I love this series so much. When I picked up the first book in this series (Little Beach Street Bakery), I read it in one sitting and felt so completely happy when I was finished. I felt the exact same way when I finished with the second book (Summer at Little Beach Street Bakery). And now that I’m finished with the third book-Christmas at Little Beach Street Bakery-I am left with that exact same feeling. I’ve learned that I can expect that from Jenny Colgan and that makes me so excited to read anything that she writes.

Polly is a baker with a very popular shop in the tiny Cornish island village of Mount Polbearne. She lives in a lighthouse and has a pet puffin named Neil. Polly has an American boyfriend named Huckle who is a beekeeper. Over the course of this series, Polly has changed from a recently divorced woman that bakes bread out of a van into an independent woman with her own very successful business. She’s made some mistakes along the way; all of her decisions haven’t been the best. But she is a good person and she is a good friend. She just wants a simple life in a simple, lovely place.

I was almost scared to read this book because I have loved the last two so much; it is scary to anticipate what can happen to characters that I love so much! In this installment, there is a little bit of family drama, some drama with Polly’s best friend, and a little bit of drama with her boyfriend, Huckle. Everything works out in the end, of course, but Polly definitely takes the twisty road getting there (as expected). Along the way, there are shenanigans and plenty of humorous times. Polly and her friends and neighbors are there to prop one another up. I truly shouldn’t have worried about these characters that I love, I really shouldn’t. I read this whole book with a smile on my face, just like I did the previous two books.

In the author’s note in the beginning of my advanced copy, Jenny Colgan says that this is the “last in the Little Beach trilogy (probably)” and I am not exaggerating when I say that broke my heart, at least a little bit. I’ve grown to absolutely adore Polly and Huckle over the course of this series and I don’t want to goodbye to them (and Neil the Puffin).

I also love the colorful cast of secondary characters and I am completely smitten with the setting of Mount Polbearne. Before I started this series, I really didn’t know all that much about Cornwall, but it wasn’t long before I was totally sucked into this village. I could taste and feel the cool, salty air, I could feel the mist coming off of the waves, I could hear the shouts from the men at the fishing boats down at the docks. I felt as if I was there and I’ve felt that way all throughout all three of these books. This is one of my favorite series in terms of setting because it is so easily visualized in my head, which is spectacular for me because I live in an actual hay field in the middle of North Carolina, on the East Coast of the United States – I am nowhere near Cornwall.

I think readers would be fine to begin the series with this third book if they want to. I think readers can start this series with any of the three books, actually. I personally prefer starting at the beginning because it allows for seeing the complete character growth with Polly and seeing the growth in all of the relationships throughout the series. But I feel certain that if people want to start with this book, most will want to go back and start at the beginning and read through the entire series. I actually want to do a series reread from start to finish myself now that I’ve finished with this one. I love where this book ended. LOVE IT.

I fully respect Jenny Colgan if she says that this is the end of the series. But I wouldn’t be opposed to more from Polly and Huckle and the rest of the gang from Mount Polbearne! I love them all so much. This series makes me so genuinely happy. These three books have a coveted spot on the “favorites” shelf in my bedroom, near my bed, because I like to be able to pick them up whenever I want to and read wherever the books fall open. I recommend this series to readers that enjoy fun, quirky characters, readers that enjoy great settings, readers that enjoy British authors, and readers that enjoy books that make you feel happy.