Thursday, June 2, 2016

Summer at the Cornish Cafe by Phillipa Ashley






What They Say......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 cafĂ© owner starts to spread, she is faced with a tough decision . . .


What I Say.....Quick, cute little read.  Demi is kind of a sad sack - homeless, soon jobless and no family that cares about her.  Add in a large dog and you find her sleeping in the streets.

She lands a job with Cal Penwith, who is recently returned from what sounds like war, although is described as a humanitarian trip (we never really do find out what happened to him there, although it's frequently referred to as part of his brooding and drinking).

Cal is ready to make his family's campground great again, and is willing to send Demi to college courses on hospitality if she would like - this must be different in England vs. America - because it didn't seem like cost was an issue, but then money worries are referred to elsewhere.

The token town meanie, Mawgan, is there to try to prevent the park from opening, and the token beautiful ex-girlfriend is also there - although she seems like a genuinely nice person.

In between all of this, are Cal and Demi doing manual labor and dreaming big of making the park shine. Of course they fall in love, and have some misunderstandings along the way.  That's what makes it chick lit.

What made it a little different is the homelessness, Cal's budding alcoholism, and the lack of what seemed to be genuine caring for Demi on Cal's part.  He was a known ladies man, and seemed okay with that.   Which didn't make me root for them to finally fall together.  

In the description, it talks about Demi's "reputation as an up and coming  cafe owner" - spoiler alert, her cafe never opened in this book.  But it's part of a trilogy, so maybe there will be more answers in the future.


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