A perfect Cornish Christmas is really a great story of love with family, and finding new love and all around solstice and Christmas. It’s all about secrets and honesty. The characters are great and lovely and the dialogs are strong. The story is great and so is Porthmellow. It’s sweet and nice and I really loved reading this novel.

Meet the Lapmans, father, mother, Marcus, Ellie and Scarlett. What should’ve be a great Christmas, turns out to be a disaster when a family secret got revealed. Then a year later Scarlett moves to Porthmellow to live with her sister Ellie in the mansion of their late auntie Joan. The reason for Scarlett is to find out about her roots, but will she find the truth and when if, are the results what she’s hoping for, or is she finding more trouble for her and her family? Sister Ellie found her home in Porthmellow after years of travelling. A new neighbor helps anyway, but it seems like every family and everyone does have secrets. It seems to be very hard to be honest.

A Christmas novel with nice people, a great place (Porthmellow), al lot of secrets, handsome man and a great festivity makes A perfect Cornish Christmas a delicious novel and a must read!

Sisters Ellie and Scarlett have the best Christmas gift for their family. A DNA test to prove their Viking heritage, they are so excited to share the results on Christmas Day. Only there is more of a surprise than they were bargaining for. It appears that Ellie and Scarlett are only half sisters.

A year has passed and Scarlett returns to Cornwall to stay with Ellie, and maybe find out who her biological father really is. Along the way both sisters fall in love with men who make them each question things about themselves.

I enjoyed the second instalment of Phillipa Ashley’s Porthmellow series. I’m looking forward to reading more.

This story definitely has all the makings of a curl up in front of the fire read. It has a fascinating storyline which definitely has a lot of unexpected twists and turns in it.

Scarlett has the perfect gift for her family, a DNA test to find out their heritage. Unfortunately, this leads to some unexpected and very awkward family consequences. The relationship dynamics in this story certainly kept me on my toes.

I liked the sisters who the story is based around. The villagers of Porthmellow are an eccentric lot and having read A Perfect Cornish Summer, which is set there too, it was good to catch up with their lives; this story could easily be read as a standalone though.

I did really enjoy the story and thought it had some fascinating outcomes, which I certainly hadn't guessed. However, at times it did drag a little for me and I just wanted to skip bits to get on with the story. Having said that it is definitely worth a read.

Entertaining, fun Christmas book. Great for a lazy cold afternoon. Cornwall in December, What more can you want. You will like this book.

A real feel-good read, perfect for this time of year with the nights drawing in and when you just want to snuggle in under a blanket and read!

There was no lead-in to the action with this book, with drama from the very first page which was great. I thought the book would be around 1 main character but actually 2 sisters shared the limelight and whilst Scarlett and Jude were supposed to be the main protagonists, I enjoyed Ellie and Aaron's story more as I felt it was a touch more romantic and realistic.

The book was set in the run-up to Christmas but wasn't overly festive which I enjoyed as Autumn and the beginning of Winter is such a wonderful time, it needn't always just be about Christmas. The Winter Solstice festival sounded fantastic and was a welcome addition to the story. The foraging aspect too was well researched and thought out; I love getting in touch with nature.

Whilst I believe there is another book set in Porthmellow, this was easily read as a standalone however I am sure I wouldn't be disappointed with the previous book and any more from this lovely part of Cornwall!

My many thanks to Avon via NetGalley for providing me with this advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a great read from a great series. However, this can be a stand alone. Love being back in the Pourthmellow Harbour. This was a grand story a romance for two sisters Ellie and Scarlett. The book did have lots of repetitive moments

This was not my cup of tea. It is well written and I did get interested in the beginning but after a while, it seems that I was reading the same thing over and over again. The main story was not interesting enough to keep reading, despite liking the characters. I did not finish but would recommend for someone crazy for romance.

Phillipa Ashley was on my to-be-read list of authors for some time, so I am so glad that A Perfect Cornish Christmas was the first novel by her that I have read, because I really enjoyed it.

