I love Jennifer Montgomery's Coffee Shop Romances, and each time I read a new one I think "This one - this one is my favourite".

Strictly speaking The English Breakfast Affair isn't a Coffee Shop Romance, but only because Jillian - who usually works at Campus Coffee - is spending the semester studying in England.

This was exactly my sort of story. Descriptions of England and old buildings! University life! Characters who talk about books! References to the Brontes, C.S. Lewis, poetry and The Lord of the Rings! Tea! The writing is gorgeous, and there were so many lines that rang true - that captured a feeling or opinion I could identify with, or that convinced me that an experience or opinion was true for other people.

That said, my favourite part is the way the characters have utterly believable conversations about important things, and that these conversations are central to the developing romance. This isn't a long story, yet both Jillian and Jem are portrayed fully-rounded people, with a depth to their ideas. I wanted to argue about Anne Bronte with Jem, and to hear what Jillian thinks of various books that she's yet to read (assuming she does eventually read them).

I loved that Jillian is quietly confident about her beliefs and some of the choices she's made. She's not interested in proselytising, but neither is she ashamed or particularly concerned about others thinking she's weird. She's at peace with who she is. I also really appreciated that the story respects her choices, and doesn't ever suggest that these are things she'll have to compromise on if she wants a successful relationship.

But it was always so with research. Jillian sometimes worried that she had a dragonfly mind: she skimmed brightly across the surface of things and picked up on all the shone and glittered, but could not go deep, lest she drown.
The English Breakfast Affair is just really delightful (and it was the perfect story to cheer me up after a difficult day). I love it. ( )