I love this warm-hearted series! Shame that there is no higher recognition of this cute, hopeful series about the un/ordinary people around the Starlight Diner in New York, all of whom are broken (as we all are) and all of whom are having this big heart with always a place for a stranger or two. What makes this read to stand up is the very real vulnerability. So believable and so refreshing! There might be fancier novels with shinier covers and star’s recommendations, but for me this series is one of the most heart-warming reads of the last years. I think that the authoress has poured her heart into it and it works for me, simple as that.

A very interesting tale that held my attention all the way through. Great plot, plenty of smiles & the writing kept me hopping! Thanks for the opportunity with this ARC!

Just like the previous book in this series it is easy to read and very nice and makes you travel back in time.
Highly recommended
Many thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, Avon

Meet Bonnie, just arrived in New York to find her friendand ex work colleague Esther. Bonnie has very little money, only a few belongings, is cold, hungry, alone and scared. When she arrives at the diner Bonnie is told that Esther is away with her boyfriend and due back the next day. This is the final straw for Bonnie’s emotions and she breaks down, luckily for her the is Jimmy, a cautious, wary big hearted customer of the diner and also Mona who helps keep an eye on her.

Now I like a good prologue, the one for this book is short, sweet and beautifully sums up what the essence of The Starlight Diner. I admit those few paragraphs did it for me, I was hooked. The story that follows is deliciously yummy. The main protagonist is Bonnie Brooks, a woman with issues, she is a disappointment to her family, who tell her so on a regular basis. With this attitude towards her, she doesn’t keep in touch with them, but it has an effect on how she sees herself in the world, a feeling of not fitting in, not conforming to the norm or knowing her own self, is it any wonder she has been a drifter. Good things happen at the diner with good people, Esther and Jack, then Angela, Mona, Bernie and then Jimmy as well as a few others, they provide an interesting cast for a book with a heart.

As the story unfolds the story of Bonnie we learn why she arrived in New York from Atlantic City, the why, who’s and where’s are all filled in. There is suspense, tensions, thrills and a plot that kept me intrigued and turning pages, it’s a story that has been well written and has humour as well as crime, mystery and a dash of romance.

This is a book I would recommend to readers of cosy crime, mystery, romance. I really enjoyed this book, it is the second in the series and reads really well as a stand alone.

Favorite Quotes:

Penny Lanes was a colourful place: every available wall was painted with bright blue, pink and white stripes and the place smelled, as almost all bowling alleys do, of stale beer and feet.

A more suspicious woman would think he was cheatin’. Course, he knows there’d be nothing left of him if he did that to me. His only mistress is his paperwork.’

He was wide around the waist and fairly short and stubby for a man with the amount of power I knew he had. But wasn’t that always the way? The smallest dogs always yapped the loudest, and were the breeds most eager to bite.

My Review:

I enjoyed the premise of this book and the author’s engaging storylines piqued my interest while her colorful characters continued to entertain and delight. The story continued from the end of the previous book with the same characters as well as some new arrivals with story threads of intrigue, mystery, romance, family drama, heart-squeezes, and levity. I always revel and take pleasure in a previously villainous character being redeemed and found a hero – go Jimmy Boyle. And although it was a small flaw in the total scheme of things, I struggled more than a bit with the inconsistency of an intelligent and educated lawyer turned journalist having rather atrocious grammar.

Great, enjoyable mystery with a bit of romance thrown in! Bonnie shows up at the Starlight Diner looking for her friend, Esther. Bonnie is running, and Esther is the only person she can trust. When she finds out that Esther isn’t there, she has to lean on Mona, the owner of the restaurant, and Jimmy the cocky news reporter she meets. When Nick, a security officer enters her life, she will have to determine who she can trust. Not everyone is who they appear to be!

Both the plot and the characters combined together made this such an addictive read. Cox does a fantastic job of building the mystery of what Bonnie is running from and who is after her. One of the most endearing aspects of the book are the characters. Each is complex, even the secondary characters. Each fills an important part of the story. I loved Jimmy from the very beginning even though he comes across as brash and arrogant. Bonnie appears tough, but she does have a very vulnerable side which is illustrated as the story continues. Each character plays a part in helping her re-build her life.

I didn’t read the first book in the series, but I didn’t feel like I had missed anything. Cox gives us details of earlier characters that filled in any blank parts from the first book. Some deeper issues are discussed such as what family means. Sometimes you find out that family is the people you choose to have in your life, not necessarily the one you were born into. I highly recommend reading if you are looking for a smart, witty book with unforgettable characters!

