Little Beach Street Bakery

By: Jenny Colgan

Narrated by: Veida Dehmlow

Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's Summary

Polly Waterford is recovering from a toxic relationship. Unable to afford their flat, she has to move miles away from everyone, to a sleepy little seaside resort in Cornwall, where she lives alone above an abandoned shop. And so Polly takes out her frustrations on her favorite hobby: making bread.

But what was previously a weekend diversion suddenly becomes far more important as she pours her emotions into kneading and pounding the dough, and each loaf becomes better and better. With nuts and seeds, olives and chorizo, with local honey (courtesy of local beekeeper, Huckle), and with reserves of determination and creativity Polly never knew she had, she bakes and bakes and bakes...and people start to hear about it. Sometimes bread really is life...and Polly is about to reclaim hers.

©2014 Jenny Colgan (P)2015 Tantor

Critic Reviews

"This confection of a novel...will please her fans and can be recommended to readers who enjoy novels by Jill Mansell and Jojo Moyes." ( Booklist)

Could have been great.

Is there anything you would change about this book?

It got a little far-fetched. I love the stories of a women being down but recovering against the odds. I loved the parts about baking bread, taking care of honey bees and fishing but when it got into the crazy wild gazillionaire and the Star Wars wedding I lost interest. I also didn't like the narrator's southern accent. It's a book. I would rather listen to the same voice than a bad attempt to sound like a man, or worse a southern man.

Would you recommend Little Beach Street Bakery to your friends? Why or why not?

No. Because of the above comments.

Would you be willing to try another one of Veida Dehmlow’s performances?

Maybe.

Did Little Beach Street Bakery inspire you to do anything?

Bake bread. I just finished making my 4th loaf. :)

13 of 13 people found this review helpful

I can't get past the horrible narration.

What disappointed you about Little Beach Street Bakery?

I can't listen to it. The narrator is very inappropriate for the main character, and her performance of the other characters is very jarring. I've tried as few times to listen to it. Far from being a nice relaxing listen, the narrator stresses me out.

How could the performance have been better?

A completely different narrator!

Any additional comments?

Not sure why, but audible won't let me return this book. Very disappointing.

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

Poor Narration

A nice story but the narrator is way to old for the main character and her facility for American accents was poor
It was disconcerting to have a late 50s voice come from a early 30s character. I almost had to stop listening because it was so weird
If I hadn't purchased it I would have stopped listening immediately

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

Irish pirates do not equal a southern accent

Would you be willing to try another one of Veida Dehmlow’s performances?

No- she cannot do male accents and it is distracting.

Any additional comments?

The story may have been good but the male accents were so horrendous that it took away from the actual plot. The southern accent sounded like Irish Pirates and the fisherman sounded three sheets to the wind- and like pirates. It was just bizarre- save your credits.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Mediocre story with terrible narration

After recently enjoying Colgan's "The Bookshop on the Corner", I was surprisingly disappointed in this novel. The storyline was flat and unimaginative, and had too many failed attempts at forcing character depth.

The narration was terrible. Overall the narrator has a pleasant voice, but it is completely wrong for this book. The narrator's voice belongs to a 60 year-old woman, not the early 30's of the main character. And her attempts at doing male voices--particularly a male with a southern drawl--were embarrassing; every male character sounded like a demon-spawn muppet. Adding insult to injury, Polly's BFF had the lilt of a worn-out 70 year-old whore.

What did I like? I liked Polly turning a passion into a future, Huckle's beekeeping moxy, and the idea of a forgotten little town that survives on its own accord.

Overall, a pretty awful book with a few redeeming qualities. I won't be seeking out the second of this series, and will be returning this title without hesitation.

9 of 10 people found this review helpful

For anyone who misses watching Under the Tuscan Sun

If you are missing Under the Tuscan Sun, here is a decent replacement in seaside Cornwall with warm bread instead of Italy and olives. I liked the people, place, and the mood. It was what I was looking for at the time.

Male characters are a problem (as always), and I could guess what was going to happen, but you are surrounded by the smell of warm bread and salty breezes-so why not.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Narrator sounds like she doesn't like men

What didn’t you like about Veida Dehmlow’s performance?

She has the loveliest female voice but made all the men sound like werewolves. I had a hard time rooting for the love story since all the men sounded like a beasts.

8 of 9 people found this review helpful

Light, charming story, but disappointing narration

This is a charming and light story, and the main character is engaging. However, the narration is disappointing -- the male characters' parts are mostly all read in a slurred and gravelly voice that is hard on the ears. Best to enjoy this story as a traditional book.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Cute story, narrator makes it difficult to listen

The narrator's voice is lovely until she tries to do a man's voice or a southern American accent. This issue made the book almost unbearable to listen to and finish. The story is sweet and I would have been able to enjoy is of the reader had just toned it down a little. Every man's voice sounded the same (like they've smoked for 60 years) even the young men. I couldn't even tell the difference sometimes and got confused as to which man was even talking.

Good story, terrible narrator

The story and characters here are good. Not great, but good. The characters carry it, as they are varied and vibrant. The story is a bit predictable and the writing gets romance novel-ish at spots, but again the characters save it. However, the narrator is abysmal! Her older, posh manner is out of place, her accents are horrendous (particularly southern American accents), the men all sound like pirates, and if they are meant to sound drunk, it’s even worse. I almost gave up the book because of it!