertained. I loved her plot. It was steady, heartfelt, and realistic. Overall, I recommend this women's fiction tale to all readers.

4 stars! Copy request from Netgallley in exchance of an honest review, and this is an honest review! The author takes us back in 2014, when Tour de France starts right from the little town of the Yorkshire Dales, where Lana, half Italian (hurray for Italy!), now runs a medieval theme restaurant desired by her father who's fighting against cancer. With a lots of characters, all of them well outlined, Mary Jayne Baker sets for us a brilliant novel, reminding us that life is a mix of good and bad emotions, fun and pain, but always grants a second chance.

Such a great light read. Storyline was fun and fresh without being overly kitschy, and the secondary couple was a great match up. Loved the slow build up to the final consummation of the leads, and the many misunderstandings that plagues both the main and secondary couples. And the chef as the BFF? Hilarious. All I could picture was a young David Walliams, which made the scenes with him all the funnier.

I’ve read all of Mary Jayne Baker’s books to date so I feel confident in saying this is her best book yet.

Holy mother of slow burn! If you love a slow burn romance this is the book for you. While this book is a romance it was also so very much more. A Bicycle Made for Two is a gorgeous example of a small community way of life and the beautiful things that can happen when said community pulls together!

I don’t know if it’s what Mary was aiming for here but I got massive Gilmore Girls feels when I was reading this book. Tell me Roger Collingwood and Taylor Doose are not the same person? Plus of course GG is the ultimate small town plot. I didn’t know I was looking for a book to remind me of how I felt while watching Gilmore Girls but it turns out that’s exactly what I needed and this book delivered!

This book made me feel everything. I cried a ton and laughed even more. I felt frustrated and I felt hopeful. But best of all I got an overwhelming sense of warmth and comradeship while reading. This book brought together a group of people who couldn’t be more different and enabled them to create something epic!

Congratulations on such a wonderful book, Mary! I am already chomping at the bit for the next one.

This book was brilliant! I loved the whole storyline and characters. It made me laugh and the sense of community was wonderful.

The idea of a community working together to achieve something was great and all of the characters are memorable and interesting. The story was well paced and the romance felt very believable. Overall the book was so well written and an engaging read. I really hope this isn't the last we have seen of these characters as I think it would be great as a series.

A full 5 stars from me.

Have some tissues when you read this, because there will be tears! There will also be laughs, groans, and contented sighs. I loved this book. The characters are all lovable in their own ways, realistic and complex. The small English town sounds charming and beautiful. The story kept my interest, focusing primarily on the relationships among the characters and on the town working together to reach two big goals. I had a hard time putting this book down and was so excited to learn there will be another book set in this lovely town! Mary Jayne Baker was a new author to me, but this won't be the only book of hers I read!

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This is the second book I have read by Mary Jayne Baker and I was not disappointed. The little village and all of the characters are so loveable you can't help wishing you lived there and parts of the book reminded me of The Gilmore Girls. The characters all have their own little quirks that just make you love them. There were parts of this book that literally had me belly laughing but I don't want to spoil it for anyone. If you love romcoms, laughter and love then you will not be disappointed with this book, I couldn't put it down and I will definitely be reading the rest of MJB books.

Really enjoyed my second novel by Mary Jayne Baker, was humorous, lighthearted and also heartwarming. It's a beautiful story which is written well and I found myself lost in the story. I read this novel in about 2 days which is a record for me as a slow reader but as soon as you start this novel, you just can't put it down. I really found myself enjoying the storyline and really liked the characters we're introduced to.

It's a lovely story about love, friendships and working together and paired with some beautiful sounding surroundings, ticked all my boxes.

Lana and her brother are kept busy running a themed restaurant in their Yorkshire village, but this isn't enough for Lana she wants to get the village involved in a famous bike race in memory of her father. She soon gets the villagers rallying around but can they pull it off together or are there too many diverse characters?

