Blog Tour ~ Review | Christmas on the Little Cornish Isles, The Driftwood Inn - Phillipa Ashley

Christmas on the Little Cornish Isles ~ 

The Driftwood Inn

Little Cornish Isles, Book 1

Phillipa Ashley

Avon

September 2017

Rating 4/5

Kindle | Paperback

               

For Maisie Samson, this Christmas is going to be different. After years working in a busy Cornish pub, she’s moved back to quiet Gull Island where she grew up, to help her parents run the family inn.

But even though she can’t wait for the festive season to arrive, Maisie cannot shake the memories of what happened to her last Christmas – the day she lost everything. She keeps herself busy, setting up the tree and hanging mistletoe ready for her first proper family Christmas in years.

Until a new arrival to the island walks into her bar and changes everything. Australian backpacker Patrick is looking for a job for the low season. When Maisie takes him on, she doesn’t expect him to last the week, but to her surprise Patrick is the perfect fit. Charming and handsome, could Maisie allow herself to hope that she and Patrick could be more than just colleagues?

As Christmas approaches, Maisie finds herself dreading the spring, when Patrick is due to leave. With the help of a little Christmas magic, can Maisie get the happily ever after she always dreamed of?

                

Christmas on the Little Cornish Isles is the first book in a new trilogy from Phillipa Ashley, and is centred around Maisie Samson and her family pub, The Driftwood Inn.

Maisie has returned home to Gull Island, a gorgeous place in the heart of the Scilly Isles, where the tourist season is winding down for winter and everyone knows everyone who lives there.

Maisie is very much looking forward to Christmas and spending time with her parents after a bad festive season the previous year.

She hires Patrick McKinnon, a handsome Australian who she shared a kiss with a few weeks before after he told her a story about visiting Gull Island as a promise he made to a late friend.

Now some of what he told Maisie is true but there's something else about Patrick that leaves you wondering right up until the last 10% of the book!

I loved both Maisie and Patrick as characters - both strong in their own ways but both hiding things from their past's. They embark on a secret relationship but its not a smooth sailing.

With lots of little sub plots, Christmas on the Little Cornish Isles is a cute wintery read that you will enjoy curling up to this year.

Although I found the story a little slow to get into, the descriptions of the Scilly Isles and surroundings of Gull Island kept me interested and when the story really kicked in, I thoroughly enjoyed it and very much looking forward to returning to this idyllic fictional resort for the next instalment where I hope we get to meet Maisie and Patrick again and see how they are progressing.

           

Review | Summer at the Cornish Cafe (The Penwith Trilogy, 1) ~ Phillipa Ashley

Summer at the Cornish Cafe - 

The Penwith Trilogy, Book 1.

Phillipa Ashley

Avon, Maze

May 2016

Rating 4/5

Kindle

             

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

Cover Reveal | Summer at the Cornish Cafe ~ Phillipa Ashley

Ahhh.... summer must be around the corner because this cover reveal is just gorgeous!

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 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 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 reputations as an up and coming cafe 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 of the page and encourages you to live your summer to the full.

Summer at the Cornish Cafe is published in eBook by Avon on

5th May 2016