Summer At The Cornish Beach Café by Donna Ashcroft. Review

Book: Summer at the Cornish Beach Café

Author: Donna Ashcroft

Pub Day: May 12th 2023

About the Book: Step into the Cornish Beach Café, where you’ll find stunning views of the sea, plenty of cream cakes and a warm welcome from the quirky locals. But will this special place help to heal Jessie’s broken heart this summer? Thirty-year-old Jessie is heartbroken after being dumped just before reaching the altar. So she escapes to her favourite place in the world, the little Cornish Beach café in Indigo Cove. There she plans to spend her summer indulging in home-made lemonade and freshly made brownies. Except, on her first night, fate has other ideas and Jessie bumps into tall and brooding Ashton, the first guy she ever kissed… Determined to protect her fragile emotions, Jessie swears not to get distracted by Ashton’s sea-glass eyes or the way being near him makes her heart hammer against her chest. Instead, she spends time with her beloved grandfather George, helping him to prepare for the café’s puzzle championships. In the small community, she keeps crossing paths with handsome Ashton, who’s now a wealthy and successful businessman. They end up sharing sunny afternoons together, which turn into long evenings walking along the beach. As the temperature soars between them, Jessie’s heart begins to melt as she discovers the generous personality behind Ashton’s reserved exterior. But when she discovers a secret from Ashton’s past, Jessie is left shaken. How much does she really know about him, and can she take a leap of faith and trust Ashton when he asks her to? Will Jessie’s summer at the beach café in Indigo Cove be the biggest mistake of her life or will it turn out to be the fresh start she needs?

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'Summer At The Cornish Beach Café' by Donna Ashcroft.

Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Donna Ashcroft, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous

Publication date 12th May 2023

This is the third book I have read by this author. I have previously read 'Summer In The Scottish Highlands' and 'Christmas In The Scottish Highlands' which I highly recommend.

I was originally drawn to this book by its beautiful eye catching cover and its intriguing synopsis and title. I am also a huge fan of Donna and if this is half as good as 'Summer In The Scottish Highlands' and 'Christmas In The Scottish Highlands' it is sure to be a page turning read. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).

This novel consists of 27 chapters. The chapters are short to medium in length so easy to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!

This book is based in Indigo Cove, Cornwall, England, UK 🇬🇧. The bonus for me of books that are partly or fully based in the UK is that I live in the UK and have sometimes visited places mentioned in the book which makes it easier to picture. I have actually been on holiday to Cornwall on several occasions including the beginning of this year and am going again in September so am looking forward to seeing if I recognise anywhere that Donna has based the book on or pick up on any places I can visit when I return!

This book is written in third person perspective and the main protagonists are Jessie Levine and Ashton Reynolds. The benefits of third person perspective with multiple protagonists are that it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters more, what they are thinking and what they are doing. It feels like you get to see the whole picture and not miss out in anything.

What another absolutely stunning read by the extremely talented Donna Ashcroft!!! A perfectly gorgeous book!!! The vivid descriptions left me feeling the fresh air of Cornwall and feeling the sea breeze. The title, synopsis and cover suited the storyline perfectly.

This book is absolutely rammed full of love, choices, cake, happiness, photography, regrets, cats, betrayal, jigsaws, loss, family, dogs, friendship and a very talented chicken!!!! Its one of the most heart-warming I've read in a long time. It made me laugh, cry, smile and fall in love with Indigo Cove. I absolutely loved the gorgeous atmosphere and surroundings being based in the beautiful Cornwall. Donna's evocative writing talents ensures the reader is flown away on holiday where they feel the sand on their toes, hear the crashing of the ways, feel their hearts beating faster with Jessie and Astons and will leave you tingling with warmth, smiling with happiness and light hearted!! It is one of those stunning books that it is impossible to say just one more chapter to. I gave up even trying to lie to myself saying just one more in the end as every time I came to the end of one chapter I just HAD to know what was going to happen next and this ended up happening so many times I ended up devouring the whole book in a several hour sitting!! I just could not put my kindle down and I was absolutely gutted when I came to the end of the book! It genuinely felt like I had escaped rainy Wales for a few hours and was soaking up the sun and sea air in the beautiful Indigo Cove. I am really hoping that Donna will allow me to return there soon with another of her absolutely amazing books!! . The storyline was sweet, romantic, uplifting and everything you want in a heart warming romance and I completely fell head over heels in love!!! This book is an uplifting breathe of fresh air!!! It ended absolutely perfectly!!!

