Fun fact: When I was a teenager, I was completely obsessed with Harley Davidson motorbikes – despite having never even sat on one, let alone gone for a ride.
Actually, there must still be some Harley love inside me because when I saw a bike on the beautiful cover of Sue McDonagh’s book, Summer At The Art Cafe, I went straight for the blurb.
Here’s what it said:
If you won a gorgeous purple motorbike, and your domineering husband said you were too fat for leathers and should sell it, would you do as you were told or learn to ride it in secret?
Artist and café owner Lucy Daumier intends to do just that but learning to ride is far from easy, especially under the critical eye of prickly motorcycle instructor, Ash Connor. But gradually Lucy gets the hang of it, and in the process re-discovers the girl she used to be.
So starts an exciting summer of new friendships and fun as well as a realisation that there is more to Ash than meets the eye when she is introduced to his seven-year-old daughter, Daisy. But can Lucy’s new-found happiness last when a spiteful family member wants to see her fail?
A purple motorbike you say? It was enough for me to hit download. What a wonderful heartwarming story I got in return.
Sue’s love of bikes and art (have a look at her website, amazing!) shine through this tale, which is romantic, uplifting and features a good hit of female empowerment too.
Lucy is such a relatable heroine and I loved seeing her character come alive again – with thanks to learning to ride various size bikes (and Ash, of course).
The awful ex was a wonderfully written villain, who got worse as the book went on until a dramatic – and very satisfying – culmination. No spoilers.
I also enjoyed seeing how things developed with Ash, especially with his little girl involved. I think it played out perfectly.
This was my first book by Sue but I immediately went and bought book two in the series, Meet Me At The Art Cafe, which is equally as good.
If you want books that leave you smiling at the end, Sue McDonagh is for you.
Format: Kindle.
Price: £2.62 (at the time of writing).
My rating: Four and a half stars.
With thanks to Choc Lit (via NetGalley) for the ARC in return for an honest review.
After The Rain 
I really like how your review hits all the points I wanted to know without being super wordy! You sold me on this book so quickly 😂 I’m definitely gonna try to get my hands on this, it sounds so heartwarming!
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Thank you, what a lovely comment. Heartwarming is the perfect word to describe both books.
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Aww it sounds really good. I’ve seen it and fancy reading it, so many books though, I really must try and read it. I learned to ride a motorbike so I know how scary it is at first. My first test was a nightmare, torrential rain from setting off from home to the test station then the test which unsurprisingly I failed. I literally poured the rain water out of my boots when I got home. Passed second time but it’s not really me and I never took to it. I’ll stick with my pedal bike. The CBT stands you in good stead for riding a cycle on the roads tho’.
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