Friday 28 August 2015

Book Review - The Great Village Show by Alexandra Brown - Paperback Summer

Amazon UK
Title: The Great Village Show
Author: Alexandra Brown 
Format reviewed: Paperback
Source: Purchased
Publisher: Harper
Publication Date: 30th July 2015
Rating: 5 Stars


Tindledale is in a tizzy . . .

The Village Show competition is coming around again and after last year’s spectacular failure, the villagers are determined to win. Meg, teacher at the local school, is keen to help and to impose some much-needed order.

After a terse encounter with a newcomer to the village, Meg discovers that it is celebrity chef and culinary bad boy, Dan Wright. Meg thinks he is arrogant and rude but rumour has it that Dan is opening a new restaurant in the village which could really put Tindledale on the map.

As things come together, villagers old and new all start to come out of the woodwork, including new arrival Jessie who seems to have it all. But first impressions can be deceptive and Meg discovers that when it comes to Tindledale – and Dan – nothing is ever quite as it seems . . .

I have now read all of Alexandra Brown's books and I haven't read a bad one. They are all absolutely fantastic, and I am delighted to say The Great Village Show is no exception. 

For those of you that haven't read The Great Christmas Knit Off, don't worry although this is set back in Tindledale with a familiar cast of characters, it is a completely stand alone book, and though reading the first one makes this feel like you are returning to your friends in the village, it won't spoil your enjoyment to have not read it. 

There is a newcomer to the village Jessie, who is married and has triplets. She appears to have a perfect life, but will she make a good enough friend in the village to be able to trust them with the truth. Jessie's storyline touches on a very serious topic, not in huge amounts of detail, but enough to make you stop and think for a bit, as to how you would react in her place. 

There is another newcomer to the village, Dan, who is a celebrity chef, and seems to have a bit of a crush on Meg. What noone can work out is why exactly he is so prickly the whole time, and just what he is doing in Tindledale in the first place. 

The main character of the book is Meg, who is the acting head teacher of the village school, which is being threatened with closure, and she ends up taking over organising The Great Village Show . They whole town needs the show to be a huge success, not just to increase the fortunes of the school, but hopefully attracting more tourists to the town, to increase business all around. 

The villagers of Tindledale, do what they do best and throw themselves whole heartedly into the challenges of  putting on the best village show, and they all pitch in and do what they can. It is fabulous display of community spirit, and makes is one of my favourite book towns to live in (if it was real!). 

Whenever I read a book by this author, it feels like I am instantly reading about a group of good friends, in that you are instantly put at ease by the writing style, and drawn in so you feel like you belong. 

The Great Village Show is a fabulous summer release, that I have loved reading. Even as I was starting it on my way into town, I was very soon oblivious to where I was on my route, and had to look around quite a few times, to make sure I hadn't missed my stop. I was that involved in the story right from the start. This is a very easy to read book, and one that is great summer holiday reading material. 

I would whole heartedly recommend this fabulous book, and I really can't wait for the next book about Tindledale to be released. 

1 comment:

  1. This sounds good - will have to give it a try! Angela Britnell

    ReplyDelete

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