Summer at the Garden Cafe

A Novel

By: Felicity Hayes-McCoy

Narrated by: Marcella Riordan

The second in Felicity Hayes-McCoy's Finfarran Peninsula series, and sequel to The Library at the Edge of the World—a heartwarming story about secrets between four generations of Irish women, and the healing powers of books, love, and friendship.

The Garden Café, next to Lissbeg library, is a place where plans are formed and secrets shared, and where, even in high tourist season, people are never too busy to stop for a sandwich and a cup of tea.

But twenty-one-year-old Jazz—daughter of the town’s librarian Hanna Casey—has a secret she can’t share. Still recovering from a car accident, and reeling from her father’s disclosures about his long-time affair, she’s taken a job at The Old Forge guesthouse, and begun to develop feelings for a man who’s strictly off-limits.

Meanwhile, involved in her own new affair with architect Brian Morton, Hanna is unaware of the turmoil in Jazz’s life—until her manipulative ex-husband, Malcom, reappears trying to mend his relationship with their daughter. Rebuffed at every turn, Malcolm must return to London, but his mother, Louisa, is on the case. Unbeknown to the rest of the family, she hatches a plan, finding an unlikely ally in Hanna’s mother, the opinionated Mary Casey.

Watching Jazz unravel, Hanna begins to wonder if secrets which Malcolm has forced her to keep may have harmed their beloved daughter more than she’d realized. But then, the Casey women are no strangers to secrets, something Hanna realizes when she discovers a journal, long buried in land she inherited from her great-aunt Maggie. Ultimately, it’s the painful lessons of the past that offer a way to the future, but it will take the shared experiences of four generations of women to find a way forward for Hanna and her family.

Slow and steady still works :)

The story is still slow to progress, but the characters are engaging and you do end up wanting more.

I miss the first book’s narrator. This one is much too light on the Irish accent, and the voice she gives to children is shrill and cartoonish.

Disappointing sequel

I don’t know if it was the narrator or the story, I just found this boring. Sorry I used a credit on this one.

Not quite 4 star and not as good as the first

Actually a 3.5 star. Not as good as the first one, which I gave 4 stars. This one I found dragged a bit, the author was more descriptive (and of mundane things) in this book. And I found my mind wandering at times - which is rare for me with audiobooks.
I felt the majority of the characters came across as immature. And Jazz being the worst of them.
And the one thing that really bothered me - or confused me - was the story of Maggie. I am still not sure what it is she was supposed to have done or the reason why the priest threatened her with embarrassment in every mass if she did not leave. Did I miss something?
I did tag it as romance as there were love interests in the book, but I also feel the author fell flat in that department. Either a plot line was not completed or all of sudden it was a fait accompli, just jumped right to the outcome without really getting us there.
I will look to read to the next one in the series but I am in no rush to do so.
The narrator was pretty good, tho I do wish she had changed up the voices a bit for the male vs female characters.

Great Book for Book Club Discussion

We were inspired by the Book Club in Summer at the Garden Cafe to really discuss this book, rather than going off on different tangents.

No one disliked the book. All offered opinions on the characters. Fury was the special hit with everyone.

A pleasant continuation of a good story

I enjoyed Listening to The continuation of Hannah's Family Story. It was good to see the young people start to come into their own And face Every day difficulties just their parents had.