Summer at the Cornish Cafe -
The Penwith Trilogy, Book 1.
Phillipa Ashley
Avon, Maze
May 2016
Rating 4/5
One summer can change everything . . .
Demi doesn’t expect her summer in Cornwall to hold anything out of the ordinary. As a waitress, working all hours to make ends meet, washing dishes and serving ice creams seems to be as exciting as the holiday season is about to get.
That’s until she meets Cal Penwith. An outsider, like herself, Cal is persuaded to let Demi help him renovate his holiday resort, Kilhallon Park. Set above an idyllic Cornish cove, the once popular destination for tourists has now gone to rack and ruin. During the course of the Cornish summer, Demi makes new friends – and foes – as she helps the dashing and often infuriating Cal in his quest. Working side by side, the pair grow close, but Cal has complications in his past which make Demi wonder if he could ever truly be interested in her.
Demi realises that she has finally found a place she can call home. But as the summer draws to a close, and Demi’s own reputation as an up and coming café owner starts to spread, she is faced with a tough decision . . .
A gorgeous story exploring new beginnings, new love and new opportunities, set against the stunning background of the Cornish coast. Phillipa Ashley has written a feisty, compelling heroine who leaps off the page and encourages you to live your summer to the full.
Summer at the Cornish Cafe is not only the first in a new trilogy by Phillipa Ashley, it is also the first book I have read by this author.
The book starts with a rush at the local cafe where Demi, our main character is waitressing tables. After a bit of a to-do with the town's high and mighty business woman, Demi is faced with the loss of her job and the home that came with it.
Now, being homeless is nothing new to Demi as we discover throughout the story that she is a young lady with a difficult past but a chance encounter with Cal, owner of Kilhallon Park allow's Demi to turn her life around.
Cal is no angel though. He's moody, grumpy and short tempered but that works well with Demi's feisty and argumentative side.
Together the pair work hard to get the park up to scratch but it is clear they are starting to fall for each other.
There are lots of sub plots within Summer at the Cornish Cafe, and the Cafe for me felt like a minor element so I'm not sure that the title really fits the book - especially after reading so many other books set in cafe's this summer.
The sub plots involve Cal's ex, lies and secrets, problems with planning permissions, storms, drunken flings and one very golden opportunity for Demi.
I loved how the story of Summer at the Cornish Cafe flowed, with lots of little elements it was fast paced and interesting although it did take me a few chapters to get into the grove of it but I fell that was due to the change in POV from Demi to Cal.
Overall, Summer at the Cornish Cafe was a delightful read and I can't wait for book two in the series - Christmas at the Cornish Cafe!
With thanks to Avon for supplying a review copy via NetGalley
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