3.5 “Green-fingered and Gorgeous.” Stars

I love this time of year when we get all the easygoing summer reads and The Cornish Village School - Breaking the Rules fits the bill nicely, centralising around headteacher, Rosy and her plight to save her school from closure, and her new and very gorgeous neighbour, TV gardener, Matt.

“You can be welcoming, you just can’t fancy him. At all.”

This definitely brought together all the elements I love in this genre and with a beautiful setting, a man to love and a cast of quirky and likeable residents, we’re brought plenty of humour and flirt, and a more serious edge as a Rosy and Matt get to know one another.

“...we only get one first kiss…”

There was however one sticking point for me and that came in the form of Matt’s sister, Angelina who royally rubbed me up wrong way each time she made an appearance adding little if any value to the storyline, but that aside, this was a sound introduction to Kitty Wilson’s writing and I’d have no qualms in visiting Penmenna again in the future.

I loved this book. I loved the characters, the wonderful settings and how the plot was developed.
This book is well written and really enjoyable.
I look forward to reading other books written by this writer.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to Canelo and Netgalley for this ARC

A light hearted romance book about the life of Rosie, a head mistress at the local primary school. She moved to Penmenna after heartbreak and did not want to get into another relationship any time soon especially with anyone too close to home! Then enter Matt a very handsome man who moves in next door....

for me this book from the start didnt grip me and draw me in. i felt like i should give it a chance and maybe it would get better. It was rather predictable and could see where it would go from the start. unfortunately this book just wasnt for me.

This was an ok read but the story was a bit muddled. I enjoyed reading about Rosy's village life and Matt's gardening career. If you are looking for a quick read with a cup of tea or to take to the beach this is a good choice.

I have read a lot of books in this genre, but this one really stands out as the ultimate feel good Summer read. From the very first page I was absolutely hooked and read the entire book in one sitting. The descriptions of the beautiful Cornish scenery were wonderful and I just loved all the quirky characters. The antics of the children made me smile and as an Early Years teacher myself, I have to say they were spot on! The author writes in a very engaging style with lots of witty observations which had me laughing aloud at several points. I will definitely be recommending this to teacher friends as it would be the perfect accompaniment to the much anticipated summer holiday. Can’t wait to read more books from this very talented author!

With thanks to Netgalley and Canelo for this ARC in exchange for an open and honest review.

Rosy Winter is the Headmistress of Penmenna Village School, Rosy is a conscientious teacher loved by her pupils and the other villagers. During university she was involved in a bad relationship with a man that wrecked her confidence and friendships. Ever since Rosy has followed the golden rule to never date anyone from the village and keep separate from her friends and work.

Rosy had followed this rule happily for years until celebrity gardener Matt Masters moved in next door. There was a definite spark between Matt and Rosy but both were scared of commitment. Matt moved to Penmenna to star in a gardening programme redesigning the garden at Penmenna Hall and wanted to concentrate on that..

Then Rosy found out there was a possibility that Penmenna Village School would be amalgamated with 3 other village schools in the area. The kids at Penmenna would then have to travel to school 10 miles away, Rosy enlisted the help of Uber Mum/school governor/head of the PTA Marion Marksharp to stop the school closure.

Matt comes up with the idea of having a weekly segment with the school children helping him at the hall. Marion hopes the exposure will put pressure to stop the LEA from closing the school. Rosy is upset because she thinks Matt is encroaching into her professional life.

Breaking The Rules was a light hearted fun read. The village sounded perfect and I laughed at the idea of Sunday lunch accompanied by the battle of the local bands. My favourite character was Marion, Godzilla of the PTA. Although Marion was bossy on the outside she was also sex mad and caught in flagrante with her husband in a cupboard. I also liked the spoilt, bad tempered, Angelica who made me laugh with her bad behaviour.

I tried to like Rosy but she was very immature outside the classroom and constantly blew hot and cold with Matt. Even when Rosie explained to Chase what happened at university it was no excuse to treat him so badly.

I recommend this book with its quirky characters, adorable children and a naughty dog. I look forward to reading the next in the series.

The cover drew me to want to read this novel straight away, the blues, greens and yellows look stunning and I downloaded it to my Kindle straight away! The name also drew me in, The Cornish Village School sounded so quaint, Rosy has my dream job in a dream location! So the story does follow main character Rosy, who is a teacher and also headteacher of the local village primary school. The opening of this fairly short novel was quite comical and I felt for Rosy for having to deal with a difficult mum who thinks their child is the smartest and brightest in the class! It did make me laugh.

I'd never heard or read anything by this author before - and as I've mentioned a few times on this blog, I'm always excited but a bit skeptical when I download a book from Netgalley from an author I've never heard of before - however I needn't have worried. It was funny, lighthearted and really enjoyable. It's wonderfully romantic in places but also kinda different from other romance novels I've read because in this one it doesn't always work out as straightforward for Rosy and gardener Matt as she would have liked. Therefore it had a bit of an edge to it and urged me to read on!

This novel was set in the beautiful countryside in Cornwall and every description of it just made me want to go and visit (even though it is a fairly long drive from where I am!). The characters were all really friendly and the community spirit was really lovely to read about. I'd love to live somewhere where there's a really great sense of community and where everyone is lovely. The village has to pull together in order to save their local primary school and it was just a really heartwarming read. I really felt for Rosy as you could tell that the school meant a lot to her and I was just hoping everything did turn out okay for her!

When Rosy first meets Matt at the beginning of the book she feels something she's never felt before - an instant attraction! However, she soon finds him a bit irritating and sparks fly between them. It's just a really enjoyable and lighthearted, easy novel to read to pass a few hours. Overall, I'd recommend giving this novel a go. You won't regret it - and I'll certainly be looking out for more novels by this author in future! Thank you to the publisher for a chance to read this novel via Netgalley, which I have reviewed honestly.

