First, I don’t know who designs Rachel Linden’s book covers at Berkley, but they all pop and catch my attention. Linden is the author of one of my favorite books from last year, The Secret of Orange Blossom Cake, one I liked so much that I bought a copy to keep. Now, she brings us a romance about a woman struggling to keep her family and business afloat, A Sprinkle of Sweet Serendipity.
Emmie Wynne moved home to Poulsbo, Washington when her father learned he was dying of cancer. Now, she’s celebrating her 34th birthday with her dreams behind her, left behind in Paris where she was hoping to open her own shop as a chocolatier. She’s a single mom of a six-year-old boy, trying to keep her family candy and fudge shop going, and helping her lonely mother who has rheumatoid arthritis. She’s been waiting, every birthday, for the special vision that has guided the women in the family, always given after a wish on the special birthday candle. She’s afraid she’ll never see it.
When she does see her vision that’s to guide her future, she can’t believe it. It shows her standing in front of a chocolate shop, surrounded by family and friends, and her TV crush kneeling in front of her with a ring box. Emmie has been watching British celebrity Henry Summer for years on Savor, a travel show that highlights family food spots around the world. There’s a reason she doesn’t believe her birthday vision. Then, one morning, Henry Summer is standing in her shop.
Henry Summer is on break, renting a cottage in Poulsbo. Now, Emmie’s goal is to make Henry fall in love with her so her vision will come true. She can’t believe it will. For one thing, The Happy Viking, her family shop, is crumbling around her with water leaks and floor problems. As she juggles r life as a single parent, medical bills, her mother’s appointments, and now repair bills, she can’t see her way to opening her own chocolate boutique. When she learns her high school boyfriend, Jakob Kristensen has returned to town, she’s even more unsure of herself. She broke Jakob’s heart before. Now, her former best friend, an ex-Marine, is home, working in the family bakery while helping with repairs at the candy store. Every day she observes Jakob and his kindness to her son, Gus. But, “Sometimes I feel as though it’s crushing me and I can’t breathe with the weight of everything I’m carrying.”
Emmie Wynne is a thirty-four-year-old woman dealing with life’s problems, and hoping her vision will guide her purpose in life. But, “In life we have to make our own magic”, and she is afraid to make the wrong move because of that birthday vision.
A Sprinkle of Sweet Serendipity is a character-driven romance, a story of second chances. It features a mature woman who cares for everyone in her life, and tries to take care of everyone. But, when will Emmie learn to take care of herself as well? As my sister says, if she had been honest and communicated with those she loved, her relationships might not have been so fraught. On the other hand, it’s an enjoyable story of a woman discovering what she truly wants in life.
Rachel Linden’s website is https://www.rachellinden.com/
A Sprinkle of Sweet Seredipity by Rachel Linden. Berkley, 2026. 384p.
FTC Full Disclosure – I read a galley provided by the publisher through NetGalley with no expectation of a positive review.
