Dreaming of the perfect man?
Kate Golightly needs to move forward and what better way to do that then with a trip to the Cornish coast with best friend and boss, Izzy.
The sea wind is just what Kate needs to finally relax and begin to let go of her past. Except she’s suddenly got one big reason to panic! She RSVP’d ‘yes’ to the Queen Bee of her high school’s wedding saying she’s bringing her boyfriend (she doesn’t have one) who looks just like Ross Poldark!
With only two weeks to find the Poldark look-alike of her dreams Kate is under a lot of pressure for the Cornish coast to deliver…
Cornwall seems to be the location of choice this year for a lot of chick lit books and alongside this seems to run the theme of a new start and trying to make a go of a business or rejuvenate it. This new book from Samantha Tonge Breakfast under a Cornish Sun has similar themes with the added bonus of our main female protagonist Kate Golightly searching for a date that she can bring to the wedding of a friend who she hasn't seen for years. I'll say straight away I did think I have read more or less the exact same storyline only a few months ago of a woman searching for a date for a wedding to cover the fact that she hasn't a boyfriend just so she can show friends from the past that she has made something of her life. Basically a big cover up for the fact that she is single. Not that there is anything wrong with being single so I question why the women needed to do this? Anyway I felt with this book it was going to be too similar to the book I am referring to and I would be bored reading it as said book hadn't really done that much for me. Thankfully Breakfast under a Cornish Sun proved to be vastly different and my doubts disappeared the further I read in to the book.
I'll admit it took awhile for me to get into this book as I thought it really didn't get going and pick up pace until finally Kate and best friend and co worker Izzy reach Cornwall and become involved in the lives of the owners of the White Rocks Resort. I set aside the book for a couple of days and then came back to it and finished it in a few hours. Poldark apparently is a strong influence in the book and I know it has a cult following but I've never seen an episode as it's just not my kind of thing so I presume the main male character Tremain is a reference to Poldark but only fans of the series will get this. Still not knowing anything about Poldark didn't detract from my enjoyment of this story.
Kate Golightly is a waitress at a café by day and cocktail bar by night called Doughnuts and Daiquiris run by her best friend Izzy. Kate loves vintage clothes, retro music and enjoys singing at gigs at pubs or parties if she can get the work. But Kate is not as happy as she once was as she is still missing Johnny and when the reason for this becomes evident the reader understands the position Kate has found her self in, one in which it is difficult to break free from. Out of the blue a friend request arrives on Facebook from Saffron and Kate's inquisitive nature means she accepts but this only leads to some bother as Saffron is getting married and wants Kate to attend the wedding. The only problem being Kate lies and says she is very happy with her boyfriend whom Saffron will get to meet at the wedding. I did think it was strange that someone whom you hadn't seen or heard from in years since school would just randomly contact you out of the blue. We learn from Kate the pair had been best friends and then it all went a bit sour. If it had been me I would have just clicked the ignore button but I suppose Kate had something she wanted to prove. This aspect of the story really took a back seat until the very end and I was thankful it did because we got a much better story for it allthough it was tied up suitably at the end and I didn't find the reasons given far fetched but realistic. So as you can imagine Kate is down in the dumps and can't see how she can magic a hunky man out of thin air. Dating sites won't prove that successful so what better way than to escape from it all and to relax and begin to break away from the past than a holiday with Izzy to the fabulous White Rocks Resort in Cornwall? Surely the fresh sea air and the chilled atmosphere on the site will give Kate the chance she needs to reassess her life's direction and all the better if a good looking man makes an appearance that will solve the quandary of needing a date asap?
The book really got going once the girls arrive at what they think will be a fabulous resort. It turns out the place is in need of renovation and rejuvenation otherwise the family run business will be closed. Even with the resort not being up to scratch the author certainly did a god job of making me want to visit there, she showed its potential and highlighted the beautiful Cornish setting. Not to mention all the fabulous food described throughout it was truly mouthwatering from scrumptious full English breakfasts to the doughnuts Izzy makes which are not just your normal jam in the middle. They come in all flavours, both sweet and savoury, and just made me very hungry throughout the time I was reading this book. I'm glad the 'finding a date for the wedding' wasn't centre stage throughout the book, it's been done before and I wanted something different. Yes there was a funny scene involving Kate down at the harbour but as the girls being so kind and decent decided to help Kensa Maddock and son Tremain bring White Rocks back to life Kate's own personal problems didn't disappear but were rather over taken by other events. I loved how Kate and Izzy more or less forgot they were on holiday and put their plans into action and more characters were allowed to come to the fore. Their ideas were clever and workable and I hoped they could make a success of everything.
It wouldn't have been much of a book if everything had gone smoothly and I loved how the slight mystery element came into play. There were plenty of surprising mishaps and events which proved entertaining in a way and kept everyone on their toes. None of what happened seemed over the top as someone plots to stop the venture becoming a success. In fact some of what occurred read like a bad holiday you would see on a TV programme and I just wanted to pick the person up who was doing this and give them a good shake and find out their reasons why. Not that anything was given away but I had my suspicions. So what about romance surely a book in this genre has to have some and yes it's here but not in your face its subtle and grows. The person in question is hurt and afraid to open up to love and when the reasons become clear you just want to give them a great big hug and say it's OK just let it all out and everything will be OK.
Breakfast Under a Cornish Sun was a lovely, light read ideal for the summer. I did prefer Game of Scones and My Big Fat Christmas Wedding just that little bit more but that's not to say this book wasn't good it's just my personal preference. The author did a great job of creating a character in Kate of someone who was brought back to life through her generous nature of helping others and in doing this she healed a part of herself and hopefully found some happiness of her own.I'd like to know what happened to the characters next, maybe a Christmas novella set in Cornwall would be a good idea? Amidst all the books published this summer Breakfast under a Cornish Sun is an enjoyable read that you shouldn't miss out on.
Many thanks to Carina UK for my copy of Breakfast Under a Cornish Sun to review via NetGalley and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
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