The characters were all strong, well defined and realistic. I fell in love with every single one of them, even if some took longer than others!! I was gutted when I came to the end. This book would make a gorgeous series and I would love to meet all the characters again. Jessi is such a strong character and after struggling herself from being kicked by her wicked witch stepmother and absolute @hole of an ex I loved watching her form friendships and find happiness. I became really invested in her and she was such a sweet, caring and unique person who has absolutely no confidence after what she had been through so it was even better to watch her blossom and grow. I absolutely loved her say it as it is attitude and she is definitely a character I would LOVE to meet over and over again. There's not many out there like Jessie and it was lovely to meet her in this page turning romance. Elsie was an absolute sweetheart and I loved watching her make new friendships and feeling her joy and happiness as she watched Ashton come to life along with making friends herself with Jessie and George. She also made me laugh out loud walking around with her adorable chicken Peaches as a Jigsaw buddy!!! How fabulous is that!!! My heart went out to Ashton when we find out how he was treated by his horrid family, especially in regards to his sister Merrin who was taken away from him and his parents broke his heart doing it to him. I absolutely adored watching Ashton and Jessie bond and get closer but after what happened in their pasts together and separately will they ever develop a relationship? You'll just have to grab your copy today!! I also really enjoyed learning about all the different members of the community and it reflected a small town community perfectly. There were so many other characters that I really enjoyed meeting and who will be missed. To name a few I enjoyed meeting Lila who owned the fantastic café where Jessie, George, Elsie and Ashton meet up at the beginning and who whose café runs the Jigsaw Club and The Pottery Project plus also owns cats, her gruff husband Gryffyn who doesn't see the point in meaningless social interactions and of course George, Jessie's Grandad who I absolutely adored with his say it as it is attitude, especially when it comes to Jessie's ex as well as Ashton, his sweet memories of his late wife Dorothy and just his lovable personality. I have also got to include the Lila's cats, the dogs Phoebe, Murphy and Bear plus the jigsaw genius chicken Peaches. I am a HUGE animal lover and it is always a HUGE bonus to have animals in books, especially ones who play such big parts!!! I could go on and on but I best stop there as I don't want to give anything away and potentially spoil it for future readers!. Needless to say many of the characters made an impact on me and it would be lovely to see them all again (Hint, Hint Donna... A series please :) ) !!!

Get wrapped up warm, put the fire, make your self a hot chocolate or get your towel and book ready and relax on the beach and clear your schedule ready to get lost in this unputdownable heart warming, gorgeous, read anywhere and any time romantic comedy!.

Well done Donna on yet another absolutely gorgeous book. This is exactly why you are one of my favourite romance authors!!! I am thoroughly looking forward to reading more of your books past and future. Congratulations on a stunning success!!

Make sure you read to the very end of the book to read the first chapter of Donna's 'Summer In The Scottish Highlands' which I have actually read myself and can promise you that it is just as stunning as this book so go and grab your copy today!!

Overall an absolutely stunning page turning romance that will make you smile, laugh and keep you up all night absorbing the pages.

Genres covered in this novel include Romantic Comedy, Humorous Fiction, Contemporary Women Fiction, Women's Romance Fiction, Fiction Mashups, Family Life Fiction, Women's Contemporary Fiction, Holiday Romance, Literary Fiction, Romance Fiction, General Humour, Women's Friendship Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Women Writers And Fiction, Holiday Fiction and Contemporary Romance amongst others.

I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of Debbie Macomber, Kristen Bailey, Marian Keyes, Mhari McFarlane, Christina Lauren Sophie Kinsella, Sariah Wilson, Lindsey Kelk, Abby Jiminez Emily Henry and anyone looking for a festive romance to snuggle in front of the fire with!!

279pages.

This book is just £1.99 to purchase on kindle, free with kindle unlimited and £7.89 in paperback via Amazon or free on kindle unlimited which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!

Rated 5/5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.

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Author Bio

Donna Ashcroft was born in London, England and grew up in Buckinghamshire. She went to university in Lancashire and, among other things, worked as a copywriter, buyer, waitress, secretary and marketing manager.

Donna was shortlisted for the RNA Debut Romantic Novel of the Year in 2019, has had nine books published with Bookouture and her tenth is due out in September 2022.

Donna loves a happy ending and is never happier than when she's escaping into a romance novel or movie. When she's not reading or writing she'll probably be found hoovering ... or negotiating with her two teenagers about who is doing the washing up.

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Buy Link:

Amazon: https://geni.us/B0BX14V8SRsocial