Four Weddings and a Christmas by Phillipa Ashley

 

With her thriving business Cottage Angels, Freya Bolton prepares the Lake District’s holiday homes for Christmas visitors. It’s her job to think of everything, from cinnamon-scented candles to tasteful decorations and hampers of seasonal treats.

If only her love life were such a success… After being burned by past relationships, she’s now determined to steer clear of love for good.

So when she bumps into gorgeous – and single – ex-boyfriend Travis, a no-strings festive fling seems perfect.

But when her feelings for him begin to develop, is she on track for another romantic calamity? Or could this Christmas give her the gift of true love?

My second Christmas themed book of 2023 and an author I haven’t read in a while now, Four Weddings and A Christmas by Phillipa Ashley.

Freya has a successful business preparing holiday rentals but when she is preparing one of the properties, she gets an unexpected surprise when her ex Travis walks in. Travis has come back to his home town and is making the leap to launch his own business but could his return home stir up old feelings?

This is a storyline that had a lot to offer me because I love business start-ups, rekindled romances and community spirit flowing through the pages and that is what this book gave me and more with its sprinkling festivity. Both Freya and Travis were great characters who had their flaws which only made them more engaging characters and although the ending was a little predictable the constant obstacles along the way held my interest and made this a book that I sped through enjoying each and every moment.

For me a strong part of this storyline was the characters backgrounds and how their childhood has shaped them both as adults and had an effect on them throughout their lives.

I won’t be leaving so long to read another Phillipa Ashley book again because this really was a thoroughly enjoyable read.

Paperback            Kindle 

A Perfect Cornish Summer by Phillipa Ashley

Today it is my stop on the blog tour for A Perfect Cornish Summer by Phillipa Ashley, I was looking forward to reading my first Summer read of 2019 and now I am going to share my thoughts with you.

My Review

I cannot resist a novel set on the Cornish coast and having previously enjoyed novels by Phillipa Ashley I swiftly added A Perfect Cornish Summer to my TBR pile!

There are a lot of characters in this book with two storylines that weave perfectly together. Sam is one of our leading characters who is in charge of the Porthmellow Summer Festival with the help from local volunteers and the newbie in town Chloe. Chloe has parted from her husband but her relationship with her daughter is breaking her heart, she is ready to create a new life for herself in Porthmellow but wishes she could get through to her daughter. When the headline chef for the festival pulls out Chloe gets straight on the case and secures none other than well known chef Gabe but unbeknown to her Gabe and Sam have history together so will he be welcomed back with open arms?

Phillipa Ashley has certainly poured the charm of the Cornish coast into this novel creating an idyllic community focused setting and added to that the characters all have their Cornish ways and sayings especially the beloved Troy. There is a sweet sprinkling of romance running through the storyline as well as touching on a couple of more delicate family matters. Although most of the storyline was rather predictable the situation between Sam, Gabe and her brother Ryan did manage to hide some of the finer details.

This book is perfect if you are looking for a simple storyline to take on your holidays with you, I did enjoy this novel especially the setting and the likeable characters I just feel that there wasn’t a lot of depth to the storyline so as much as it entertained me I don’t feel it will be one that will stick in my mind a few weeks down the line. I actually found myself more invested in Chloe and her daughter and kept hoping for more to come from them but their storyline was the secondary in this novel so if the author was to do another book to follow their storyline I would definitely pick that one up.

A Perfect Cornish Summer is available now on Kindle and is due for release in paperback on 16th May

Paperback                 Kindle

Summer at the Cornish Cafe by Phillipa Ashley

Demi doesn’t expect her summer in Cornwall to hold anything out of the ordinary. As a waitress, working all hours to make ends meet, washing dishes and serving ice creams seems to be as exciting as the holiday season is about to get. That’s until she meets Cal Penwith. An outsider, like herself, Cal is persuaded to let Demi help him renovate his holiday resort, Kilhallon Park. Set above an idyllic Cornish cove, the once popular destination for tourists has now gone to rack and ruin.

During the course of the Cornish summer, Demi makes new friends – and foes – as she helps the dashing and often infuriating Cal in his quest. Working side by side, the pair grow close, but Cal has complications in his past which make Demi wonder if he could ever truly be interested in her. 

Demi realises that she has finally found a place she can call home. But as the summer draws to a close, and Demi’s own reputation as an up and coming café owner starts to spread, she is faced with a tough decision . . . 

Summer at the Cornish Café is the first book I have read by Phillipa  Ashley, the cover caught my eye on twitter and when I read the synopsis I couldn’t wait to read this book as I can’t get enough of Cornish books on the run up to my break to Cornwall.

Demi has not had an easy start in life but she does all she can to get by, when she is sacked from her job as well as the live in accommodation she needs to find something for her and her dog Mitch and quick.

Cal has returned home but everything has changed since he has been away. With his love life lost he decides to put all his time into reviving the Holiday Park and he takes a chance on Demi to work for him but although Demi has lots of ideas and is not afraid to get her hands dirty things don’t go as smoothly as they had hoped.

Demi was a determined and ambitious character who even though she has been down on her luck she hasn’t sat and felt sorry for herself she has continually pushed herself to keep putting her foot forward to find her next opportunity and this made her such a strong character who I admired. Her character grows with the storyline as we see her taking such care and pride in her work but also as she begins to fit in and make friends and a hint of romance blossoms too.

Cal took a chance on Demi which I admired but there was always a part of me on my guard around him as his emotions were very unpredictable. He has a past which he doesn’t want to share with people but this obviously has an effect on his personality but his heart is generally in the right place.

Although the romance that blossomed was a little predictable I still loved watching it unfold and because it wasn’t the main focus of the storyline I was still entertained by the journey that Demi and Cal were on trying to developing the Holiday Park.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I was so immersed in the storyline I didn’t put it down and ended up reading in on sitting! I really look forward to seeing what happens in the next book in the series because I really don’t want the characters journey to end there. This is a perfect Summery read with well-developed characters and a gorgeous, inviting setting which I can’t wait to revist.

Kindle