Blog Tour - The Seafront Tea Rooms by Vanessa Greene

The Seafront Tea Rooms is a peaceful hideaway, away from the bustle of the seaside, and in this quiet place a group of women find exactly what they've been searching for. Charismatic journalist Charlotte is on a mission to scope out Britain's best tea rooms. She knows she's found something special in the Seafront Tea Rooms but is it a secret she should share? Kathryn, a single mother whose only sanctuary is the 'Seafront', convinces Charlie to keep the place out of her article by agreeing to join her on her search. Together with another regular, Seraphine, a culture-shocked French au pair with a passion for pastry-making, they travel around the country discovering quaint hideaways and hidden gems. But what none of them expect is for their journey to surprise them with discoveries of a different kind ...Full of romance, tea and cake, The Seafront Tea Rooms is a heart-warming tale about the strength found in true friendship.

I loved this book, it was one that I curled up and read on a cool autumn evening and lost myself in the world of The Seafront Tea Rooms. It is cast of woman - with a strong undercurrent of friendship and sisterly love and all mixed in with lots of cake and cups of tea - what more can one ask for?

The story was one of three woman, with their own history and reasons for visiting The Seafront Tea Rooms but all finding friendship and working together to help each other through their problems.  The tea rooms are in Scarborough but due to a magazine assignment the trio find themselves travelling around the area to visit many other tea rooms and the descriptive writing of Greene makes this a virtual tour with the added accompaniment of a delicious sounding afternoon teas. There are also a number of the recipes mentioned within the story included at the back of the book.

The relationship between the women in the story was fantastic - I wish I could find a local cafe like The Seafront Tea Rooms in Worcester. I would love to sit, people watch and watch the world go by. It would make a fantastic location for a book club or craft group. The women all found the tea rooms by chance and all were taken in by Letty, the owner, the ambience and the friendships that followed. 

There are also relationships within the latter half of the book and I really liked both Euan and Adam, local men who had made their own careers. I also enjoyed the mystery around Seraphine's relationship, it began with little hints here and there but soon grew into a coming of age and change in public perception storyline! Perfect for a sweet, young, fFrenchyoung lady who came to England to gain experience and prepare herself for the adult world.

The story was light hearted throughout but the last quarter of the story takes on a different mood when a long kept secret is revealed, one which I never saw coming but was perfect for the story. I am not going to say anything else about this except that I thought it was a fantastic idea by Greene, and made it a must read book.

Thank you to the publishers, Sphere, for including me in the book tour and sorry for the late post but illness in the house stopped blogging time!