Tuesday 4 August 2020

Katie's Cornish Kitchen by Rosie Chambers


Katie's Cornish Kitchen
Rosie Chambers
Rating: 4 stars

Kindness, community and cake are all on the menu at Katie's Cornish Kitchen.

After all the heartbreak of being jilted by her fiance, Katie Campbell has been mending her broken heart in Bali. She has local restaurant owner and new friend Agatha to thank for providing a listening ear in her moment of need. When Katie confides she's worried about going back to what's left of her life in London, Agatha has just the opportunity for Katie - to manage her old cafe in the beautiful, picturesque village of Perrinby in Cornwall.

Although reopening the cafe and making it profitable won't be easy, Katie is determined to make the most of her fresh start. She quickly makes new friends in florist Jay, waitress Talia and handsome neighbour Oscar, and focuses on making the cafe a welcoming place for the community - from hosting floristry workshops to pizza-making nights and even the local knit-and-natter group. But, with the cafe under threat from local property developers circulating just as she's starting to grow closer to Oscar and finally feeling at home, can Katie find the recipe to make her Cornish Kitchen a success?

Escape to Cornwall in this heartwarming romance - perfect for fans of Julie Caplin, Phillipa Ashley and Debbie Johnson.

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This has been on my TBR pile for quite some time now. For some reason I kept on pushing it further back in my pile and once I started reading it, I had no idea why. I've never read a novel by this author before but the cover blew me away and made me want to read it. I love the ombre sky with all the pretty flowers surrounding it, and then the house right on the beach is just beautiful.

The story itself was really interesting and I'm glad I decided to give this read a go. The style of writing reminded me heavily of Daisy James, who is another go-to author of mine. It's a quirky style of writing, but one that I can't stop reading! So, onto the storyline itself. We follow Katie, who has just had a devastating break-up from ex-fiance Dominic. She flies to Bali to lick her wounds and there is where she meets Agatha who helps non-privileged children to learn basic skills which will help them in their future. Agatha used to own a cafe in Cornwall and decides that she doesn't ever want to leave Bali so gives Katie the keys and asks her to run it for her. And if it ever makes any profit, to send some back to her so she can continue to help those in need.

Katie arrives at the cafe and realises she has her work cut out as it's been sitting empty for over 6 months. However, not long after Katie even had her foot in the door did property developer Greg wrestle his way in and demand to know where Agatha is so he can purchase the property and turn it into a holiday complex. Soon, next door neighbour and artist Oscar comes to the rescue and Katie and Oscar get on like a house on fire.

There were some times in the novel where it got a bit repetitive about Katie's 'demons' and how she cleans to get rid of them and there are also some moments in this book that I found to be a little cringe-worthy and slightly unrealistic but it was a nice, lighthearted novel which I did enjoy and shall look out for more novels by this author in the future. The characters were all unique and eccentric (especially Talia, although she was a firm favourite of mine in the end!) and I really liked reading about the themed-nights and their relationships.

Overall, a light and easy read. Thank you to the publisher for a chance to read an advance copy of this novel via Netgalley, which I have reviewed honestly.

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