Saturday 29 November 2014

Books Read: Vanessa Greene - The Seafront Tea Rooms

The Seafront Tea Rooms is a peaceful hideaway, away from the bustle of the seaside, and in this quiet place a group of women find exactly what they've been searching for.

Charismatic journalist Charlotte is on a mission to scope out Britain's best tea rooms. She knows she's found something special in the Seafront Tea Rooms but is it a secret she should share? Kathryn, a single mother whose only sanctuary is the 'Seafront', convinces Charlie to keep the place out of her article by agreeing to join her on her search. Together with another regular, Seraphine, a culture-shocked French au pair with a passion for pastry-making, they travel around the country discovering quaint hideaways and hidden gems. But what none of them expect is for their journey to surprise them with discoveries of a different kind...

Amazon links: Kindle or Paperback

This weekend I am trying to catch up on writing of reviews for books that I've read over the last 6 weeks that due to illness and other commitments I haven't had a chance to write up yet.  One of the reviews that is well overdue is that for Vanessa Greene's The Seafront Tea Rooms which is a delightful tale revolving around friendships, tea and cake...

The three central characters, Charlie, Kat and Seraphine, paths cross when Charlie and Seraphine arrive in Scarborough for different reasons... Charlie to do research for an article she is working on and Seraphine to work as an au pair to improve her English and they both soon strike up a friendship with single mum Kat.

As Charlie recruits Kat and Seraphine to help with her mission together they get to sample tea and cake during their travels but it also gives them the chance to learn more about each other but at the same time learn more about themselves and what they want from their lives.

Normally when I read a story with more than one central character, I generally find that I favour one more so than any of the others but I truly didn't feel that at all in The Seafront Tea Rooms as I liked all three women for their diversities and the strong bonds that they formed with each other and that they were there for each other in their times of need.

Although there was the anticipated romance within the storyline, I'm pleased to say that it's family and friendships that are the overriding themes over the romance in this book.  Another fabulous story from Vanessa that I loved and was sad to finish reading as it now means I've a long time to wait for something new to read from her.

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