Name: A Bicycle Made for Two
Rating: 4 (2 reviews)
ISBN: 9781801108386

MARY JAYNE. BAKER

A romantic comedy, the first in the Love in the Dales series, set in a Yorkshire village. Restaurant owner Lana hatches a plan to boost business for everyone by having the Grand Départ route pass through their village - but it's not an easy task convincing the decision-makers that their village is Tour material...

A Bicycle Made for Two

Mary Jayne Baker

In a lost corner of the Yorkshire Dales, Lana Donati runs a medieval theme restaurant with her brother. As a distraction to help them get over losing the father they loved dearly, and as a tribute to his passion for the beautiful area they live in, Lana hatches a plan to boost business for everyone by having the Grand Départ route pass through their village. But this entails getting the small community to work together to convince the decision-makers that their beloved village is Tour material. Not an easy task when the people involved include Lana's shy, unlucky-in-love brother Tom, the man-eating Yolanda, bickering spouses Gerry and Sue, arrogant celebrity Harper Brady, and Lana's (attractive) arch-nemesis, former pro cyclist turned bike shop owner, Stewart McLean, whose offbeat ideas might just cost them everything.

Briar's Reviews

Oh, Mary Jayne Baker. It's like you wrote this book just for me! It's 100% British and took me back to my youth when my Dad used every British slang word and saying he could all day, everyday. Meanwhile, it's a cute, comedic romance that reminds me I'm an adult. It's safe to say, this book was a nostalgia trip for me and a half!

If I had to pick one word to describe this book, it would be quirky! It doesn't totally fit into one category for me, and that's totally okay. It has a lot of comedy, a pinch of romance, some epic drama and lots of fictional heists to follow. Just labelling it one of those words (or genres) would be a tragedy! This book is just too good to be put into one little corner.

So, down to the meat of it: Lana Donati is our lead, but her brother Tom, friends Yolanda, Gerry, and Sue, a sexy television star named Hunter, and the love interest/former pro cyclist Stewart all take part in this story too. This book starts out seeming like it'll be your typical romance: Lana and Stewart have a date but then... oh yes... the date goes sour. Stewart doesn't call Lana and life goes to the pits. Her Father passes away and leaves the siblings his restaurant and the Tour de France is coming to town! Big things are coming Lana's way...

For reference, I'm Canadian (half British, but good ol' Canada is my home) so I don't have many British references to give you. If I had to pick one that the masses from North America and the U.K. would understand, I'd relate this book to Coronation Street. It has the fun and quirky characters, the dramatic plot and British-ness I love about the show. But, sometimes that show can get depressing so imagine the funny and romantic storylines.

The banter itself is golden. I started highlighting all of the hilarious comments on my ecopy and I almost highlighted half the book (whoops!). 

Since I don't want to deal with too much copyright, here's two excellent comments that made me laugh hysterically and giggle and chuckle and all of the fun laugh terms:

"Scott Spen, 26. Looks like a sheep, sounds like a sheep, may actually be part sheep." Like, dude, who doesn't look at dating profiles and think stuff like that?! Just me? Cool.

"A honking good pair." Without context, sounds brutal. Read the book and you'll be giggling along with me.

Comedy like THIS is what gets me laughing. Witty sarcasm is the best kind of humour, so I absolutely loved this novel.

Did I have negative? Of course I did! No book is perfect.

In some places online, this book was marketed more like a romance, and it's not a pure romance. It's more comedic romance, not Hallmark or Harlequin style romance at all. If a reader comes specifically for that romance, they will be let down. But... does that ruin the book? Heck no! That's just my point of view. 

Overall, this book is an absolute delight and totally fits into my wheelhouse! I love Mary Jayne Baker's writing and will definitely be sticking around for the long haul. This book was marvelous!

Five out of five stars!

I received a book for free from the publisher (Mirror Books) in exchange of an honest review.

Lauren Sullivan

Trigger warnings: death of a parent from cancer, depression

This is not your average British rom-com. For starters, it’s set in the Yorkshire Dales in the north of England, and is full of profanity, medieval food, cycling, and soul-reading bats. In other words, it’s utterly hilarious.

Lana and her brother Tom run a medieval restaurant in the village of Egglethwaite. It may not be exactly what Lana had planned on doing with her life, but it’s her father’s baby, and she doesn’t feel right abandoning it when he’s battling cancer. Things take a turn for the better after a date with the local rich jerk’s cousin, but then he ghosts her. After a rough year – for the business and personally – Stewart’s suddenly back in town. But what’s an up-and-coming cyclist doing opening a cycling shop in the middle of nowhere, and can Lana forgive him?

“‘Stewart McLean, that’s what,’ I said once we were out of earshot, finally giving vent to my pent-up rage. ‘Can you Adam and fucking Eve it? Asking if we can be friends. Friends! After a year! What a first-class, prime-cut arse monkey.’”

One of the things I liked about the book was that the main characters screw up constantly. Lana is a complete dick to Stewart, she apologies, then Stewart does something stupid and it’s his turn to apologize, and the same dynamic happens with the secondary couple. It’s a smaller version of the second chances theme that runs throughout the book, the sort of “yeah, everybody screws up sometimes but sometimes you get a second chance” – in both life and love. From taking up a project her dad abandoned when he was diagnosed with cancer, to deciding whether to give Stewart another date, it’s the chances they choose to take that move this book along and make it so special.

The village of Egglethwaite is populated by lots of, well, characters, from the cute fish-and-chips owner to the frying-pan-amorous chef to the farming couple that act in loco parentis to Lana and Tom. It was sweet – and hilarious – reading about the various ideas they come up with to raise money, from a nude calendar to a fair to a kissing booth. I’m not a particularly big fan of cycling, but there’s not a particularly large amount of bike talk in the book, and what is there either serves the story or the humor (at one point Lana confuses pelotons with pelicans). Between the language and the situations, this book kept me giggling from page to page. There are some serious bits though, from Lana and Tom’s father’s battle with cancer to the reason Stewart never called Lana for that second date. It’s all handled well and respectfully, though, even if one of the more serious relationship conversations happens when Lana is high as a kite on laughing gas and hallucinating talking snowmen and flamingos.

Overall, if you’re looking for a hilarious second-chances Brit rom-com, this is a good choice for you!

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

A Bicycle Made for Two

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