This was a cute heart warming book, which brought out the brightness of a mild summer of the Cornish coast. The town of Porthmellow had started the Summer Festival a few years ago to deal with financial problems with Sam at the helm, and this year was the 20th anniversary. The chef they had booked suddenly dropped out and it was Gabe to the rescue, who was Sam’s ex whom she had dumped years ago due to a betrayal.
My first book by author Phillipa Ashley, had me smiling as I turned pages the town and its characters were quirky and sweet. There was a nosiness about them but that came from an area of concern and caring. The main character’s Sam and Gabe had their own issues which had separated them years ago, and they had to work through their own emotions. But my eye was caught by Sam’s friend Chloe who had her own secrets.
There was something so dignified and beautiful about her, that I was automatically drawn to her. She was estranged from her daughter and granddaughter, but still her mother’s heart never stopped worrying about them. I loved the way she was portrayed, and I was so thrilled when she got her happy ending.
My niggles just peeped from time to time. Certain parts were a bit slow, I wanted Sam to hear Gabe out before being judgmental. There were many characters that they did my head in initially. But they were smoothed out.
Overall, fun eccentric characters with their own stories, a warm loving down, and abounding love caused me to fall in love with this book.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and publisher Avon Books UK, and this is my journey into its pages, straight from the heart!!
All my reviews can be found here
Phillipa Ashley writes warm, funny romantic fiction for a variety of world-famous international publishers. Phillipa lives in a Staffordshire village and has an engineer husband and scientist daughter who indulge her arty whims. She runs a holiday-let business in the Lake District, but a big part of her heart belongs to Cornwall. She visits the county several times a year for ‘research purposes’, an arduous task that involves sampling cream teas, swimming in wild Cornish coves and following actors around film shoots in a camper van.
Summer is on the horizon, and the people of Porthmellow are eagerly awaiting the annual food festival. At least, most of them are…
For Sam Lovell, organising the summer festival in her hometown is one of the highlights of her year. It’s not always smooth sailing, but she loves to see Porthmellow’s harbour packed with happy visitors, and being on the committee has provided a much-needed distraction from the drama in her family life (and the distinct lack of it in her love life).
When their star guest pulls out with only a few weeks to go, everyone’s delighted when a London chef who grew up locally steps in at the last minute. But Gabe Matthias is the last person Sam was expecting to see, and his return to Porthmellow will change her quiet coastal life for ever.
Publication Date: 25th April 2019
Publisher: Avon Books UK
42 Responses
great review 💕
Thank you so much Priyasha 💕
Great review, Shalini. Sounds like a wonderful read with a nice setting.
Exactly a fun read between thrillers
This sounds really sweet! I used to really dislike reading these types of books, but as I got older, I began to love the sweet nature and simplicity of them. I’m glad to see the characters are enjoyable as well — I’m a character oriented reader, so this is a big thing for me.
Wonderful review!
I read them between thrillers.. Most times my brain just cruises down the chapters ♥️😂
I’ve been loving either contemporary/realistic fiction or paranormal/supernatural literature. I still do enjoy Fantasy but I don’t tend to read them as much for some odd reason.
I want to get back to paranormal soon… I keep getting rejected on NG
Brutal. I haven’t applied for a book on NG in almost a year … I have so many other books on the go that I don’t want there to be more on my TBR pile lol! I think once I catch up, I will definitely try again.
Sounds like you had a fun reading experience, Shalini! Lovely review💜
A break between my thrillers 😂❤️
You read such fun books ❤
Hahaha I read what I get approved for 🤷♀️
Haha I understand that!
Sounds like a lovely, light Summer read, really enjoyed the review.
Thank you so much ❤️
Yay, glad to see your sweet review, I have this one somewhere on my cloud – I’ve been too greedy and am overwhelmed with unread books
Me too one day I have to delete most books on my cloud
Love the sound of this book, and I love your review!
Thank you so much. ❤️ It was good fun
This cover is so cute!
I agree I loved it too ❤️
Oooh, me likes the sound of this one! Great review, Shalini! 🙂 🙂
Me loves you, how about that
This definitely sounds like an adorable read! Fab review.
A good buffer to my thrillers
It’s always great to have a nice change of genre at hand!
Great review! I loved that cover.
Thank you Yesha… It was a cute read too
What a lovely sweet book and review! Love the cover too. I’m just going to re-read this one when you post the zombie one! 😜
Hahaha I need zombies… To get rid of the memories 😂
🙈😂
This sounds like a perfect read for the end of Spring and the start of summer. The book’s cover is enough to make me in love with it.
I loved cover, I picked up the book due to Cover and then author read the blurb last ♥️
“never judge a book by its cover” mostly don’t work for us readers. Haha 😄
For me, almost never. I read very few books with a bad cover
Haha 😀 me too!
Shalini, I love the variety in your book selections. And as per usual, enjoyed your review. 😊
Thank you so much ❤️
Some sweetness between mysteries and thrillers!
I want to read more such books too 😍