Summer is on the horizon, and the people of Porthmellow are eagerly awaiting the annual food festival. At least, most of them are…
For Sam Lovell, organising the summer festival in her hometown is one of the highlights of her year. It’s not always smooth sailing, but she loves to see Porthmellow’s harbour packed with happy visitors, and being on the committee has provided a much-needed distraction from the drama in her family life (and the distinct lack of it in her love life).
When their star guest pulls out with only a few weeks to go, everyone’s delighted when a London chef who grew up locally steps in at the last minute. But Gabe Matthias is the last person Sam was expecting to see, and his return to Porthmellow will change her quiet coastal life for ever.
Many thanks to Avon Books UK via NetGalley for my copy of A Perfect Cornish Summer to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
A Perfect Cornish Summer is the first in a new series from Phillipa Ashley and again as with previous books the setting is the coastal county of Cornwall more specifically the small town of Porthmellow. By now I have come to expect and look forward to the wonderful settings that Phillipa can create and Porthmellow delivers on all these fronts. The descriptions of the small streets packed with unique little shops and small houses nestled next to each other conjured up images of a close knit community. A community where everyone knows each others business and at times you will appreciate this if you need a helping hand and on other occasions you wish everything and everyone wasn't so close and compact as you have things you wish best kept secret.
I loved the prologue as it really set the scene as to how the Porthmellow food festival came to be and how since its conception it has gone from strength to strength and become a pivotal event in the towns annual calendar. The prologue also introduced us to several of the characters who would go on to feature in the book and it gave a very brief glimpse as to what had happened to them. It definitely set the scene as to what could potentially follow and my interest was piqued as to what would unfold.
As I moved to start the book proper with the first chapter I realised the story had moved forward many years. I was surprised because I thought this book would follow the trials and tribulations of setting up the festival and seeing would it be a success or not. Instead the festival is celebrating its tenth anniversary and organiser Sam Lovell and owner of her own business Stargazey Pies wants it to be the best year yet. The story for the most part focuses on the run up to the festival and how the committee have to cope when the main celebrity booked suddenly pulls it out. It's this abrupt cancellation that causes Sam's life to be turned upside down as a face from the past makes a reappearance and as her former boyfriend and now celebrity chef Gabe is really saving the festival by stepping into the breach there is really nothing Sam can do.
For the first few chapters we are introduced to an awful lot of characters and honestly I found it very confusing. I was trying to keep it straight in my mind as to who was who, what did they do, were they connected to Sam or did they have their own various storylines? Most of them did but I found my mind boggled as to whether I needed to focus on one character over another. I think too many characters were introduced because perhaps they will feature even more prominently in future books but it just all felt to me far too busy and that there was too much going on with regard to the number of characters. The story itself didn't really move forward that much until we got to the actual festival which was only really in the last quarter of the book. The first half felt rather flat, I think too much time was spent talking all about and planning it and making sure everything was in place and really nothing actually happened and it became a bit repetitive. I felt a bit of action so to speak and confrontation only materialised towards the end and I would have loved to have seen more of it throughout the book.
Don't get me wrong I did enjoy the book as it has all the ingredients for a lovely summer read and I have loved Phillipa's previous books set in Cornwall but that little bit of magic normally present wasn't always there for me and I think it could be down to the relationship or lack of between Sam and Gabe. There wasn't enough interaction between the pair and amidst all the discussions and preparations for the festival their strand of the story was lost for too long. I thought there was too much pussy footing around each other for most of the book and as mentioned a little bit of confrontation or expressing their feelings and reasons for their break up a little earlier on might have brought the spark when needed instead of living the big revelations to come to the fore far too late.
Friendship, community, working together for one common goal, support, laughs and romance all do feature here and that's what you want in a light and fun read for summer. Sam was a leader and a go getter. She wanted her life to progress in a positive way since the trauma of losing her mother and then the events surrounding her brother Ryan leaving the town. She shares a cottage with her sister Zennor and like other readers I found this name and Samphire to be quite odd especially considering their brother was Ryan. But this is minor and I got over their names and wanted to gain a deeper insight into what motivated Sam and the other members of the committee. Clearly they had more stories to tell rather than just organising the festival.
What really up scuttles Sam's plans is when Gabe returns to Porthmellow to save the day when it comes to the festival. In doing so Sam should be forced to confront what she has kept bottled up inside for so long and the minute she laid eyes on Gabe again, I wanted her to march straight up to him. I wanted her to scream and shout and say why did you do what you did all those years ago knowing it would tear my already fragile family apart? Of course that wasn't going to happen and I felt Sam was spending more time avoiding Gabe than she was facing up to things. On the other hand I totally understood why Gabe took the action he did. He was faced with no other choice and because he had such love for Sam he made the ultimate sacrifice but can past hurts be forgiven and can they try and move forward? Only time would tell.
There were plenty more storylines apart from that of Sam and Gabe and the one which most caught my attention was that of Chloe. She wasn't long arrived in Porthmellow but had settled nicely into village life. Well on the outside it looks as if she has but she was a character battling with an inner pain and turmoil and she didn't want the rest of the town to see these. She feels by helping with the preparations for the festival that this is one part of her life that she can control but you can only mask over the cracks for so long and her personal trauma and the lies she has told will catch up with her. What then? Will Sam and co be able to forgive her? Will she find the acceptance and peace she so desperately seeks? As for the resolution to her personal problems, can she make a breakthrough with the walls someone has surrounded themselves with? I so desperately hoped so because I thought Chloe was fragile and vulnerable and she needed a shoulder to cry on. Keeping things bottled up wasn't doing her any good and I hoped that she could open up and allow the demons to escape and the love and strength of friends and family to come through once again.
Old wounds are reopened for many throughout this story but it is how they deal with these complications in the run up to and including the festival that make for a good read. Yes this book does have its faults as mentioned above but at the centre it is a heart warming and engaging read and the little drama thrown in with acts of sabotage was a strand I would loved to have seen developed even more. By far the last quarter is the strongest of this book and I would read it for that alone and it shows how working together with one common aim in mind can have the greatest of results. Even if I would have loved lots more descriptions of the glorious food on offer at the festival still this was an enjoyable, light read but for new fans I don't think it always showcases the talents of the author.
I read a couple of titls by Ashley a few years back and enjoyed them. I should try some more. Thanks for sharing.
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