Jane Linfoot

Do you want to visit Cornwall for the summer and drool over the most delicious sounding hunk desserts? Well, look no further because you can do all that between the pages of this lovely book.

Jane Linfoot's books really appeal to me, so much so that I have had a couple of them on my reading pile for a while now. But I was utterly seduced by the idea of The Little Cornish Kitchen. The popularity of Cornwall as a setting never seems to wane, and nor should it as it's a stunning area, often by show more the sea - perfect! And the kitchen bit spoke to me too as I love books about baking.

Clemmie is a free spirit. She's travelled far and wide but comes back to the little village of St Aidan in Cornwall to finally receive the legacy her grandmother, Laura, left to her years earlier: a gorgeous little flat in Seaspray Cottage with a balcony overlooking the sea. Already I'm almost weak at the thought of the beauty of the views. Add in her neighbour in the flat next door, Charlie Hobson, who happens to share the balcony, and life's getting a little more complicated for Clemmie and very interesting for me as a reader.

To make some money her friends come up with the idea to set up a pop-up kitchen in the flat and host singles nights and the like. Clemmie, who's not much of a baker, finds herself raiding Laura's recipes for delicious desserts such as lemon meringues, chocolate roulade and sorbets and she takes to it like a sugar addict to buttercream. The descriptions of the food in this book are absolutely mouth-watering and if you're so inclined there are recipes at the back so you can make some of your very own.

At times I wanted to shake Clemmie and tell her to open her eyes and see what's right in front of her. But any good romance has to have a bit of conflict before it all comes right. And it wasn't only romance where Clemmie buried her head in the sand as her family life was also a bit problematical as well. But she has a lovely group of friends to help her through it all and the friendships were one of the strongest things about this book, I thought.

I loved the pop-up kitchen - what a great idea! I do like to read books about people setting up businesses and succeeding and even more so when food is involved. I also adored Charlie. He's the strong and silent type but seems like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders sometimes. The bond that starts to develop between him and Clemmie is so lovely, so heart-warming, that it really made me smile.

In fact, this whole book is like that. It's a real pleasure from start to finish, it will make you hungry, it will make you happy and it will make you swoon a little bit. I thought it was fabulous. show less

With thanks to NetGalley for a free digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Ah what a lovely story - perfect for lovers of chick-lit, romance, women’s fiction and a good old happy ending. A light read for any season, this author sits happily alongside the likes of Veronica Henry and Heidi Swain in a cosy reading spot all for myself.

This book is part of a series of books but works equally well as a stand alone novel. It tells the story of Milla, a wedding specialist who show more moves away from a toxic city lifestyle to temporarily breath in some sea air, and Nic a hunky troubled sailor on a mission to create a perfect wedding. Relationships, sparky and at times almost hostile (i knocked off a star from my review as this part did get a little tedious and irritating before it restored itself) left me guessing for many chapters, calamities galore brought a smile to my face on many an occasion and beautiful details enveloped me into the novel. Chuck into the mix the odd tear of empathy, joy and pride, I feel I will forever be a part of Milla Vanilla‘a and Captain Kirk’s somewhat troublesome adventures.

So what are you waiting for? Pull up a cuppa in your cosy reading spot and be whisked away to St Aiden by the sea. show less

A funny and charming romantic story. I hadn't read the first book in the series and it wasn't a problem jumping into Cressy and Ross's story. Their history is sad but they are older now and are ready for a second chance. Both are reeling from calamities in their careers and are licking their wounds, so to speak, in St. Aidan's where the locals rally around to help and encourage each other.
I loved the baking nights Cressy organised and the antics she and Ross got up to in order to entertain show more the audience. They were really funny and cute. I was laughing out loud at a lot of their interactions. The side characters were just the right mix of friends you'd want in real life too.
This was a lovely read and one I totally recommend. The book comes with some delicious sounding recipes at the end and if I owned a microwave I'd definitely be making Cressy's Chocolate Mug Cake.
I received a review copy and this is my unbiased and voluntary review. show less

It's taken me a while to actually finish this. It is quite short but I found myself only reading a few pages at a time before losing interest.
Not to say it's a bad book, I did like it. I just have to be in the mood to read a certain genre and for me this one never quite fit.

The story was obviously predictable but I enjoyed seeing the romance play out. Ed was only seeing Millie as a bet and is adamant that he won't ever settle down while Millie has distanced herself from her old life and show more doesn't want to fall in love again (especially with a rich man like Ed) due to her past.

Naturally, both of them fight it every step of the way but love wins in the end.

Overall I would recommend this for people who want a cute light read. show less