Romance novel set in Cornwall (“Cornwall feeds something in the soul…”)

• Book: A Seaside Affair
• Location: Cornwall
• Author: Fern Britton

Review Author: tripfiction

The Pavilions Theatre in fictional Trevay is under threat. The Café au Lait conglomerate has this delapidated building in its sights for a major coffee chain revamp. But the scourge of the mulitnationals is not going to happen in this small seaside town that prides itself on its theatrical heritage, if the locals have anything to do with it! The good people of Trevay are mustering support, and this comes in from all kinds of folk who start to get involved.

The locals have many skills that they can bring to such a project, and Penny, hotshot producer and local resident, has the contacts; but money, of course is sorely lacking, Colonel Stick has the longest association with the theatre, Piran and Simon eventually join the swelling numbers.

Brooke Lynne (and there is a wonderful back story as to how she got her name, which is “kinda Beckham”) is an actress, and the stunning face of Café au Lait. Her agent Milo joins her in Cornwall for a meeting with the coffee group plus a local councillor, who is totally on board for the conversion; but the meeting certainly doesn’t pan out as anticipated! Brooke is persuaded to join the activists, and is particularly pleased that she will have an acting part in “Hats Off, Trevay!” which is running for the Summer Season to raise money for the restoration and rebuilding cause.

Others who join are down-and-out actor Ollie, who is dating pop superstar Red (not Pink obviously);  and Jess, who is dating TV heartthrob and star of the popular series Venini, Ryan Hearst (with an ego the size of the county of Cornwall). But, does the course of true love run smoothly for these iconic couples? Add in a smattering of Royalty, with detective detail, and some eccentric locals, sprinkle with a bit of Hollywood glamour dust, and the book bowls along to the denouement … a few characters are, of course, scattered to the four winds, some new friendships are forged, and the story is brought to a close with an overriding feel-good experience of the life on the stage. It is clear that the author has experience of the theatre – discover behind-the-scene activities, find out what it means when Mr Brown is in the house; enjoy the chat in the Green Room, venture into the dressing rooms of the actors, attend rehearsals….

And what of the location? In an article in The Cornish Guardian, it is clear that “Fern Britton loves Cornwall and everything about it”” and that “the county does have a sense of romance.”  She says that “There is a lot of Padstow in Trevay, and The Metropole is definitely my Starfish Hotel. It is all made up, but I can walk the streets in my head“. Thus, a perfect setting for her delightful novel!

This review first appeared on our blog

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