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Sweet Expectations is the second book in the series that began with The Union Street Bakery. It continues the story of Daisy, who was adopted into the McCrae family when she was abandoned at the bakery by her mother when she was three, and of her adopted sisters Rachel and Margaret as they struggle to keep the bakery going after their father’s retirement.
In the first book, Daisy returned to the bakery after losing her job in high finance just in time to save the shop from financial ruin. When that book ended, she was coming to terms with her new life and starting a new relationship with her former boyfriend. Both Daisy and the bakery were beginning to thrive.
But as this book begins there are new complications for Daisy. Both the bakery and her life are going through major changes. The sisters are renovating the bakery. Rachel is finally beginning to want to engage with life again after the death of her husband 18 months earlier. Margaret has a new and exciting job, so she cannot help out as much, and Daisy discovers she is four months pregnant, but the baby is not her boyfriend Gordon’s because it happened during the year that they were broken up.
As if all that is not enough, just like in the earlier story a former individual whose life was involved with the bakery is reaching out to Daisy from beyond the grave and seeking her help with a mission of her own. This time it is Jenna, a former employee from the 1940s.
Can the sisters and the bakery survive through all these changes? What about Daisy and Gordon? And can Daisy solve the mystery of Jenna? You will thoroughly enjoy finding out in this charming and very engaging story about the nature of family and the meaning of love, all set in the most delightful bakery one could ever imagine. The story is full of sugar and spice and is highly recommended for anyone looking for a pleasant and well-written novel. It will help immensely if you read the first book before you read this one, however.
