Reviewed by Emma Crowley
Love is in the Cornish summer air…
Wedding planner Ellie Moon is dreaming up the most beautiful bespoke wedding for Charlie and Daniel, owners of Cornwall’s favourite cream tea bus. Even though her own life has been turned upside down and she’s had to rent out her charming Cornish cottage with its climbing roses and lavender beds, Ellie is determined to give them a day to remember.
Her new tenant, handsome mechanic Jago, keeps popping up around the picture-postcard seaside village of Porthgolow. When they’re thrown together in the effort to help his elderly father get a spring back in his step, she discovers that he is full of surprises. Can romance bloom and give Ellie the fresh start she’s been wishing for?
Many thanks to Harper Collins UK for my copy of The Cornish Cream Tea Wedding to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
The Cornish Cream Tea Wedding by Cressida McLaughlin was an utter joy to read from start to finish. In fact, I think it has been the best book in the series since book one as it just had such a good feeling about it right from the opening page. All the old favourite characters we have come to know and love do make a reappearance but this time around it’s Elowen ( Ellie ) Moon who is the main focus of the story. She is a wedding planner hired to organise the wedding of the stalwarts of the series Charlie and Daniel. A couple who are calm, confident, assured, competent and friendly and one who I feel readers have really been rooting for an outcome for since we first met them. This book felt like their story was coming full circle as we saw their relationship previously blossom and develop and now they are finally tying the knot. The run up to the day and the day itself will not be without its problems and it’s up to Ellie to make sure things turn out OK and the couple are provided with the wedding of their dreams.
Once again Cressida nails the setting of the Cornish coastal village of Porthgolow. I still sit and read these books and just wish that it was a real place and that one day I could pay a visit. Sadly that is not to be but the descriptions and vivid imagery of all the little shops and cobbled streets, not to mention the beaches and rugged coastline are just fabulous and really help to add that little bit of extra sparkle to the book overall. The Cornish Cream Tea Bus, as run by Charlie, features again as do her cousin Delilah and also Hannah from the previous book and I am glad they are not forgotten about but yet at the same time they don’t steal the show. I can’t also fail to mention the descriptions of all the Cornish cream teas and treats that leave your mouth watering and this time around, flowers do have such a symbolic and important role to play particularly for Ellie.
But now it’s Elllie’s turn to share her story and it was a fabulous story to read about. The inclusion of Ellie’s home, Cornflower Cottage, was brilliant as it became a pivotal point for several of the new characters and it allowed different storylines to be explored. The love she has for her cottage and the garden she has created shine through and even though she has moved out and rented it out, and is now living with her sister, the devotion and what it gives her in return on an emotional level are vitally important. The garden and some new friends will hopefully sustain her through the challenging times ahead. As the new characters that feature are all lost in their own way and need some support, comfort and someone to guide them in the right direction. Something that will bond them together and in doing so perhaps they can sort out the problems that seem to dog their life. For too long Ellie has been trying to be independent, to find her own solitary space in the world but she may come to realise that happiness is closer to home and simply found if you look close enough.
Ellie loves every aspect of her job organising every last minute detail until it is just perfect but she is struggling to make a real success of her business even though it is her passion. Having rented out her cottage in order to boost her income she hopes the wedding of Charlie and Daniel will be a great success and even more business will follow through word of mouth. She puts such enormous pressure on herself to make it a day to remember and throughout the book I felt she really doubted her capabilities. She lacked the confidence to just go for it and I think this slightly stemmed back to her previous experiences with her own marriage. But underneath it all you could see she was dedicated, hardworking and had the tenacity to see things through to the very end even is she did waver along the way.
Ellie does go into overdrive to find a suitable location for the wedding and to help Daniel with something extra special for Charlie for the big day. But at the same time she needs to realise she has to allow some room for some spontaneity in her life. To learn that perhaps she can’t control everything solo, that she would drive herself mad trying to and that it’s OK to feel like a failure if something goes wrong but that others will be there to pick and prop you up and to steer you in the right direction. No matter the obstacles, disasters and mishaps that may arise along the way, of which there were many, but they all added to the overall sense of fun and excitement that existed throughout the book. Ellie has the weight of expectations on her shoulders and in my mind she created a lot of this herself as I do think Charlie and Daniel were quite laid back. But I suppose if this is your livelihood you dedicate 110% to it. The wedding fuels a fire in her even more, that perhaps she had been lacking for a little while despite all the brilliant qualities she possessed. She will soon learn as will several of the characters that we grow by making mistakes and learning from them.
Of course there had to be some romance in this story given the title, apart from the wedding which when it eventually arrived was so beautiful and real. Said romance comes in the form of the delectable Jago Carne. Ellie first encounters him on the lane to her house where her car has broken down, he is like the knight in shining armour coming to her rescue. At first she doesn’t realise he is her new tenant for Cornflower Cottage and she wonders who is this man? What is he doing in Porthgolow and most importantly is he married, single or what? What exactly is his story? Jago was a closed book initially until certain things come to light. I loved how his story became so effortlessly intertwined with Ellie’s. Her sister Rose and her job as a district nurse have an important role to play and this strand of the story was touching and heart-warming in equal measure.
Jago needed help and a confidence booster to face what he had been running from. He had his issues but I think in this case he was being a typical man and was finding it difficult to open up. At some points I think Ellie did stifle him when it came to his personal life and the situation he was trying to resolve and she learned this lesson the hard way. Yet at other times the sparks really flew between the pair. The chemistry was undeniable between them and you really wanted them to get together because you just knew they were perfect for each other in every way. That they would really compliment each other. All in all The Cornish Cream Tea Wedding was a fabulous and really enjoyable story and the perfect addition to the series. I look forward to reading Christmas Carols and a Cornish Cream Tea when it is published later this year.
Thanks Emma and Sharon x
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