***Read and Reviewed by Devilishly Delicious Book Reviews***

A wonderfully involving, engrossing and compelling read, Secrets and Fries at the Starlight Diner is an absolute joy to read with its beguiling blend of humour, mystery, drama and romance.

Being in the spotlight is something Bonnie Brooks is used to. Having fronted a band for years, Bonnie has no qualms about being centre stage and having everyone’s eyes on her, but when a shocking twist of fate forces her to hide in the shadows, Bonnie realises that there is only one person who can help her out of the tight spot she has found herself in and help her get her life back on track: her friend Esther Knight, a waitress at the fifties-themed Starlight Diner. Bonnie needs some time to rest and recuperate, but on her arrival, her friend Esther seems to have vanished off the face of the earth and she is all alone in New York City with nobody to turn to for help. What is Bonnie going to do? Luckily for her help is at hand…

When Bonnie had been planning her escape to the Starlight Diner, she had never imagined that she would end up breaking down in tears, but that is just what she finds herself doing. Arrogant news reporter and diner regular Jimmy Boyle offers his help and assistance. But should Bonnie think twice before accepting his offer? Can Jimmy be trusted? Is he a good guy? Or does he have an ulterior motive for wanting to help her out?

Just when things had been looking bleak, Lady Luck smiles down upon Bonnie when the owner of the diner offers her a job and she meets charming and gorgeous security officer Nick Moloney. With a new job, a new set of friends and a potential romance on the cards – not to mention all the shakes and fries she could possibly eat – could Bonnie’s life have turned a corner?

What happened to Esther? Has Bonnie found what she had been looking for? And is happiness possible? Or will Bonnie continue to lead a life of disappointment and regret?

A fantastic read that will make you laugh and cry, Secrets and Lies at the Starlight Diner is a brilliant tale that is fun, intriguing, uplifting, hard to put down and a blast to read from start to finish. Helen Cox certainly knows how to pen an engaging and enjoyable tale and readers who enjoy smart, feel-good and compelling novels are going to love Secrets and Lies at the Starlight Diner and will wait with baited breath for a return to one of the most charming eateries in contemporary women’s fiction!

I loved this book almost as much as the first one. This one follows our main character Esther and the group at the Starlight Diner. I liked that this one had a little bit more mystery and elusion to it. I love Helen Cox and her style of writing that keeps you on the edge of your seat and begging for more!

It's Christmas, but Bonnie Brooks was running away. Not from her past, but from a possible future in jail. She ended up at Starlight Diner, hoping to catch her former co-worker and friend, Esther, only to learn that she was outside the country while she was all alone and scared.

Back at Starlight Diner, Jimmy Boyle wasn't exactly welcomed as he used to be. A highly conceited reporter, he had made more enemies than friends with his intimidating and menacing skills of interrogation. Thus, everyone's eyebrows were raised when he helped Bonnie out in the cold and into his home.

Until the police came and Bonnie was accused of murder.

Set in 1991, this book gave me all the throwback feels. I love how the story brings back the 50s and 60s vibes, the songs were groovy and definitely music to the ears. (I'm an 80s baby but my mom loved and played the 60s so yeah, I can relate with the songs!)

Secrets and Fries at Starlight Diner is the second book in the series, but can be read as standalone. I loved that I didn't feel left out of the loop because there was an all-inclusive details of everything that happened in the first book. I'm glad to have met the old characters, Esther and Jack and the rest of the Starlight Diner staff, but the one character that really strike me was Jimmy Boyle. I admit he didn't make a very good first impression based on the first book, but he eventually grew on me and proved that not everything was based on face value. I loved how he had shown (a bit of) remorse and became a better version of his past. Seeing him in action in the courthouse was definitely the highlights of my day.

Bonnie was a great character as well, a bit reckless at first but in the end, she melted everyone's hearts. Including mine. I don't know what else to say about her, but like Jimmy, I liked her blue hair a lot!

Do yourself a favor, everyone, and pick this one up. It's the perfect book to spend curled into a chair or snuggled into bed, with a nice warm cup of chocolate or coffee by your bedside. And yes, listening to Sugar, Sugar by The Archies would definitely set you in the reading mood. All the songs in the Startlight Diner would definitely make you swoon!

I read the first book by this author that is set in this world. I really enjoyed it! And this follow up is an enjoyable read, too. I would certainly recommend it to anyone who likes a little mystery mixed in with their romance with a fun ensemble of characters balancing out the story.

