It’s such a pleasure today to be joining the blog tour for A Fresh Start at Polkerran Point, the fourth book in Cass Grafton’s gorgeous Little Cornish Cove series. Published on 24th April by Canelo, it’s now available via Amazon in the UK and US, but also available on all other major ebook platforms or in paperback from your favourite bookshop. My thanks to Kelly at Love Books Tours for the invitation and support, and for providing my advance reading e-copy.
Is this a series you’ve already discovered? If not, I’d highly recommend it – and although it’s always best to start a series at the beginning, each book is entirely readable as a standalone, although it would be a shame to miss out on some of the little clues to future storylines and getting to know the recurring characters. I thoroughly enjoyed it from the very first book, New Dreams at Polkerran Point – I actually read it back in February 2020, when it was self-published as The Cottage in the Cornish Cove – with its wonderfully well-drawn setting, lots of warmth and humour, a number of perfectly handled emotional moments, and the loveliest romance at its centre (you’ll find my review here). The second, Escape to Polkerran Point, Lauren and Daniel’s story, was every bit as good – excellent storytelling, emotional moments you could really feel, laughter and tears, and another opportunity to be part of that lovely community (you’ll find my review of that one here). And then there was Christmas at Polkerran Point, when we got to know Gemma and Matt – a grumpy/sunshine relationship, both individuals nicely complex, with a romance to follow that was strong, convincing, and particularly moving. And you’ll know how much I always enjoy a Christmassy read – and it was lovely to be in Polkerran for the run-up to the big day with all the events and traditions that bring the community together (you’ll find my review of that one here).
And it’s lovely to be back – let’s meet Kate and Mollie…
They’ve both been burned by love before, but will they take a second chance?
A year on from the demise of an unhappy marriage, Kate Stretton grabs the opportunity to move to the other end of the country and start afresh in Cornwall with her teenage daughter, Mollie. Unused to the slower pace of life, Kate leaps at the chance to take on Polkerran Point’s ailing annual arts and music festival.
Soon, though, she locks horns with local Rick Devonshire, the main sponsor for the festival. Rick’s marriage has fallen apart in spectacular fashion, and the last thing he needs is Kate pushing to go against the festival’s traditions.
Nursing their wounds from past relationships, can Kate and Rick find a way to work in harmony? And when Rick’s soon-to-be ex-wife comes back on the scene wanting a second chance, what will he do?
A sweet and emotional romance for fans of Trisha Ashley, Jo Bartlett and Phillipa Ashley.
With the end of her marriage, Kate is very much in need of a fresh start – the events organiser job at The Point Hotel in Polkerran might not be quite as demanding as she’s used to, but it certainly ticks all the boxes. The location is beautiful, and friends are important when you’re feeling bruised – she’s glad to spend time with Anna again, and staying with her for a while means she soon starts to feel part of the community (many of them can regularly be found enjoying tea and cakes in her kitchen). She finds somewhere rather more permanent to stay, teenage daughter Mollie joins her – and, when she finds that she really does needs a bit more of a challenge, she (rather rashly) takes on the organisation of the village festival.
Rick Devonshire – we know him better as Dev from the earlier books – is a complication she wasn’t really expecting. They first meet as she’s organising a birthday party for his grandfather Ryther, and doesn’t take to him at all – but they begin to bond when she finds a lost and troubled five-year-old while out walking, and discovers he’s his son. He’s a single dad to Theo, with a soon to be ex-wife who’s a real nightmare in so many ways – her abrupt departure is the reason the festival is lacking an organiser, although many of her former efforts have only made the task more difficult. Their budding romance, helped along by the community who can see they’d be perfect together, is a particularly slow-burn one – but, despite pain that’s still raw for them both and the many obstacles, I really hoped they’d find their happy ever after together.
As well as Kate and Dev – both damaged people, both individuals I really took to my heart – the characterisation in this book is just wonderful. You might know that I’m not always a fan of children in books, but I really adored young Theo, finding life so very difficult – and Kate’s daughter Mollie’s equally perfectly drawn, a typical teen who sometimes shows a wisdom way beyond her years, and their perfectly captured mother-daughter exchanges often made me smile. Dev’s grandfather Ryther, always an intriguing character, plays a rather more significant part in this book – a rather lovely (and very touching) storyline picking up some threads cleverly left untied in the earlier books.
And then, as well as individuals (now friends) whose stories were shared in the earlier books, there’s the wider village community – the quirkier characters, every one of them so beautifully drawn, really made the first book in this series particularly special for me (that wonderful – sometimes discordant, and easily distracted – Greek chorus…), and it was a joy to see them firmly at the centre of another story (but it’s certainly hard work corralling them as festival helpers!).
This was a book I enjoyed so much – the wonderfully drawn and detailed Polkerran setting, the community I loved, the efforts to make the festival a success despite the many complications, a romance that really engaged me and proved to be particularly special, and that clever tying up of those earlier loose ends for a particularly emotional ending. I’ve really enjoyed every book in this series, but will confess that I especially loved the first – I was so delighted to find that this one had just the same magic, and might just be my new favourite.
And I’m delighted to tell you it’s not the last book in this lovely series – I was excited to see that the fifth book is already available for preorder. Falling for Polkerran Point will be published on 2nd October…
About the author
Cass began her writing life in Regency England, enlisted Jane Austen’s help to time-travel between then and the present day and is now happily ensconced in 21st century Cornwall.
Well, in her imagination and soul; her heart and physical presence reside in northern England with her ever-patient husband and Tig and Tag, their cute but exceptionally demanding moggies.
A bit of a nomad, Cass has called three countries home, as well as six different English counties, but her aspiration is to one day reunite with her beloved West Country.
In the meantime, she writes feel-good contemporary romances set in Cornwall and, in doing so, manages to live there vicariously through her characters and settings.
An Ambassador for the Jane Austen Literacy Foundation, Cass is also a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, the Jane Austen Society UK and the Society of Authors.
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Another gorgeous read in this series. Loved it!
Anne, bless you! Thank you for loving this story and for your absolutely beautiful review! I’m really touched but so very happy you enjoyed this one as much as you did!