If you know me, you know Christmas stories are my absolutely favourite, and I can proudly say that I am happy that I have opened the season with this one.

Going into A Perfect Cornish Christmas I had no idea if it was a standalone or part of the series. It definitely read as a standalone, but then again, I know that Ashley has another book called A Perfect Cornish Summer so I believe they are companion novels (someone should update it to Goodreads, so we’d know!).

This story follows two sisters; Scarlett and Ellie. Since the story centres mostly around Scarlett, I would say she is our main character, but because we do get to follow the story from Ellie’s perspective as well, I’d say she is our second main character.
The story is written in third person.

When it comes to genres, I’d say that A Perfect Cornish Christmas is women’s fiction, or even general fiction with romance in it.
In the first place the story talks about family, and complicated relationships between people. It covers some serious topics that are result of people choices, and how they effect other’s lives.
It also talks about belonging and how it impacts us as beings, how it defines who we really are.

Romance is also part of this book and we get to follow two romance developments, one for each sister.

The third important part of the story, in my opinion, is Christmas itself. The setting, food, snow… basically everything that happens around Christmas time, and in this novel, there is a Christmas festival that takes place and is also nice addition to the fable.

I liked most of the characters, and disliked some that were negative ones.
The only character I simply couldn’t understand was Scarlett and Ellie’s mother. I don’t understand how could she kept quiet about everything even after the truth came to light.
I also had hard time understanding their father and his choice to stay with her in the same house while she was acting that way.

The only downside of the novel is that there are lots of repetitions and I felt like I was reading a 500 pages long book, when in reality it has 400 pages.

Overall, I think A Perfect Cornish Christmas is the one to curl up with during winter, so I recommend it to women’s fiction lovers.

When Scarlett & Ellie decide to surprise their parents with DNA ancestry test for Xmas they have no idea of the hole it will tear in their family.
9 months later Mum & Dad are barely speaking, Ellie is living in Seaholly Manor in Porthmellow and Scarlett unhappy in Birmingham moves into Seaholly with Ellie.
Determined to start again Scarlett throws herself into life in Porthmellow but doesn’t plan on being drawn into the preparations for the Christmas Festival or meeting the charismatic Jude Penberth.
Ellie has her own problems when her budding romance with handsome ex-soldier Aaron is thrown off course.
Can Porthmellow work it’s magic and give the sisters the Christmas they hope for and bring their family back together.
It’s great to catch up with some of the characters from A Perfect Cornish Summer, you don’t need to have read that one to enjoy this but why wouldn't you?

Another great read from Trisha Ashley. I have not read any of the other books in the 'Cornish series' but look forward to doing so. The reader is taken on a journey following both the past and present events in the 'Latham' family which has the ability to affect the future of the family and their happiness. It all starts with the purchase of a DNA kit as a Christmas present which gives everyone a surprise that they did not expect or wish to have. We follow the ups and downs of the 'girls' lives and loves also. Will there be a happy ending? Read the book and you will find out!! Thanks netgalley for the free read.

This is the second book in the Porthmellow series. I had read and enjoyed the first book, so I was pleased to receive an early preview copy of this book from Netgalley and the Publisher.
It was good to see characters from the first book, but some of them only had cameo parts. This makes the book easy to read as a standalone novel, but it would have been nice for them to have more involvement in the book.
The two main characters in this book are sisters Ellie and Scarlett. The book begins with their family Christmas in Porthmellow going disastrously wrong, as a secret is accidentally uncovered.
Almost a year later, Scarlett is determined to find out the truth, and moves to Porthmellow to be with her sister Ellie.
Without giving away any spoilers, Scarlett finds it is more difficult to learn the truth than she imagined.
Ellie and Scarlett become closer, and try to heal from their past, but with the secret hanging over them, they are finding it difficult to move forward with their lives.
The setting of the book is wonderful, and you can really imagine what a winter in rural Cornwall could be like, with strong storms. Welcoming cosy cottages and pubs, with a lot of community spirit.
There were a lot of Characters in this book, some likeable but some who I did not warm to very much.
The secret was not revealed until much later in the book, which was good, as it built up the tension. When the secret was revealed, it was not what I expected, and a little far-fetched. I also felt that the matter was brushed under the carpet a little, after the build up to it.
I still enjoyed the book, there was a good balance of humour and tension. I am looking forward to reading more books in the series.

