Christian Fiction Devourers discussion

The Broken Hearts Bakery by Carla Laureano



Fifteen years ago, the town of Haven Ridge failed its most important mandate—to be a sanctuary for heartbroken citizens in need. Now it’s getting a second chance to set things right ...

When Gemma left her hometown of Haven Ridge, Colorado, years ago in a cloud of controversy, she swore she would never return. And she’s kept that promise, instead building her reputation as one of LA’s preeminent family law attorneys. But when her lifelong best friend begs her to come stay with her teen stepdaughter, Taylor, while she’s on a business trip, Gemma doesn’t have the heart to refuse. She’ll simply keep a low profile, do her honorary aunt duties, and be gone before anyone knows the difference.

But Haven Ridge seems to have a mind of its own, dragging Gemma unwillingly back into the community she’s tried so hard to leave behind and she soon finds herself caught up with new friends and old rivalries. When Taylor is the object of an ugly bit of teen bullying, Gemma does the only thing she knows how to ply her honorary niece with baked goods and words of affirmation. Soon, her temporary digs are ground zero for teenage girls seeking sugar and consolation for shockingly adult problems—which the girls soon dub The Broken Hearts Bakery.

Complicating matters is an unexpected reunion with Gemma’s high school sweetheart, Stephen, who is determined to change her mind about him, the town, and the nature of love itself. Because as it turns out, her niece isn’t the only one nursing a broken heart…



Carla Laureano is the RITA® Award-winning author of contemporary inspirational romance and Celtic fantasy (as C.E. Laureano). A graduate of Pepperdine University, she worked as a sales and marketing executive for nearly a decade before leaving corporate life behind to write fiction full-time. She currently lives in Denver with her husband and two sons, where she writes during the day and cooks things at night.

Who's up for reading this one with me?

I'll post questions on February 15. Looking forward to discussing this book with you, friends!

I'm in . . . not sure that I'll have it finished by the 15th, but I'll try! 🙂

I’m in!

I will be reading it early in the month.

Welcome, ladies!

Kate, any time throughout the month works.

I hope to read it in February. I have a copy on my kindle.

Welcome, Katrina!

I started early. So far it’s a sweet story but I don’t think I would call it Christian fiction. Just clean fiction. This is my second month joining book of the month. Is this typical?

Welcome, Jenni! I only found out after the book was chosen that it might not be Christian fiction. The author used to write Christian fiction, so I’m sure that’s why it slipped by us. We try to only accept Christian fiction nominations because we are a Christian fiction-focused group; when authors depart from that genre, for whatever reason, that is not always reflected on the books’ pages. This one is still tagged as Christian, so I would assume that’s why it slipped through.

I’m done and totally disappointed.. not a Christian book at all.. totally Hallmark and we know how that’s gone.. I’ll definitely be double checking out the authors before getting the monthly books… I love all the suggestions though!! It added to my list of authors!!

Jenni wrote: "I started early. So far it’s a sweet story but I don’t think I would call it Christian fiction. Just clean fiction. This is my second month joining book of the month. Is this typical?"

This is what I thought too. It was a clean read and quiet entertaining, but didn't have the same religious elements Beyond ivy walls had. It was a little bit more explicit, but nothing serious in my opinion. Just a heads up, if someone needs it.

Hello! I’m reading with you all for the first time. I’m about halfway through the book. Thanks for the heads up that it’s clean, but not overtly Christian. I read an earlier series by this author a few years ago. This book has the same tone—a sweet story.

I started the audio today. Little did I know I also started a novella ( for my genre challenge) by her too. So far I like both books.

Thanks for the heads-up, folks!

Just so you know, we have adjusted the rules for Book of the Month moving forward. Nominated books now must be published by a Christian publisher (such as Bethany House or WaterBrook Multnomah) or be clearly marked as Christian fiction if they are independently published books.

That won't catch everything (our book this month was tagged Christian fiction on Goodreads), but it should help us avoid most books that don't fit well with our group's mission of reading Christian fiction books.

We do apologize that we were unaware that this book didn't fit well. None of us had read it yet, so we only had a couple of past books by the author to go on (those were published by a Christian publisher). From the research I've done since then, it looks like Mrs. Laureano has stopped writing Christian fiction and begun writing Clean Fiction for the general market.

A couple of other authors who have done this are Katherine Reay and Lisa Wingate, so it is not uncommon in recent years.

Still, I hope this book is enjoyable in some respects. Happy reading, all!

This book had no depth to it. I ended up skimming most of it. The inner dialogue went on to infinity, hashing over the same discussions the main character had with herself. Yes, and I agree with others, this book did not mention God at all.

Thanks for sharing those thoughts, Janeen. I love good depth in books, so I'm glad for the heads-up that I won't likely be finding it in this one.

I'm loving the insight into what everyone does and does not like about this book. Keep those beautiful thoughts coming, friends!

I began the book today (had to wrap up a couple others first). Am hoping to read it fast so we can get to the discussion questions on time. :)

I requested this through interlibrary loan, so I may be reading this a month later.

I hope you enjoy it when you get the chance, Sandy!