A lovely book with some fantastic characters in a beautiful setting.... what more could you want! I will definitely be looking out for more books by this author

A lovely story that takes the statement “it takes a village” to heart when it comes to Lana and Tommy Donati, and far from what I expected. First off – grab the tissues, for Baker will have you in tears in the early part of the book- the love of Tommy and Lana for their father, in his last battle with cancer is truly heartwrenching, you’ll feel every moment of pain, love, fear and even little niggles of guilt that Lana feels when she finds someone who makes her actually feel something other than the stress and pressures. Surprising for a story that proposes laugh out loud moments and heart – but it works. Beautifully.

Lana and Tommy have had only their father as a parent after their mother’s death when they were small. The village of Egglethwaite did, however, step in and function as extras – giving them support, love, confidence and even a place where they felt safe despite the changes. But with their father’s diagnosis when Lana was 17, things changed and they became the caretakers as their father’s health declined. Now, their father is gone and they are struggling with what comes next, along with their own worries about romance, acceptance and just how to fulfill their father’s legacy.

When Stewart appears after a year’s silence – Lana is furious: hurt, angry, confused and completely enmeshed in her own fear about yet another person leaving, she’s understandably unwilling to give him a second chance. All the while, she is pushing her brother to go for it with Cam – the man who runs the fish and chips shop – because Tommy’s regular diet of chips is unhealthy and his shyness and tortoise-pace even more so. Once they decide that making a bid to host a leg of the Tour de France Grand Depart – already planning to run through Yorkshire – both Tommy and Lana have to fight with their own tendencies to hide from romance or it’s possibilities, and their own struggles with th myriad townspeople and their rather eccentric ways become a laugh-out-loud series of missteps, proper steps and a rather circuitous path to the grand happy ending!

Add in a spoilt, semi-local actor, a former bike racer, one colony of endangered bats and the bat-shite crazy woman who manipulates social media and her vitriol for Lana and the town’s plans – you get some truly clever laughable moments, a ton of true heart and plenty of moments to love. Oh – and don’t forget Deano – the off the chains eccentric chef at their medieval themed restaurant with his penchant for naming his pans, chasing the senior sexpot and a temperament that rivals the star of the old comedy Chef!, you won’t be disappointed with this book – and you’ll be amazed (as I was) at the level of heart, love and nuance that Baker infuses in a story that feels real and plausible, if a bit odd.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href=”https://wp.me/p3OmRo-9Hz/” > <a> I am, Indeed </a>

Trigger warnings: death of a parent from cancer, depression

This is not your average British rom-com. For starters, it’s set in the Yorkshire Dales in the north of England, and is full of profanity, medieval food, cycling, and soul-reading bats. In other words, it’s utterly hilarious.

Lana and her brother Tom run a medieval restaurant in the village of Egglethwaite. It may not be exactly what Lana had planned on doing with her life, but it’s her father’s baby, and she doesn’t feel right abandoning it when he’s battling cancer. Things take a turn for the better after a date with the local rich jerk’s cousin, but then he ghosts her. After a rough year – for the business and personally – Stewart’s suddenly back in town. But what’s an up-and-coming cyclist doing opening a cycling shop in the middle of nowhere, and can Lana forgive him?

“‘Stewart McLean, that’s what,’ I said once we were out of earshot, finally giving vent to my pent-up rage. ‘Can you Adam and fucking Eve it? Asking if we can be friends. Friends! After a year! What a first-class, prime-cut arse monkey.’”


One of the things I liked about the book was that the main characters screw up constantly. Lana is a complete dick to Stewart, she apologies, then Stewart does something stupid and it’s his turn to apologize, and the same dynamic happens with the secondary couple. It’s a smaller version of the second chances theme that runs throughout the book, the sort of “yeah, everybody screws up sometimes but sometimes you get a second chance” – in both life and love. From taking up a project her dad abandoned when he was diagnosed with cancer, to deciding whether to give Stewart another date, it’s the chances they choose to take that move this book along and make it so special.