Despite not having read the first book in the Starlight Diner series by Helen Cox, Secrets and Fries at the Starlight Diner was a book that I couldn’t wait to get started with. Going into the book with absolutely no idea what to expect, I was left feeling mightily impressed by just how engaging and absorbing it turned out to be. With twists and turns galore from beginning to end this was a truly surprising novel and my biggest regret is not having read the first instalment prior to it - I feel certain that I must have missed something very special.

Within Secrets and Fries at the Starlight Diner we meet Bonnie Brooks who is on the run from Atlantic City where she witnessed a murder take place, knowing that she is the murderer’s next target. With very few people to turn to as a person who is estranged from her family, Bonnie soon finds herself at the Starlight Diner in New York where her dear friend Esther Knight works. However, upon arriving at the diner, Bonnie discovers that Esther is out of town for the night and finds herself faced with the prospect of spending the night on the streets in the middle of winter. That is until diner regular Jimmy Boyle makes her an offer she can’t refuse, a man whose help Bonnie finds herself in desperate need of as the story progresses.

Having done so myself, one thing that can definitely be said is that it is possible to read Secrets and Fries at the Starlight Diner as a standalone novel. I did so with much ease, never feeling like I had missed out on any vital information about anything that had happened historically in the lives of the characters. All of these characters were absolutely wonderful and I really enjoyed getting to know each and every one of them, particularly those who worked in the Starlight Diner who all seemed like one big, happy and very supportive family.

Throughout the entirety of the book, I was thoroughly impressed by Helen’s way of writing and the talent she has for telling an incredible story. As she wastes no time in throwing the reader straight into the midst of the action, I found that there was always plenty to think about and lots to keep me on my toes. As we saw Bonnie try to escape her past, I loved the sense of tension that was present throughout the book and the way that you could never quite predict what would happen next.

Whilst this may have been the first of Helen’s books that I’ve ever read, I can certainly say that it won’t be the last. With so much to love about it, there really is something for everyone within Secrets and Fries at the Starlight Diner. I’m really looking forward to being reunited with Helen’s writing in the near future and reading what she writes next.

This is quite a charming little book.

To start with, I should mention that I have not read the first book in the series, but I did not feel lost coming into this one. Although, I do have to really wonder that if Jimmy did all of those horrible things, he should be irredeemable...

I liked the characters and thought most were pretty different and quirky, and therefore recognizable. Some like Mona and Andrea... sometimes Lucia I would forget about and then have to remember how they fit in.

I thought the twists and turns were fun, even if I saw some of them coming... unfortunately. I really liked that even though Bonnie and the main love interest don't really have inst-love and while where is lust they still kinda (quickly) work up to love. I did like the relationship. I also want to know more about Ester and Jack, so the first book in the series is definitely on my TBR list.

I'm trying to remember what I didn't like about this book... I know I was bored at times and would skip the description to the next talking bit.... occasionally things didn't really make sense to me either, like the sister being called Bridget (might have been fixed before publishing), Bonnie having money to buy burgers after only a few shifts (most places pay bi-weekly), and such a quick court date.
At the same time there some pretty awesome scenes--which I won't spoil ^_^

This is an easy, quick book to read and I recommend it to anyone who like cozy mysteries, quirky characters, and fun short reads.

This is the second book in Helen Cox's 'Starlight Diner' series, and one I have been keen to read for a while after loving the first book! This one picks up where the previous book left off, introducing us to a new character to headline this story, but does keep the familiar faces from the first book too. However, this would work well as a stand alone novel too as the main storylines are completely different, so while I'd recommend you'd read Milkshakes and Heartbreaks at the Starlight Diner first, this can be enjoyed without doing so.

Bonnie is on the run, and not exactly happy about it. She has run away from Atlantic City, and has no-one to talk to except her old friend Esther, someone she hasn't spoken to for a while. Of course Esther can't turn her friend anyway, and ends up offering to help Bonnie. Bonnie ends up working at the Diner, meeting all of Esther's friends and family, and also local journalist Jimmy, who isn't exactly Esther's favourite person. So when Bonnie gets some really bad news, she has to use her new friends around her to help her before her life is changed forever...

I don't want to give too much about this book away because for me a lot of the fun was reading it, and finding out what happened as I was reading it. Needless to say, it was quite an exciting book, and the story within isn't exactly what the cover advertises the book as! I expected something a bit light and fluffy, romantic perhaps, but that definitely isn't the main crux of this book at all. Bonnie and her "adventures" were certainly eye-opening, and I enjoyed reading what happened to her as the book progressed. It was also nice catching up with all the characters I had read about in Helen's first book too.

