The Little Cornish Kitchen by Jane Linfoot
Published: 31st May 2018 (paperback)
Publisher: HarperImpulse
416 pages
Book Description:
With an exciting new life in Paris, Clemmie Hamilton isn't looking forward to heading home to the picturesque but sleepy village of St Aidan, Cornwall. However, when she discovers that the cosy apartment by the sea, which her grandmother left to her, is under threat from neighbour and property developer, Charlie Hobson, Clemmie realises she can't abandon her home in its time of need.
With her childhood friends encouraging her, Clemmie decides to turn the apartment into 'The Little Cornish Kitchen' – a boutique pop up pudding club raising money for the repairs to the building in an effort to stop Charlie once and for all. But when Charlie and his easy charm won't seem to go away, everything soon becomes even messier than the state of Clemmie's Cornish kitchen…
My Review:
If ever I wanted to swap places with a character it would be with Clemmie Hamilton. She lives an independent life, with basic essentials in her backpack and moving on to the next opportunity to earn a bit of money wherever it may take her. At the beginning of this tale she is live-in support for a lady in Paris who has her quirks but is essentially quite easy to work for. Clemmie loves her Parisian life of few responsibilities, spending her days in coffee shops and boutiques in the shadow of the Eiffel tower. She gets a call home to Cornwall where she finds out her grandmother has left her an apartment overlooking the sea in a small town she has been avoiding for years. Her reaction seems at first to be total ingratitude; she doesn't want to move back to St Aidan and give up her independent life in Paris. Then as the story unfolds we find out that it's more a case of her unwillingness to face up to her family history and the painful home truths she needs to come to terms with which are stopping her from coming back.
Clemmie has the most amazing group of friends who each have fun nicknames for each other which have stuck since their childhoods. Between them they persuade Clemmie that things aren't impossible and perhaps she should give St Aidan another chance. Circumstances mean that Clemmie has little choice in the matter in the short term and sets about keeping her finances afloat at least for the time being. Always keeping her options open for a return to Europe, Clemmie doesn't look to the future much but the more time she spends in the apartment and the company of her next door neighbour and his menagerie the more attached she becomes to her surroundings as memories start to creep in of spending time there with her grandmother many years ago.
I really enjoyed the array of characters in this book; Clemmie's friends are fabulous and her neighbours in the town all seem to have a few personal issues under the surface which they have managed to keep under wraps despite living in such a tight knit community. There's a fantastic singles community in the town who are all out for some fun - luckily for Clemmie and her friends. Some scenarios seemed maybe a little far-fetched but hey, it's a light hearted novel not real life so I could allow some "poetic licence" in order for the story to work.
There's a serious storyline going on behind all the light heartedness and cookery classes which I felt panned out nicely - I did feel a happy ending was necessary for Clemmie and the author managed to achieve this without this part of the tale overpowering the whole proceedings. Overall it's a satisfying tale, great as a holiday read at this time of year. And there's lots of cake and recipes going on which is always a bonus. I would definitely recommend this to pop in your suitcase to read by the pool.
Clemmie has the most amazing group of friends who each have fun nicknames for each other which have stuck since their childhoods. Between them they persuade Clemmie that things aren't impossible and perhaps she should give St Aidan another chance. Circumstances mean that Clemmie has little choice in the matter in the short term and sets about keeping her finances afloat at least for the time being. Always keeping her options open for a return to Europe, Clemmie doesn't look to the future much but the more time she spends in the apartment and the company of her next door neighbour and his menagerie the more attached she becomes to her surroundings as memories start to creep in of spending time there with her grandmother many years ago.
I really enjoyed the array of characters in this book; Clemmie's friends are fabulous and her neighbours in the town all seem to have a few personal issues under the surface which they have managed to keep under wraps despite living in such a tight knit community. There's a fantastic singles community in the town who are all out for some fun - luckily for Clemmie and her friends. Some scenarios seemed maybe a little far-fetched but hey, it's a light hearted novel not real life so I could allow some "poetic licence" in order for the story to work.
There's a serious storyline going on behind all the light heartedness and cookery classes which I felt panned out nicely - I did feel a happy ending was necessary for Clemmie and the author managed to achieve this without this part of the tale overpowering the whole proceedings. Overall it's a satisfying tale, great as a holiday read at this time of year. And there's lots of cake and recipes going on which is always a bonus. I would definitely recommend this to pop in your suitcase to read by the pool.
About the Author:
Jane Linfoot writes fun, flirty fiction with feisty heroines and a bit of an edge. She lives in a mountain kingdom in Derbyshire, where her family and pets are kind enough to ignore the domestic chaos. Happily, they’re in walking distance of a supermarket. Jane loves hearts, flowers, happy endings, all things vintage, and most things French. When not on Facebook and without an excuse for shopping, she can be found walking or gardening.
Thank you so much for taking part in the blog tour Sandie. Big hugs for reading the book, and taking the time to write such a wonderful review. I love how you give such a fab insight into the story and I'm so thrilled you enjoyed the book. Thanks again, love Jane xx
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome Jane. I do hope there's more to come for Clemmie and Co in the future?
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