When Charlie Quilter’s late uncle bequeaths her his vintage bus, she is determined to give it a new lease of life. What better way than to combine the bus with her exceptional baking skills and start the first mobile afternoon tea café.
When her best friend, Juliette, suggests a break from the norm with a visit the idyllic village Porthgolow, where she lives. Charlie decides a change is as good as the rest, packing up Gertie, the bus, and with Yorkiepoo Marmite along for the ride they head off to Cornwall.
Daniel Harper, owner of the posh spa on the hillside in Porthgolow seems unimpressed at the idea of a double decker bus sat ruining his 5-star views.
At first it seems as though Daniel will stop at nothing to undermine and disparage Charlies ideas…but is all as it seems?
Having lived in Cornwall all my life, only a stone’s throw from where this book is set, I couldn’t resist requesting it from the publisher via NetGalley. I hadn’t read anything by this author before but was sure I could expect an easy rom-com to pass a lazy sunny afternoon.
I can see from GoodReads that this book was originally released in 4-parts, and I have to say I am glad it had passed me by until now. I don’t think I could have read it and had to wait!
It was such a lovely read and the villagers were weird and wonderful. I often find when reading books set in Cornwall that the characters are given the personalities and traits of bumpkins, those that have never left the Shire and live life completely clueless of what lays beyond the village. Which is completely untrue…most of us have crossed the water and seen the bright lights of Plymouth!
It was, of course, totally obvious what was going to happen from the off, but this didn’t lessen the enjoyment. In fact, it was part of it. We all read this genre to know exactly where we are and that its all going to end happily ever after.
The writing was great, the characters were funny and believable. I did sometimes find Charlie to be a little irritating as she continually jumped to conclusions, but it didn’t affect my overall reading experience.
I will definitely keep an eye out for more from McLaughlin as I found her storytelling style to be refreshing .
** Thanks to HarperCollins UK, via NetGalley, for this ARC **