Review: Snowflakes and Coffee Cakes by Joanne DeMaio

Snowflakes and Coffee Cakes

by Joanne DeMaio

Pages: 161

Format: ebook

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Reluctant to leave her cherished New England hometown after her sister's winter wedding, former journalist Vera Sterling makes a sudden decision. She takes what's left of her severance pay and invests it in real estate ... in one particular drafty colonial home and old timber barn set upon the pretty banks of Addison Cove. In that rough-hewn barn, she discovers a secret treasure left behind by the previous owner, the proprietor of the long-forgotten Christmas Barn gift shop.

While restoring her rundown, wood-sided home--its creaking floors, broken bannister, and neglected widow's walk--that secret slowly unfolds like a bit of snowflake wonder, crystallizing hopes and dreams for many in this small Connecticut town. But mostly for Derek Cooper whose own tragic story has headlined Addison's news. And whom Vera has come to love.

When the first snowstorm hits during Derek's annual Deck the Boats Festival at the cove, residents become stranded. It is then up to Vera to not only bring the town together, but to mend one man's heart she fears she may have lost.



Kritters Thoughts:  My first holiday book of the season and from one of my favorite authors and set in a town from previous books (what more could a girl ask for)!  I have read both of Joanne DeMaio's previous books and reviewed them here at Kritters Ramblings, so when I received the pitch to read this holiday book, I couldn't wait!  

Vera was a great character and I loved her family.  Vera's return home was believable and even heartwarming.  I fell in love with Derek Cooper and his struggle to overcome a tragedy that ripped him and his life to shreds.  I wanted more for their story and felt it needed just a little more in the middle stages of their interactions.

Although it didn't live up to the fantasticness of the previous two books, it was fun to return to a town that I had read about before.  I deeply loved Joanne DeMaio's previous two books that I read and this one was very good, just not at the level of amazingness that the other two were.  This doesn't discourage me from continuing to be a Joanne DeMaio fan and I will most definitely read her next one!

SIDE NOTE - As I am in the middle of home repairs on a house that needed some TLC, it was fun to read all the home projects that she had to go through with her old timey home!

Rating: perfect to cuddle up with!

Ebook 2013 Challenge: 72 out of 50

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Mary's Media.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.