When I read and reviewed The Traveling Tea Shop a few months ago, I had never heard of author Belinda Jones or her LoveTravel series, but I greatly enjoyed the story of four women traveling New England on a double-decker bus, eating all manner of cake along the way. I was pleasantly surprised to get an email directly from Ms. Jones herself, thanking me for my review and offering me another of her books. I gladly took her up on her offer and chose Cafe Tropicana.
Ava Langston is doing her best to follow her dream of opening a coffee shop, but when she finds the perfect space in her hometown of Bath, England, someone else has beat her to it. Dejected but not beaten, she initially refuses her father’s invitation to visit him in Costa Rica and meet his new wife, Kiki, who’s only a few years older than Ava. Ava and her father do not have the greatest relationship thanks to his leaving her and her mother, but when he offers her a job opening a beachfront cafe, she can’t turn it down.
When Ava arrives in Costa Rica, where her only previous visit to her father ended up with a run-in with the wildlife and a trip to the hospital, she finds that things aren’t as simple as her father made them seem. Ava will have to compete with one of his employees, Santiago, to determine who will end up running the cafe. While Ava finds Santiago attractive, she’s turned off by his cold demeanor and the fact that he’s her competition.
While Ava has to deal with finding the right location, decor, and employees for her side of the cafe, she is also getting to know Kiki. Ava can’t quite figure Kiki out – she’s older and friendlier than she expected, and excited to set Ava up with Ryan, an old college friend of Kiki’s who’s setting up his own adventure business. While Ava doesn’t want to take time away from the cafe, she doesn’t have much choice, and accompanies Ryan on a scouting trip. She’s attracted to Ryan but annoyed by Kiki’s constant interruptions and unsure how she feels about his advances.
Cafe Tropicana has a lush setting that makes me want to hop right on a plane to Costa Rica. The wildlife, beaches, weather, and food all have wonderful descriptions that make you feel as if you’re there with Ava. I like a good romance novel where the heroine isn’t dumb and clueless, and Ava is intelligent and has a good head for business but is also headstrong and stubborn. The story ties up nicely with all of the characters learning the importance of being honest and open with those you love.
Cafe Tropicana is a great beach read to savor in the last few weeks of summer, and I have put the rest of the LoveTravel books on my to-read list. The books all feature travel and relationships and are set in vacation destinations, but are not otherwise related to each other.