Two sisters. One small town. So many dreams.

Nora owns and runs the Miss Guthrie Diner in Guthrie, Vermont. More often than not, she is cautious and reserved, choosing to follow the path of what she should do instead of the path of her true desires. Her younger sister, Kit, is a free spirit–easily following the dream of the moment. Kit lives and loves freely and with her whole heart.

When the story begins, the town’s beloved “cake lady,” Peggy, has died and inexplicably left her property to Nora and Kit . . . along with a host of complications. There are back taxes and cake orders, a corporation wanting to buy the property and move into town, and a lost dog to track down. And then there’s Kit, chasing another dream and asking Nora to finance it.

There’s a touch of romance in the story, but The Late Bloomers’ Club feels more like a love letter to family (however you define family) and the magic of community. I wanted to sit and read the story all in one sitting, but I also wanted to make the story last and stay in Guthrie for as long as possible.

My thanks to Pamela Dorman Books for the gift of a copy of this book–it was one I had been eagerly awaiting. I was certainly not disappointed!

About the Book
A delightful novel about two headstrong sisters, a small-town’s efforts to do right by their community, and the power of a lost dog to conjure up true love.

Nora, the owner of the Miss Guthrie diner, is perfectly happy serving up apple cider donuts, coffee, and eggs-any-way-you-like-em to her regulars, and she takes great pleasure in knowing exactly what’s “the usual.” But her life is soon shaken when she discovers she and her younger, free-spirited sister Kit stand to inherit the home and land of the town’s beloved cake lady, Peggy Johnson.

Kit, an aspiring–and broke–filmmaker needs to generate funding for her latest project, and is particularly keen when they find out Peggy was in the process of selling the land to a big-box developer before her death. The people of Guthrie are divided–some want the opportunities the development will bring, while others are staunchly against any change–and they aren’t afraid to leave their opinions with their tips.

Time is running out, and the sisters need to make a decision soon. But Nora isn’t quite ready to let go of the land, complete with a charming farmhouse, an ancient apple orchard and clues to a secret life that no one knew Peggy had.

Troubled by the conflicting needs of the town, and confused by her growing feelings towards Elliot, the big-box developer, Nora throws herself into solving the one problem that everyone in town can agree on–finding Peggy’s missing dog, Freckles.

When a disaster strikes the diner, the community of Guthrie bands together to help her, and Nora discovers that doing the right thing doesn’t always mean giving up your dreams.

About the Author
Louise Miller, a pastry chef and writer living in Boston, MA, is the author of THE CITY BAKER’S GUIDE TO COUNTRY LIVING and THE LATE BLOOMERS’ CLUB. Louise is an art school dropout, an amateur flower gardener, an old-time banjo player, an obsessive moviegoer, and a champion of old dogs.