Sunset Over the Cherry Orchard by Jo Thomas - Not only Food and Love, but also Flamenco!

Sunset Over the Cherry Orchard is the latest fabulous book by Jo Thomas, and it's not only about food and love, but also about flamenco!!
Beti Winter arrives in the Andalusian resort of Lado del Puerto with her fiancé of five years, Will, to take over the Butterfly Bar, but he gets cold feet and runs away with a band and a new girlfriend, Freya, taking all the money that Beti's grandma left her, and therefore all Beti's hopes and dreams.
The owners of the bar, Harold and Brenda, kindly give her some time to earn the money she needs for the deposit on their bar and so when the burger bar she works in lays her off, she gets a job with accommodation at Cortijo Ana, up in the mountains, near a small village called Colina de Flor.
Her job is to wash up in the restaurant, but she soon runs into the owner of the cherry farm, Antonio, who is known as the horse whisperer, and is better at dealing with horses than people. However, I did feel that he had more than a touch of Ross Poldark about him, especially when he rides over his land on Suerte, his fine horse!
Antonio's aim is to produce the best traditional cherries, needed by the cooperative to fulfil their orders, but he has no money to mend the watering system, so Beti and Miguel, his son, have to do it by hand pump. Miguel is Antonio's son with his wife, Esmerelda, who has gone off with Felipe to realise her dream of becoming a flamenco champion.
Now, Antonio runs the farm and his girlfriend, Vanessa, runs the restaurant, however, the cook, Bonita, who has worked there most of her life, does not like Vanessa's new ideas and recipes.
But in attempt to take over the farm for herself to sell, Esmerelda challenges Antonio and Beti to a flamenco dance off to win or lose the land and restaurant.
How on earth will Beti learn the steps? And is her experience of life enough for her to feel the emotion of the dance? Also does she really want Will back if he returns, or is she becoming more interested in Antonio?
This is a rich engaging story with wonderful escapism in this beautiful Andalusian setting and I could certainly feel the wet grass of the cherry orchard underneath my feet!
I really enjoyed it and I think its the best book by Jo Thomas that I've read so far.

Then. Now. Always. by Isabelle Broom - Sun, Sand and Sangria - the Perfect Holiday Read!

In my last post, I wrote about the two novels set in Lanzarote that I took on my cruise. Well, two books are never enough because I'm scared of running out of something to read, so I took the latest book by Isabelle Broom that I've been longing to get my teeth into: Then. Now. Always.
This emotional roller-coaster of a story is set in Mojácar, Andalusia, in southern Spain, so not all that far from the Spanish Canary Islands, and Isabelle Broom takes you right into this romantic mountain village with its traditional white-washed buildings with blue-painted doors, and village square, complete with sparkling fountain.

Hannah has a tattoo on her wrist of the ancient Indalo Man which reminds her of that teenage summer she spent there ten years ago with her schoolfriend, Rachel, but now she is a researcher for an independent TV company, run by the gorgeous Greek, Theo, who she's fancied ever since she got her job. They are in Mojácar making a documentary about the Spanish village with Tom, the cameraman and her friend since uni, and Claudette, the temperamental and highly strung French narrator.
The embarrassing memories of that summer long ago that Hannah wishes she could forget threaten to resurface; the arrival of her half-sister, Nancy, whom she's never got on with, also threatens to spoil her month in the sun; plus the story of local artist, Elaine, that Hannah uncovers, all combine to make this novel of sun, sand, and of course, Sangria, the perfect holiday read. I loved it!

Now I'm really looking forward to reading One Thousand Stars and You, set in Sri Lanka, and released on August 23rd, 2018!