Katie Fforde

"Emily is happy with her life just as it is. She has a career as a midwife that she loves . She enjoys living on her own as a single woman. But she's also feels it's time for a change and a spot of some sea air. So when her best friend Rebecca asks whether she'd like to spend the summer cooking on a puffer' boat just off the Scottish coast, she jumps at the chance. But she barely has time to get to grips with the galley before she finds herself with a lot on her plate. Rebecca is heavily pregnant and is thrilled to have her friend on board doing most of the work. Then there's Emily's competitive and jealous kitchen assistant who thinks she should be head-cook, not Emily. And there's Alasdair, the handsome local doctor who Emily is desperately trying not to notice. Because if she falls in love with him, as he appears to be falling for her, will she ever want her old life back again?"

A Summer at Sea

Abi Hills

Yeah, this book was not for me. 

The descriptions were nice, detailed enough to make me imagine what the place looked like in my head, but not so much that the images stuck with me throughout the book. With multiple scene changes in between chapters, I kept losing track of where each part was set. It would've been easier to follow if the book was then split into smaller chapters.

(view spoiler)[ This book tried to get away with being "anti-feminist" by the several references to how certain instances felt "anti-feminist" but the main character didn't mind. For example, there's a bit on the boat in the storm and Emily talks about how she's worried about feeding the men on board, even if that felt "anti-feminist". Also, she basically gets persuaded into wanting kids and having babies. It's not "anti-feminist" to want children and marriage, but the way the book was set out with Emily changing her mind after meeting a man and delivering her friend's baby, it felt like those weren't her true feelings. Especially considering she got into arguments about her beliefs that she was happy staying single, and then suddenly changed her mind. Yeah, this just didn't hit the mark for me, it's almost as if the author just wanted more people to read the book, who would normally complain. 

Also, it's supposedly a romance book, at least that was what I got from the cover and blurb. However there isn't really much romance, Emily and Alasdair kiss once and have sex once and then somehow that makes them in love, how is that romance? I didn't really believe they were in love or attracted to each other. The only mention of this is the author explicitly telling us this. I want to feel the love and attraction without simply being told so. I do prefer clean romance books as there doesn't have to be smut to feel passion (as evident in Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer's books). Unfortunately, the author didn't achieve that for me. Maybe it would've helped this one along if there was smut. 

Also, I didn't really like the main character, she was very bland. Her personality traits like being a passionate midwife and "happy single childless woman" felt very forced since she ended up taking a job that only dabbled in midwifery and ended up wanting to have a baby. 

However, the last couple of chapters were probably the best bit of the book. The childbirth scene was suspenseful, and so was the fact that you didn't know how she would end up with Alasdair (although obviously, she did because of the kind of book it is). Still, I mean suspenseful lightly, it's mainly the pace and the narrative hook, you can still easily guess what is going to happen for the most part. Again I'm not too fussed about this as obviously that's not the point of this kind of book. I've probably just been reading too many mysteries and thrillers.  (hide spoiler)]

I would however recommend this still if you like a clean, easy read. I understand this isn't necessarily romance and more "woman's fiction" or even "chick-lit". I was under the impression Katie Fforde is a romance author, but since the romance part didn't really work in this book, if you're looking for romance I wouldn't read this one.

Emily is happy with her life just as it is. She has a career as a midwife that she loves . She enjoys living on her own as a single woman. But she's also feels it's time for a change and a spot of some sea air. So when her best friend Rebecca asks whether she'd like to spend the summer cooking on a 'puffer' boat just off the Scottish coast, she jumps at the chance. But she barely has time to get to grips with the galley before she finds herself with a lot on her plate. Rebecca is heavily pregnant and is thrilled to have her friend on board doing most of the work. Then there's Emily's competitive and jealous kitchen assistant who thinks she should be head-cook, not Emily. And there's Alasdair, the handsome local doctor who Emily is desperately trying not to notice. Because if she falls in love with him, as he appears to be falling for her, will she ever want her old life back again?

A Summer at Sea

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