The setting, as usual, is perfect. The Starlight Diner sounds so brilliant, I wish I could go there myself because it sounds like a little corner of Heaven over in New York. The book has some good twists and turns along the way, it certainly kept me turning the pages late into the night, and I was desperate to get to the end and find out what was going to happen, there was certainly a good amount of tension in those last few scenes! Bonnie herself was a very likeable character, caught up in a horrible situation, and because I cared about her, I wanted everything to work out, but you just never know!

I'm not sure if there is a third book to come in the 'Starlight Diner' but I really hope so because the two I have had the pleasure of reading so far have been really enjoyable, and totally unexpected reads for me! I think Helen Cox has a real talent for a gritty story, one that draws you in, with a cast of loveable characters and a great setting to boot. Her writing is brilliant, capturing the emotions, the scene, the tension so well, so much so that I found it hard to put the book down once I had begun reading it again. Definitely recommended, I loved it!

This is the second novel in the Starlight Diner series, but there’s no need to have read the first novel. We meet Bonnie with a few dollars in her pocket and on the run towards her old friend Esther whom she hopes is at work when she arrives. So when Bonnie walks into the 50’s themed diner to find Esther absent, she is faced with a night on a bench in New York city, alone. Luckily a guy at the counter called Jimmy who seems to know Esther takes pity on her and offers her a couch to crash on for the night – is he trustworthy?
Bonnie is a colourful character and I don’t just mean her blue hair. She has all the attributes of a young woman; fickle, flighty, indecisive, and leaving behind a trail of chaos in her wake. She’s up, then down, churlish, then flirty. She’s falls in love way too easily, but has an innocence in her that is refreshing.
This is fast paced book with a few twists and turns. The Diner brings us an eclectic collection of characters that are delightful to get to know, and gives the story a three dimension quality. Is there magic there? Or love? Read and find out.

It started a little slow, but ended up being a very enjoyable read. I was a little confused, though, because at first I thought it was about the world-famous Moonlight Diner in NYC. The first couple of paragraphs, I kept expecting someone to burst into song.

I am not that bright. :)

Likeable characters, was nice to read about familiar character and new ones as well. Well written, great plotline.

I did not read the first book in this series. I did not feel I needed to, the characters were very well developed and the story was wonderful. Great book!

This is a fun series- mostly because of the "ensemble cast" of characters who are regulars at the diner. You don't need to have read the first one in order to appreciate this entertaining quick read. I was happy to meet Bonnie- who I was rooting for (despite some iffy choices) and Esther. It's well written and charming. THanks to netgalley for the ARC. This was perfect on a rainy day.

From reading the epilogue in Milkshakes & Heartbreaks at the Starlight Diner I was already intrigued about this mysterious woman Bonnie who turned up at the diner and what was her story, and boy what a story she had to tell.

Bonnie is like a rabbit in the headlights when she first arrives in New York looking for Esther who she's hoping will offer her a place to stay, and like Esther in the previous book it's obvious that she's running from something. But it would appear that she's out of luck as Esther is currently overseas so Bonnie will have to fend for herself for a few days that is until she's soon offered a place of refuge from an unexpected source.

Although she was scared I also liked the strong independent side of Bonnie who wasn't going to run back to her family and do what they wanted her to. I liked that she knew what she wanted to do with her life, she just needed to deal with the situation she currently finds herself in first, which sees her going back to Atlantic City to deal with what happened there...

It was great re-visiting the Starlight Diner and meeting up with the crew again, it really was like catching up with old friends and getting to know them better and even see a different side to a few characters. Esther really came into her own and, despite only being a few years older than Bonnie, really looked out for Bonnie and offered her comfort and protection when she needed it the most.

This is not your typical girl meets boy romance story as like the first book in the series, there's a darker, sinister storyline at play which puts several characters in danger. But once again I liked how the gang at the diner rallied round someone who they've taken into their circle and offered her friendship, love and support.

Despite Secrets & Fries at the Starlight Diner being book 2 in a series, it is not technically a sequel so can be read completely on its own merit as the central storyline is a new one revolving around Bonnie who we didn't meet until the epilogue in Milkshakes & Heartbreaks at the Starlight Diner. But to get a better appreciation of the characters and the diner setting, I would totally recommend reading both books one after the one and I'm sure you'll, like me, will want to pay New York a visit and find a retros diner yourself.

I'm not sure whether Helen Cox has any plans for future visits to the Starlight Diner but I would hate to think that this is the last that we see of them, I'd definitely love a catch up with them all again one day.