The village of Egglethwaite is populated by lots of, well, characters, from the cute fish-and-chips owner to the frying-pan-amorous chef to the farming couple that act in loco parentis to Lana and Tom. It was sweet – and hilarious – reading about the various ideas they come up with to raise money, from a nude calendar to a fair to a kissing booth. I’m not a particularly big fan of cycling, but there’s not a particularly large amount of bike talk in the book, and what is there either serves the story or the humor (at one point Lana confuses pelotons with pelicans). Between the language and the situations, this book kept me giggling from page to page. There are some serious bits though, from Lana and Tom’s father’s battle with cancer to the reason Stewart never called Lana for that second date. It’s all handled well and respectfully, though, even if one of the more serious relationship conversations happens when Lana is high as a kite on laughing gas and hallucinating talking snowmen and flamingos.

Overall, if you’re looking for a hilarious second-chances Brit rom-com, this is a good choice for you!

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Review: Mary Jane Baker's books are always funny, romantic and charming and this is no exception.

On seeing this book I liked the title and the cover was very spring like. Much needed this winter. I enjoyed the last book by Mary so I had to read this one.

This book is filled with some lovely characters and a brilliant unique plot idea which makes for a great story. All the characters have their own uniqueness and there are some really deep belly laugh moments. Mary Jane Baker has a winner on her hands her a brilliant novel to add to her collection.

Well its not every day you get to start a book set in a medieval theme restaurant with the main character being a wench of a waitress. And that is just the start of this book's quirkiness and fun, with the rest of it coming from the campaign to bring the Grand Depart of the Tour De France, to Lona Donati's little village.

The entire village helps in the fundraising and campaign to get their village recognised as something special even having to fight animal rights protestors, and come up will all manner of fun things to attract the attention of the decision makers.

Yet quite early on I had a lump in my throat at the emotion in the story, and is related to Lana's motivations for bringing the Grand Depart to the village.

For the past few years Lana and her brother Tom have not really had a chance for romance, and now things are changing. I loved both of their stories, and their potential relationships.

There are just so many laughs and smiles to be had in this book, and I found it an incredibly entertaining story from an author that I definitely need to keep reading more from.

Thank you to Netgalley and Mirror Books for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

3.5 stars.

Love, family, grief and cycling combine in this enjoyable tale of quirky characters and warm humour, all set within the Yorkshire Dales. It’s full of funny moments and highly memorable characters, with additional brass bands, naked calendars and medieval serving wenches. The tale at the heart is comfortingly familiar, but the details are frequently original and entertaining.

Having said that, I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as every other book I’ve read from this author. I liked the characters, even if Lana was annoying childish at times when it came to Stewart, and I liked the setting, but the plot itself dragged a bit, especially in the middle. Things between Lana and Stewart were rather repetitive too – angry, friendly, angry – and there were times when certain things fell rather conveniently into place.

On the whole, though, this is an easy, fun read full of friends and family with a little bit of cycling on the side. I’ll be interested to see where this series heads next.

This is the first book I have read by this author and I really enjoyed it. Well written with a great cast of quirky characters. I love the community spirit shown in the story. It was funny in places and touching in others.
A tale of community, family, love, grief,romance and cycling. I am really looking forward to the next book in the series. A lovely book set in the gorgeous Yorkshire Dales.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have had this book on my kindle for a while, and I am so pleased that I picked it to read. I laughed so much at the antics of Lana, and also cried with her too.
I read it in the way that the author wrote it, with a Yorkshire accent.
I have recommended it to several book friends already, especially those who need a good giggle 🤭.

Brilliant banter.

Thanks to Netgalley, Mary Jane Baker and Mirror Books for the opportunity to read and review this hysterical, but thought provoking book

Authentic characters that have emotional depth and realistic flaws are the lynchpins of this romantic comedy set in the lovely Yorkshire Dales.

A story about community spirit, village life and honouring those we love. The main protagonist is independent, but with a vulnerability that endears her. The romance she finds is paced realistically and adds interest to this story of family, relationships and friends.

Another charming story by this author who has the knack of bringing her setting to life to enhance her wonderful characters. Looking forward to the next one.

I received a copy of this book from Mirror Books via NetGalley in return for an honest review.