Tea for Two at the Little Cornish Kitchen - Jane Linfoot

 

St Aidan: a cosy Cornish village where friendships are made for life and it’s always cocktail hour somewhere…

The Little Cornish Kitchen is going on tour!
When internet sensation ‘Cressida Cupcake’ has a soggy bottomed TV fiasco and faces bake-off backlash she jumps at the chance to spend some time hiding out in St Aidan, dog sitting for her brother.

Picturesque Seaspray Cottage is meant to be Cressy Hobson’s port in the storm but with her blog sponsors having fled and her book deal gone sideways her funds are running low and she’s forced to turn to the locals for help. Soon her quiet weeks in Cornwall are filled with chasing sheep, saving the local retirement village, taking The Little Cornish Kitchen into people’s homes for baking nights…and keeping vigilant guard against romance.

The one and only time Cressy lost her head to love was over a decade ago while in St Aidan, and she won’t be making the same mistake again – a feat easier said than done when Ross Bradbury looks even better a decade on…and every step she takes seems to put him in her path!

 

My Review:

A Jane Linfoot book is something to be cherished and savoured; it’s like familiar warm hug in book form. It’s great to be back in St Aiden, but the Cornish village is a wonderful location for Jane’s books. Don’t worry if you have never read anything by Jane before, this works as a standalone. I would highly recommend reading everything else by Jane Linfoot, you will adore them all.

Tea For Two at the Little Cornish Kitchen drew me in from page one and I didn’t want to put it down, well unless it was to grab something sweet and tasty! It is a fun, cosy, romance that is jam packed full of delicious, mouthwatering descriptions of treats, cakes and bakes.

As always, we have a wonderful array of characters, some that you will take to heart immediately, some you hope will change for the better in more ways than one and some that make you laugh. Here we have Cressida Cupcake, and she encompasses all those things.

Whilst pet sitting, Cressy has change to assess the damage from her recent ‘mistakes’ and find herself a way to rise again. She isn’t herself and she is desperate to get back to the Cressida Cupcake everyone knew.

Discovering an unexpected yet familiar face is around, and is going to be a lot closer than she would ever like them to be, stirs up memories she would rather keep hidden and reopens scars she tried to believe were healed. Can old loves get over years of pain and learn to get along? Can past sorrows ever be eased?

I loved the idea of The Little Cornish Kitchen on tour, and seeing how Cressida Cupcake would deal with various situations. I wish it was real, each event sounded like an absolute riot (even when it wasn’t meant too!) Such a great community feel in these books, Cressida really does get stuck in and she’s not shy about working hard.

I loved getting to know the characters, loved being back in a familiar setting and loved all the different elements to the story. It’s warm, full of heart and sentiment and Jane’s writing makes you feel like you are right there in the heart of the community she has created. They feel like friends and that’s why I always look forward to the next Jane Linfoot book, no matter how long that may be.

Thank you to One More Chapter and Netgalley and for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Purchase Links

UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tea-Little-Cornish-Kitchen-Book-ebook/dp/B09MH5L4SP/

US - https://www.amazon.com/Tea-Little-Cornish-Kitchen-Book-ebook/dp/B09MH5L4SP/

Author Bio:

Jane Linfoot is a best selling author, who lives in a cottage, up the steepest hill in Derbyshire, with her family, their pets, and an astonishing number of spiders. Although she loves seeing cow noses over the garden wall, she’s happy she can walk to a supermarket. Jane grew up in North Yorkshire where she spent a lot of her childhood avoiding horizontal gales blowing off the sea, and wrote her first book by accident, while working as an architect, and renovating country houses. While she loves to write feel good books that let readers escape, she’s always surprised to hear her stories make people laugh, admits to (occasionally) crying as she writes, and credits her characters for creating their own story lines. Jane’s garden would be less brambly if she wasn’t on Facebook and Twitter so often. On days when she wants to be really scared, she rides a tandem. She has lots of Pinterest boards relating to her novels.

Social Media Links:

https://twitter.com/janelinfoot

facebook.com/janelinfoot20

https://www.instagram.com/janelinfoot/

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/janelinfoot

Love Lessons in Starcross Valley - Lucy Knott

 

Love Lessons in Starcross Valley

With the recent breakdown of both her ten-year relationship and her parents' marriage, thirty-five-year-old Marnie Barnes no longer believes in love. To give her life the shake-up it so clearly needs, she books a ticket to Canada.

Thousands of miles away from her home and her twin sister, she struggles to have the life-changing experience she dreamt of – until she meets Nova, a dinosaur-loving space nerd with a penchant for living in the moment. After a wonderful day together in Vancouver, they part ways. Though gutted, Marnie thinks it's proof that she's not meant to find love and tries to move on with her life.

But a few months later, back in England, she bumps into someone achingly familiar. As Marnie navigates her new feelings, takes chances and makes the first move for the first time in her life, can she regain her faith in love – and find it for herself?

My Review:

Love Lessons in Starcross Valley is a romantic tale of following your heart, embracing your passions, gaining insight and a little perspective, and overcoming negatives. It’s a great story full of warmth, love, acceptance, and it really shows how family and friendship can survive both disaster and distance.

Marnie needs to take stock following the break down of her relationship and her parents marriage. Escaping to Canada, on a trip of a lifetime, she meets Nova. Spending a wonderful day together, Nova leaves a lasting impression on Marnie, one she carries with her as she returns home.

I was hooked from the start, the instant connection between Marnie and Nova was exciting and I loved hearing about Canada, a place I have always wanted to visit myself. Nova is such a great character; she seems so cool and unapologetic for being herself. Her support is instrumental for Marnie and those around her.

Lucy always writes great characters and Marnie, her twin sister Jovi and best friend Antoni are such likable, friendly ones. As a reader, you get the importance of their relationships and how close they are. You genuinely understand their love for one another, even when they are unhappy with Marnie; Jovi and Antoni’s love for her is clear.

It was very endearing to read how the relationship between Marnie and student Paislee develops, especially as Marnie becomes such a strong advocate for her in the classroom. Inspiring and shows Marnie at her best.

This is not your typical romance story, its much more.

A great read by a very lovely author, I am always a fan of her books and will look forward to the next. 

Purchase Links

UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Love-Lessons-Starcross-Valley-Knott-ebook/dp/B09FVDSJQ7

US - https://www.amazon.com/Love-Lessons-Starcross-Valley-Knott-ebook/dp/B09FVDSJQ7

Author Bio:
Lucy Knott lives in Manchester England, just around the corner from her childhood home and less than five minutes from her twin sister Kelly and brother in law Chris. She loves spending time with her family in addition to writing, reading and cooking Italian food. When not buried in a book, scribbling in a notebook or having dance parties for one to Harry Styles, she works as a teaching assistant where the majority of her days are spent talking about dinosaurs and making Godzilla out of just about everything, from Blu Tac to cardboard boxes, and she loves every minute.

If she could up and move to the stunning Amalfi Coast, San Francisco or live in a cabin surrounded by fairy lights, she would, but for now she's quite content writing about those magical places. Lucy loves to write uplifting stories that she hopes will put a smile on your face, fill your heart with joy, encourage you to embrace the awesomeness that you are and believe that any dream is possible.

Social Media Links – Instagram: www.instagram.com/theblossomtwins

Twitter: www.twitter.com/theblossomtwins

Giveaway to win an e-copy of Love Lessons in Starcross Valley, a bookmark, sticker of Marnie and Nova, a dinosaur bracelet and a pair of dinosaur earrings! (Open INT)

 

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