You're the Cream in My Coffee

By: Jennifer Lamont Leo

Narrated by: Nicole Atallah

Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

In 1928, Chicago rocks to the rhythm of the Jazz Age, and Prohibition is in full swing. Small-town girl Marjorie Corrigan, visiting the city for the first time, has sworn that coffee's the strongest drink that will pass her lips. But her quiet, orderly life turns topsy-turvy when she spots her high school sweetheart - presumed killed in the Great War - alive and well in a train station. Suddenly everything is up for grabs.

Although the stranger insists he's not who she thinks he is, Marjorie becomes obsessed with finding out the truth. To the dismay of her fiancé and family, she moves to the city and takes a job at a department store so she can spy on him. Meanwhile, the glittering world of her roommate, Dot, begins to look awfully enticing - especially when the object of her obsession seems to be part of that world. Is it really so terrible to bob her hair and shorten her skirt? To visit a speakeasy? Just for a cup of coffee, of course.

But what about her scruples? What about the successful young doctor to whom she's engaged, who keeps begging her to come back home where she belongs? And what, exactly, is going on at the store's loading dock so late at night?

Amid a whirlwind of trials and temptations, Marjorie must make a choice. Will the mystery man prove to be the cream in her coffee - the missing ingredient to the life she yearns for? Or will he leave only bitterness in her heart?

©2016 Smitten Historical Romance (P)2018 Smitten Historical Romance

A story that's the real cat's meow!

Once again I've gotten introduced to a new-to-me author through an audiobook. That's right, I had heard of Jennifer Lamont Leo's first book in her Roaring Twenties series but hadn't read You're The Cream In My Coffee. What did I think? Well, I really liked it! 1920s Chicago and the Marshall Fields department store came alive for me in full color. I sincerely enjoyed the small-town girl goes to the big city and finds both romance and adventure storyline. Marjorie's struggles to find the answers she is looking for without compromising her smalltown values, her morals or her faith was refreshing in the sea of career-obsessed women stories. But I'm gonna admit it here, there were two characters that I just wanted to slap for their self-centered jerkness, they made me so mad! Anyway, I liked the element of mystery. Was it really Jack that she saw? And if so, why didn't he come home to her after the Great War? Well, you're just going to have to read/listen yourself to find out.

I listened to the audiobook version You're The Cream In My Coffee and it was pretty good. The narrator's voice was especially good for the character she portrayed. Overall the production was good though there were some rather noticeable audio editing problem spots, mainly around chapters 12-13 and then scattered through the rest of the audiobook. The issues were distracting while they happened but didn't change my opinion of how much I enjoyed the story. I definitely plan on finding out what comes next in the series for Marjorie's colorful friend Dot...

(I received a copy of this book from the author. All opinions are entirely my own.)

Funny 1920 story

This is a funny story with the 1920 as a backdrop. We follow the story of a girl trying to find her independence and her true love in the big city, while avoiding a pretty good mariage.
The story is very well told and I loved the reverences of the places, fashion and bootleggers.
This book don't get the full star mark because it was very predictable for me and there was a couple of "bugs" with the recording (like when there was no time for proper editing to cut repetions and some studio acustic diferences between some chapters). Even so I find the reader very talended, just think she needed more time to do it at an excelent level.
There are some references to christian religion/God, but it's not intrusive (the only time it bother me was at the end: I hate to think of the 3 persons relations she/him/God... That was the bit too much for me..., but it's ok.)
In the end, a very good story to pass a good time, in the 20's.

Love! Love! Love!

I absolutely adored this book! It takes place in the Jazz Age of the 1920’s, an era about which I previously knew very little. The author’s perky writing style and the engaging voice of the Audiobook reader brought the main character, Marjorie Corrigan to life in such a charming way, I felt I had made a new friend. Although the book retains a breezy, light tone throughout, many of the challenges Marjorie and the cast of family and friends face were truly difficult issues without easy answers.... Grief over lost love, war wounds, relationship misunderstandings, moral compromises, duty verses emotion...all were explored and gently probed with authentic spiritual truth. I found this book delightful and I can’t wait to read more from this author!

A Clean Roaring Twenties Chicago Adventure-Romance

This delightful tale finds a young woman from small town America heading to Chicago to visit a doctor and staying to find love, adventure and fulfillment, The story is full of flappers, gangsters, artists and store clerks but manages to avoid the seamier side of Chicago life while still providing an entertaining slice of life in roaring twenties Chicago.
Although well written and well read, the audio version does contain several editing errors where the narrator stops to make corrections and repeats words. This does tend to disrupt the flow of the story which is otherwise delightful.
All in All, this one's worth your time if you're at all interested in historical fiction.

Fun story

This is a story about a woman finding herself. Still plagued about her boyfriend she lost in the war. She finds she is having a hard time dealing with her impending marriage to Richard. I love Marjorie and even though she makes some huge mistakes, she finds her way and what her heart wants. There are definitely some strange twists, but they’ll take on a road to delightful discovery.

Enjoyable

I enjoyed this audiobook. The narrator's correction epeats made me think there was an error with my playerbit other than that it was well written.

Great Twenties Story

I have not listened to many books from the Jazz age, but I really enjoyed this one. Both the author and narrator were new to me. Jennifer Lamont Leo wrote a book that pulled me in. I hadn’t given much thought to prohibition or that time period in general. The story is original and has endearing characters. Nicole Atallah fit the narration. She expressed the right emotions. I requested this review copy audiobook and have voluntarily written this review.

Very Well Written Christian Fiction 1920's style!

*This review is based on the physical book.
Very well written Christian fiction full of interesting characters.
1928-Meet our heroine, Majorie Corrigan, fainting, avoiding her wedding plans, becoming fodder for the town gossips and dealing with her not so nice step-mother. She is forced to go to a specialist in Chicago. As she is getting on the train back to her small hometown of Kerryville, she sees a man that looks like her true love, who died in the war, she makes a rash decision to get off the train and chase him down. From then on her life is turned upside down. Will she settle for a man she doesn't truly love and become a Doctor's wife? Or will she find a new love in Chicago?
I loved seeing Chicago through Majorie's eyes. The author clearly did her research into the time period to get things right. Marshall Field's, settlement communities, speakeasies, intrigue, and romance. A great easy read with gentle reminders that God is always there for us, we are the ones who move away from Him.
I loved the story from beginning to end!

*The narration of this book does not do the story justice. The repeats and start overs are very distracting.
I've listened to this a couple of times after reading the book. The main reason I gave only 2 stars for Performance was the character voice. Marjorie is well into her 20's in 1928, suffered heartache and loss. The narrator makes her sound like an immature teenager.

A fun romantic romp in the 1920's

You're the Cream in my Coffee is a fun romp in the 1920's with a charming love story. It is easy to get emotionally connected with the characters in the story as they are complex and wonderful creations, and it broke my heart when one got dumped. The author clearly took the time to research the time period and setting, and it shows in the quality of the story. The story felt a little preachy at times, but overall I loved the book.

The narrator did an all right job, but there were some time when she repeated herself and stumbled on words. With a little editing, the audio book could be improved dramatically.

I received a complimentary copy of this audio book. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Delightful book

I loved this story. The characters are fun, quirky and charming. The story is full of surprises with a sweet sister and friends, a feisty step-mother, a missing-in-action boyfriend, a controlling and insistent fiancé, bootlegging and shenanigans at work, life for Marjorie is quite the ride. Romance and mystery are blended with a message about faith in God, forgiveness, and hope to bring a delightfully endearing book. I am hoping there is a sequel! I was given a complimentary copy of the audiobook and was not required to write a review. The opinions are my own.