Having read and enjoyed the first book in the series I jumped at the opportunity of reading an advance copy of this book.
It starts straight in with Scarlett running distraught into a local pub on Christmas day after leaving the family Christmas celebrations when a well - meaning present goes disastrously wrong. The story then unfolds with her sister Ellie and both their potential new relationships, plus their parents with their struggles.
Not necessarily a feel - good rom com there are dark parts counter-balancing the lighter hearted ones, but with a location in Cornwall that I would love to live in and characters from the previous one this makes for a book that I could really become involved in. Recommended.

Thanks to netgalley for the chance to read this book.

When Scarlett and Ellie decide to get their dna profiles researched to find out their family history it doesn’t go quite go to plan. Scarlett finds out the person who she thought was her dad isn’t and her dad then realised her mom had an affair. Scarlett eventually finds out who her dad is and it shocks both her and Ellie.
Can the family get over this hurdle and become one again.

Good book from a great author.

I liked this book it just felt a little slow. I enjoyed the characters and can’t really explain why I couldn’t get into it but it wasn’t because I didn’t like the story or the people. A nice Summer Holiday read

After a terrible Christmas where Scarlet discovers that her father isn’t actually her father we are catapulted into a story of her family and their lives. We met her sister a Ellie who the novel also focuses on and we journey with them as they enjoy their time in Porthmellow. I loved the story line and the twist at the end was brilliant and well thought out. It’s enough to keep the pages turning of their own accord.
I struggled with the narrative flitting between the two sisters but eventually relaxed into it as I got used to it and enjoyed it. It was a built in tension builder and at points I was dying to get back to Scarlett or Ellie to see what was going to happen.
I love the descriptions and the real sense of Cornwall is captured perfectly. I felt the goosebumps on their arms as if I was really there. It makes me crave for that Cornish air. Spectacularly done.
It was great to return to Porthmellow, although it would have been nice for the other characters to have more than a fleeting mention in the book sometimes but that’s probably because I loved them so much the first time around I was intrigued to see where they had ended up.
Overall a fantastic novel, rich in humour and family love as well as romance. One to not put down and to get you dreaming of the Cornish coast.

I love a heartwarming Christmas story and this one didn’t disappoint. With a beautiful Cornish backdrop and enjoyable likeable characters it made for a good read.

Lovely festive read. It was a heart warming romance. It was a wonderful book to read. It was well written and flowed well.

I recieved this book via Netgalley and give it my honest review.
This books was a very festive read, it is Christmas joy from cover to cover. The characters were lovable and the settings were stunning, it made me want to spend Christmas in Cornwall! I recommend this festive read any time of the year, now can I put my Christmas tree up yet? Please?

Loved this book. Great characters, easy read, uplifting, funny, romantic and charming. A really nice story that is the perfect escapist read.

This was not entirely terrible, but I admit to finding the “reveal” super sketchy. What a bad idea that was. None of the characters were especially endearing to me, some were just overly daft.

Some issues I had included a part in the book where there are 6 people in a room, and five of them were staring at one person but the text reads “six pairs of eyes turned on Scarlett in expectation” so was Scarlett somehow staring at herself? Another bit that had me in stitches of laughter: “She was trying not to stare at his tanned feet. They were nicely shaped for a man, and he wore a pewter toe ring.” A toe ring! I’m laughing all over again just typing that.

Porthmellow seems like a nice town but the characters just don’t work for me.