Finished the book tonight! It was definitely hallmark vibes, not the deepest story elements, but an enjoyable read. I do think it dragged on though. Some of the last chapters could’ve been edited down and cut. 3/5 stars for me

Finished the book a coule of days ago! I liked. it was a 3 stars for me

I'm glad you enjoyed the book, Abby and Maria. Thanks for chiming in!

I just finished the book. Not a favorite, but there were some good points to it. I especially loved how former enemies ended up helping and comforting one another. That was my absolute favorite thing about this book.

Who's ready for discussion?

I'm typing up the discussion questions now.

1. Gemma gives "consolation pastries" to coworkers who suffer heartache. What sorts of kind gestures do you do for people going through a hard thing?

2. Gemma had to adjust to big changes: big city to small town, busy days as a lawyer to wide-open days as a stay-at-home aunt. How did she handle these changes? What roadblocks popped up? Was there anything you would have done differently?

3. Gemma had to choose between being a lawyer and being a baker (or so she thought). What made this a difficult choice for her? What was the best advice she got about the decision? How did her past weigh in on her choice? Who do you ask for advice when you face a hard choice?

4. The impact of Stephen's first apology surprised Gemma. Has something you were anticipating surprised you by being worse or better than expected? How did that affect your experience?

5. Gemma was passionate about helping abused women. How did this theme affect her relationships?

6. Stephen was passionate about broadening his students' literary horizons to prepare them for the world outside their small mountain town. How did this begin changing the town? Which books have helped broaden your own views on life?

7. Forgiveness of past mistakes was a main theme in this story. What does forgiveness mean to you? Are you quick or slow to forgive? Why do you think that is?

Andrea, I absolutely agree with you. I loved how Gemma and her stepsister had their own reunion. I was a bit disappointed when I realised that Chelsea isn't the main charachter in any of the following books of the series. I would have loved to read her story.

Also about forgiveness: I'm personally quick to forgive. Even if it doesn't always come easily to me, forgiveness means a second chance, and I try to grant everybody at least that much.
I loved how forgiveness played a great part in this stroy, made it a little bit more meaningful than just a qiuck, fun book.

Regarding question #3: I appreciated the way people kept encouraging Gemma to think outside the box. She didn’t have to choose between compromise at her law firm or starting her own. She had other options. She didn’t have to choose between baking and practicing law. She could find a way to do both. (At least for the purposes of the story. I kind of question the reality of that, but I was willing to suspend disbelief.) The point is, when we don’t like our options, it’s okay to look for other possibilities and to exhaust them before settling.

Lovely thoughts, Lili and Janet! I like the perspectives there. There were some really great moments in this story. One of my favorites was when Gemma finally made that decision to leave the law firm, to choose to stick to her ethics rather than cave to the scummy bits they were asking her to do. Such a great example on that front!

I actually got this through Interlibrary Loan in time to finish it before the end of the month! Here are my thoughts:

1. Gemma gives "consolation pastries" to coworkers who suffer heartache. What sorts of kind gestures do you do for people going through a hard thing?

I've often sent notes or messages to people several weeks after their "hard thing" intentionally. It always seems appreciated because many people start thinking that everyone else has forgotten what they are dealing and they still need support.

2. Gemma had to adjust to big changes: big city to small town, busy days as a lawyer to wide-open days as a stay-at-home aunt. How did she handle these changes? What roadblocks popped up? Was there anything you would have done differently?

I thought she showed great resiliance. I'm not so sure that I would've adjusted that quickly to all of the changes.

3. Gemma had to choose between being a lawyer and being a baker (or so she thought). What made this a difficult choice for her? What was the best advice she got about the decision? How did her past weigh in on her choice? Who do you ask for advice when you face a hard choice?

I think the choice was difficult for her because although she loved baking and showing her care for people that way, she also had a passion to use her education to help people who were in need because of what she and her mom had experienced. Several people encouraged her to think outside the box and challenged her thinking that she had to choose one over the other.

4. The impact of Stephen's first apology surprised Gemma. Has something you were anticipating surprised you by being worse or better than expected? How did that affect your experience?

Ummm... yes. Unfortunately, it has caused me to be rather slow to develop close relationships with people.

5. Gemma was passionate about helping abused women. How did this theme affect her relationships?

It caused her to be wary of relationships and a bit distrustful of men.

6. Stephen was passionate about broadening his students' literary horizons to prepare them for the world outside their small mountain town. How did this begin changing the town? Which books have helped broaden your own views on life?

It challenged students to view the world differently and hopefully encouraged helpful conversations. Books that have helped ME in that?? Too numerous to count!

7. Forgiveness of past mistakes was a main theme in this story. What does forgiveness mean to you? Are you quick or slow to forgive? Why do you think that is?

Forgiveness means peace and acceptance and hope. I tend to be quick to forgive small matters, but find it difficult to forgive especially when others have been harmed. Big things tend to be intentional and cause me to question their underlying morals and beliefs.

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Sandy, I'm so glad the ILL came through in time for you!

Fantastic answers to the questions. I'm so sorry things happened to make close relationships hard for you. I completely get that. I grew up with dysfunctional people in my life, and it took years of working through things with God to finally find some good footing in relationships. (Thankfully, I have a supportive core family that's helped me through it all too.) I pray you keep making forward progress with developing those relationships! Totally rooting for you, friend!