3 - "Why the grumpy face..?" Stars.

Kitty Wilson begins her new Cornish Village School series with enjoyable results. Breaking the Rules gave great introduction to the Cornish village of Penmenna and the people living there, around the story Head-mistress Rosy Winter’s attempts at saving her school from closure.

Defeated? Not a chance. She was going to prepare for battle.

This positives in this book are that I discovered a new author whose writing style was definitely a hit. I enjoyed the descriptions of the locale, the wealth of secondary characters introduced were all individuals I could picture in my mind’s eye, and the absolutely adorable Matt Masters, landscape gardener extraordinaire, and all-round good guy. Some might say too good…

The two of them just made sense together…

I started out really liking Rosy as well, told from dual POV with Matt, it was great to get in both their heads when as the relationship between them developed. But here is where my enjoyment fizzled a bit, because as I said all-round-nice-guy Matt was just given too much too deal with in my opinion, what with a wholly spoiled and pretty dis-likeable sister; Angelina the waste-of-space reality star, throwing her toys out of the pram every other chapter, but for who he pretty much dropped everything for and went running to her aid each and every time, he then goes and falls for a woman who turns into a petulant drama-queen in the form of Rosy.

The solitary nature of his work appealed deeply.

I understood her previous heartbreak, and her initial knee-jerk reaction to things, but what detracted from my enjoyment a lot is the fact that it took her weeks to actually make amends with a man who pretty much went out of his way to do the best he could for and in trying to save the school by making it and the students an integral part of his new Television show.

He didn’t know which way to turn or what he was supposed to think.

I actually found her actions pretty cowardly, and her behavior in the latter stages of the story was just dragged out over too long a space of time for me to continue sympathizing with her. I actually wanted Matt to move on and get-together with someone else because of it.

He knew, at this moment there was no doubt in his mind, this woman was the one he as meant to find.

Still an extremely solid start though, and it was purely characterization rather than writing style or general bones of the story that lowered my rating for this book. I still enjoyed it, and it was certainly in the main not struggle to read, I just wanted the resolution to the conflict to have been played out over days rather than weeks, some of Rosy’s students displayed more maturity than she did at points because of it. I am also hoping that due to it being a series, there will be more closure on some of the side plots that were plating out too as in general it didn't really feel as if things had been closed off in relation to some of the characters.

This is definitely a series I want to read more from, I hope the future books are from other characters perspectives though, there were certainly enough of them introduced that I’d like to get to know on a more personal level going forwards.

What a lovely story -from the cover, to the setting (a village school in Cornwall), to both the main characters (though I actually particularly liked Marion the best - she was a right hoot) and a dog called Scruffy, it was a total delight through and through.

Chick-lit at its heartwarming best!

Rosy Winter did a good job rebuilding her life after her love life hit the skids. She’s headmistress of the school in the village of Pennemma in Cornwall and lives by the rule that she will never date anyone from the village. It really hasn’t been that hard so far, but her new neighbor, Matt is out to change all that. He vows to win Rosy over, even as she scrambles to rally the villagers to keep their local school open after a rumor surfaces that it may be closed. This is the first book in a series, and while shorter than a full length novel, it still manages to check all the right boxes for a charming read sure to make you smile

I hadn't heard of this author and the cover really attracted me to the book and I mean so glad I read it as didn't disappoint at all the cover is beautful and the book is just the same it's heartwarming and romantic and shows you how you sometimes have to break your rule in order to be happy. I now want to read more by this author and would love a follow on as so good. Shows how people can pull together when they need to and can they save the school or not. Set in beautful countryside and you want to imagine yourself there with them. A very easy read and has you wanting to read more. To see what happens.
Rosy has settled into a small Cornish village called Penmenna and she's the new headmistress of the little village school. She always played by the rules and never dated anyone from the village which you would think would be quite easy but once Matt moves in next door will it be as simple. As soon as Rosy sees Matt she gets that feeling in her that she hasn't experienced since her first love but that ended badly and can she move forward from that or is it just to hard for her. Matt is a gardener and wants to do a new tv show and he will do everything to persuade Rosy that she can break the rule and will he win her heart or not. Meanwhile Rosy is trying to save the village school as its set to close she pulls all the community together but can the one person she doesn't want to ask help her in a way she wasn't expecting and can she's save the school and be happy or not.

I got this book just when I needed a smile on my face and boy did I get it!? A headmistress of a local school in a nice little Cornish village keeps matters of the heart tightly under lock and key. But then there's a new neighbour she hadn't reckoned on and he's a gardener don't ya know. I think as it's summer and the fact I've been watching a few garden programmes recently, got me thinking. oh this might be a nice and very timely story! And it was. Matt's doing a show in the small village! He's got an eye for our Rosy too!
What I liked about this story is that it's not a straight forward romance as Rosy has some problems as the school is set to close. Another very timely thing sadly but one which made the story very real too. Nice characters, a setting I only wish was real as I would move there immediately, and the promise of Matt the gardener! Everything in this garden really is Rosy!

Rosy is head of the local school, a job she loves. But the school is threatened with closure.
Then there is her new neighbour Matt. After what has happened in her past she doesn't like to date anyone too close to her, so she can't date him no matter how much she is drawn to him. He's not giving up on her that easily though!
A great entertaining read, looking forward to more from this author.

I love this books, it’s charachters Rosie and Matt are captivating. The book is a breath of fresh Cornish air, I can smell the sea air, hear the gulls and see the pastel shaded houses.
It’s a beautifully written book and I was rooting for the characters. I too have a crush on Matt the gardener! He sounds equally delicious, caring and a sexy gardener to boot.
I’m hooked please bring on the next book....!