Can Charlie pull off the perfect showstopper?
Charlie has fallen in love with Porthgolow village and they adore her vintage bus, now getting a new lease of life as the best place to have a Cornish Cream tea in the whole of Cornwall. Charlie and her bus have heralded a new start for Porthgolow too, but the one fly in the ointment is Daniel Harper who is still resisting the charms of Charlie and her bus. Can Charlie bake her way into his heart or is it time to admit that her Cornish dream has got a soggy bottom?
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Many thanks to Harper Collins UK via NetGalley for my copy of The Icing on the Cake to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
The Icing on the Cake is the concluding part to what has been a wonderful series from Cressida McLaughlin. It ties up all the loose ends and sees the delivery of answers to so many questions I have had whilst reading this series. The reader really has been taken on a journey with the main female character, Charlie, in her bid to see the plans for her charming Cream Tea Bus become a reality and for it to hopefully be a roaring success. When we return to Charlie she is battling to keep the bus open as someone seems to have an agenda against her and doesn't wish to see Charlie making a go of things. Part three (Scones Away!) had left us on a cliffhanger and Charlie is still trying to resolve this issue. This problem is the culmination of a number of things that have gone wrong for her just when she seems to be getting on an even footing and things are going right for her.
In the previous installment I had found Charlie to be frustrating to say the least as she was always jumping to conclusions without actually taking the time to stop and think about things. I suppose this was because she was so passionate about what she was trying to achieve in trying to bring Porthgolow back to life and getting the bus up and running but I was waiting for her to stop and realise she needed to take it easy a bit and not be so judgemental. Thankfully this did occur and she no longer laid the blame at the wrong persons door. She slowly began to become aware that a lot of situations in life are never black and white and straightforward and that with a little bit of further digging, along with some compassion and understanding, that she could see the truth from the lies and then go on to do something about it.
Charlie had numerous pressing issues and complications in her life to solve both on a personal and professional level and I loved how she set out to achieve a balance between the two. She was really caught between a rock and a hard place when it came to Crystal Waters hotel Daniel and Oliver of the Mauraduing Mojito. I know who I wanted her to choose and the chemistry between herself and my man of choice has been evident from the get go. I just hoped she would make the right decision for her because she truly deserved happiness after being through so much and for battling through when the tides seemed to have been against her so often. I had my suspicions as to who could be behind all the misdemeanours that unnecessarily befell Charlie in a bid to take her down and my instincts proved right although the reasons for this I didn't guess. Also with regard to who was behind the Porthgolow Hideaway Instagram account again something that had been niggling away at me just clicked and I knew who it was. It was so heart warming and brought a lovely warm feeling to the book.
I love how Cressida McLaughlin creates such wonderful settings and then fills them with characters you really do come to care for. Porthgolow was really a special place and ever since Charlie's arrival she could see this too. It was only ever supposed to be a few months sabbatical from her café job whilst she came to terms with the loss of her beloved Uncle Hal. But Charlie certainly got a lot more than she bargained for with all the great initiatives she had created and the friends she had made that when she is faced with the ultimate decision will she leave or will she stay then a lot of soul searching ensues. I really began to warm to Charlie again in part four as she just threw caution to the wind and got on with things despite so many obstacles being placed in her way.
Charlie really was growing up as well and not being as rash and hasty as she had been in the past. She was taking responsibility for misjudging people's characters and it is a brave woman who can admit she was wrong and say sorry. It was almost like she had settled into her new way of life and become comfortable in her own skin and with the ambitions she had laid out for both herself and the town. The community spirit she had strived so desperately to create was slowly starting to emerge and people believed in what she was doing. I loved how everyone pulled together with one big festival to showcase just how special and unique Porthgolow was. Charlie was the one who got the ball rolling and with initiative, hard work and of course lots of cream teas and delectable cakes along the way perhaps she would start to see plenty of rewards for her effort but not without some consternation and problems along the way.
I have thoroughly enjoyed every moment spent with with Charlie and co in Porthgolow. She was a person in need of rescuing and whether the village and someone of the opposite sex helped her truly achieved that well you'll have to pick up this series and discover the answer. This has been an uplifting, warm and inviting read packed full of characters some you love and some you love to hate combined with a picturesque idyllic setting. Also in this concluding part, there were a few nail biting dramas and tense moments that had you on the edge of your seat and really did leave the reader guessing as to the eventual outcome right until the very last minute. The Cornish Cream Tea Bus is perfect to lose yourself in for a few hours whether you read each part separately as I have done or else are able to wait for the full length addition. I would love a little update in the future on the residents of Porthgolow or even for some characters that were in the background to step forward. A little Christmas short story perhaps but in the meantime do enjoy your visit to Porthgolow as you follow Charlie and her life full of ups and downs, romance, laughter and plenty of yummy food and treats.
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