Member Reviews
A beautifully feelgood summer read that will take you on an emotional journey via the wonderful Cornish coast. Well written with evocative descriptions., this is a perfect escape that will make you laugh, cry and long for a Cornish holiday!
A really good summer read.
A bit more complicated than the average chick lit. The characters were well written and the twists were not all that obvious. I loved the setting. Countryside and seaside always work for me. I found myself nodding along to some of the characters choices and inside voices, which made the book even more enjoyable. I liked that all the characters had some flaws. Some more than others. I also liked that not everything had a picture-perfect ending. There were consequences.
The end felt rushed but overall, I really enjoyed this book. Definitely recommended as a summer read.
I absolutely adore books set in Cornwall so this was a must read for me. I can just imagine the sunshine and coastline not to mention burying my toes in the warm sand!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced read copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
It’s been quite some time since I have read a Catherine Alliott book but decided to give this one a go. The basic premise doesn’t need repeating as the synopsis says it all, however this book is what I would describe as a slow burner. There are a lot of characters and it takes some time to wrap your head around all of them and what part they play.
The storyline and writing was okay but nothing that blew me away but it was reasonably enjoyable. I think the sheer volume of characters at the beginning put me off a little and although I completed the book for some reason it felt like a little bit of a chore. I finished this and didn’t feel compelled to write a review which left me conluding this as a middle of the of rating.
Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.
After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.
I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.
Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.
Another great read by Catherine Alliott. I really enjoyed it and I felt like I was in Cornwall with the characters.
This is a book that has a slower more sedate pace to it, well that is until you get a lot further into it. Flora has been commissioned to paint her ex-father-in-laws portrait, though she is nervous about this she does need the money. Flora and her ex, Hugo, have a son, Peter, who is well provided for, Hugo’s family are wealthy, they have status and not all of them look down on Flora.
This is a book that starts with Flora making her way to the estate in Cornwall where she will paint the portrait. She is shocked when she arrives as there are more people there than she was expecting. This launches nicely back in time to when Flora was a teen and how she and Hugo got together. It then flows naturally up to the present day.
The story has quite a bit of description about the past, about the various characters and also Flora’s thoughts. The more I read the more I found myself disliking some characters, and had a suspicion of something being underhanded. This gave an intriguing edge to the story and also there was some unexpected turns of event.
It is a story of family and secrets, and these secrets are not revealed until later in the book. The author has taken a route and twisted things along the way. It has quite a few characters and they were introduced in such a way that I was able to keep up with who was who, and I soon began to work out who I liked or didn’t.
The story was quite engaging for the most part, though there were times where I wanted it to move on quicker as I felt impatient to discover what revelation was going to happen next. But the journey through this book was lovely and I did enjoy it a lot.
This is a story that would appeal to readers who like contemporary fiction with some really nice descriptions. One I would recommend.
I have read lots of Catherine Alliotts work and always found it to be interesting, heart warming and an easy read. This one was no different, the characters were engaging and there was a lovely twist at the end that I did not see coming.
Great summer read and I would recommend it to anyone after some easy chick lit.
Summer, the beautiful setting of Cornwall, and love intrigue. I thought it was the perfect mix for an enjoyable read. And it was an enjoyable read, but not as much as I hoped. The characters, while likable, I wasn’t entirely drawn to them and sometimes they felt superficial. The story is well-written and there are themes of family, friendship and love twists, but I wasn’t completely engrossed in it, it lacked a bit of energy and sometimes my mind wandered off. All in all it is a good novel, but not my favourite by this author.
This is another fabulous Catherine Alliott book which is an easy-to-read, feel-good, summer read which has all of the trademark Catherine Alliott themes of love, family and twists and turns.
Catherine Alliott has always been one of my favourite authors. I love her style of writing and characters. Sadly this one didn't do it for me. I wasn't a fan of the countryside living and all the horseriding. No fault of the book just wasn't my thing.
Flora has been asked to paint her ex father in laws portrait in Cornwall, she agrees readily but once she arrives and realises her ex husband and his wife are also spending the summer regrets her decision. Having been in love with Hugo since a teenager the divorce hurt her deeply.
But things start to change when she meets the handsome Ted and realises love might be in the cards for a second time.
A nice summer read with a lot of charachters to follow
Lovely summer read, I really enjoyed the story of Flora going to stay with her children and ex-in laws!
The book overall is a very slow burner, with lots of characters. It can be very difficult to keep track of all of the characters & how they link together. I don't think all of them where necessarily essential to the story. Iris, for example, would not be missed from the story & does not really add any substance to the plot. Once it got to the last 20% of the book, after a couple of plot twists, I couldn't put the book down. It is the first one I've read by this author and I'm sure to read more.
Aww I just loved A Cornish Summer so much so that I couldn’t put it down. Loved the plot with the wife, ex wife and his family at their family Manor home, what could possibly go wrong!!
Great twists and turns too.
A lovely tale for a summer’s day! When Flora is asked to go back to Cornwall to stay in a cottage near her ex-mother-in-law and paint her ex-father’s portrait. She still is in love with her ex and finds it difficult to acknowledge he has moved on since they married as young people. Add to the mix, the husband’s best pal, his girl friend, an aunt, a best friend recovering from a failed relationship and of course a son! I really enjoyed the twists and turns of the story and the secret Fiona discovers - a great tale.
Loved it, perfect summer read. Family intrigue and mysteries set against an idyllic Cornish backdrop. Interesting characters, not all likeable but well drawn. Will look for more by this author
Cornwall in the sunshine. What could be better. This book was a great read from start to end. The characters were very believable and the storyline was just at the right pace. A great summer read.
This is a great holiday read. It starts with a mix of so many characters that it can be difficult to keep up with them all but then, as you settle in, the storyline grabs you and it is difficult to put the book down!
Lovely warm book, telling the story of a Family, set in Cornwall. Great descriptions of the local area.