Book Review - The Country Village Summer Fete by Cathy Lake

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Title: The Country Village Summer Fete

Author: Cathy Lake

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Zaffer

Publication Date: 10th June 2021 

Rating: 5 Stars

A feel-good, uplifting summer read for fans of Heidi Swain and Cathy Bramley.

Emma Patrick's life is spiralling out of control. On the cusp of her 50th birthday, she suddenly realises that she doesn't have many meaningful relationships in her life. She's single, successful, living alone and thinks she's loving it, but being so focussed on work and always online means she's lost any real connection to people.

When Emma gets a call to say her ageing father is becoming increasingly confused, she decides that she should go back home to the countryside to spend some time with him. But returning to Little Bramble, the village she grew up in, after all these years, is filled with complications of its own and people she'd rather avoid.

As Emma starts to settle in to her childhood home, she finds herself loving village life - much to her surprise. When the opportunity to get involved in the running of the summer fete comes her way, before she knows it she's embracing jam making, cake baking and bunting. And with romance brewing, Emma begins to doubt the glamorous life in London that she worked so hard to build . . .

It was lovely to be back in Little Bramble again and to catch up with Clare and her family from the previous book. But equally this can definitely be read as a standalone, as the main characters are brand new, especially Emma. 

Emma left Little Bramble when she was young and now verging on 50, she is back at least for a short while to look after her dad who hasn't been well. And she is dreading running into her old flame who was so so angry when she left all those years ago. 

I loved meeting Greg, Emma's dad who at first seems so despondent and not quite himself and seeing how he improves and comes back to life as such over the course of the book is truly heartwarming.  As is seeing Emma who had been a workaholic in London, learning to adjust to a slower pace of life, and deciding to take up jam making like her mum used to. 

And then there is Connor, who we also get chapters, or half chapters focusing on, and he is dealing with a nightmarish ex, and also that is daughter is moving to Paris. Daughter Grace is wonderful and has so much insight for one so young it's impressive. 

From a slow start, it just took me a while to really get into the swing of this book, it turned into a story I was really enjoying. I found I really cared about the characters and was enjoying the will they - won't they ever get their acts together between Emma and Connor. 

I enjoyed the small community vibe, the greyhounds, the fete itself as well as the writing.  It's a really enjoyable way to spend your time, and I'm very curious to see if there will be any more books set in Little Bramble. 

Thank you to Zaffre and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.