The Christmas Cafe at Seashell Cove: The perfect laugh-out-loud Christmas romance
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‘It gets better after four months,’ her Mum reassured her, glowing with happiness and excitement, and an almost radioactive tan.
Dad had a word with a man in the planning office and got the OK for the wedding to go ahead, so Meg’s Mum and Dad were married by Nathan’s brother’s friend, who looked a lot like Donald Trump which added a touch of hilarity. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room as they exchanged their vows. Meg’s three-tier wedding cake, decorated with cascading holly and berries, drew a roomful of gasps, and ensured a rush of orders for the bakery.
‘I think this might just be the best day of my life,’ she said. ‘Not every child gets to be at their parents’ wedding.’
Bridget arrived as the ceremony ended, with a triumphant and handsome Chad, which caused a stir for no one apart from our teak-tanned parents, who were thrilled to see their oldest daughter so happy and relaxed, for once, and their granddaughter joyfully reunited with her father.
‘I don’t know exactly what’s happened, but I’m so glad my lovely girls are here for Christmas,’ Mum cried, hugging us both at once, her tinsel necklace scratching our cheeks.
Gwen engineered her kiss with Jerry under the mistletoe. I noticed he didn’t put up a fight and had actually been hovering near it for most of the evening, in his Santa jumper – though her technique left onlookers open-mouthed.
‘Ain’t you lot never seen a proper movie kiss?’ she demanded, after dipping him over her knee in a way that can’t have been good for his back. Not that he was complaining. I caught them looking at the sky together on the terrace, Dickens tucked under Jerry’s arm. ‘If ’e’s good wiv me pussy, he’s a keeper,’ she said, winking at me over her shoulder.
Seth arrived with Jack, who made a beeline for Romy to show her a Star Wars sticker book his grandma had bought him for Christmas but decided to let him open early, and Seth told me he’d ordered a lightsaber, which had arrived that afternoon.
Digby stayed at home, probably enjoying having the place to himself for a few hours. Felicity had gone home, but had invited Seth and Jack to Oaklands during Jack’s first school half-term in February. ‘As long as you’ll come too,’ Seth said, nuzzling my neck as we swayed together to ‘Last Christmas’. Felicity had agreed to stop fighting for custody and was hopeful relations would improve, and Seth was giving her the benefit of the doubt. ‘Jack deserves a relationship with his grandparents,’ he said. ‘And maybe she’ll come to see I’m not such a bad dad.’
‘You’re not,’ I said, pulling him towards the mistletoe. ‘And you’re not a bad kisser either.’
‘You two are adorable.’ Meg hugged me as I joined her and Cassie by the buffet laid out in the café, mostly comprised of turkey sandwiches, and made me pull a Christmas cracker with her. ‘Can you believe we’re all ending the year coupled up?’ she said, trying on a gold paper crown.
‘What a horrible term.’ But I couldn’t stop smiling – especially watching Seth dance Romy and Jack around the room, his head stuffed into a Christmas elf hat complete with pointy ears.
‘I knew there was something that day he came into the café.’ Cassie handed me another Christmas cracker. ‘It was written all over you both.’
The only thing that didn’t go to plan was the weather. Despite predictions, it didn’t snow until the end of January when it barely stopped for a fortnight. It was the heaviest snowfall south Devon had ever seen, and I took plenty of photos to prove it.
One in particular has joined the little gallery beside Jack’s bed, next to the one of him with his mum – a photo of Jack and Seth, their faces bright with laughter, building a sand snowman on the beach at Seashell Cove.
If Tilly’s story had you crying with laughter, you’ll love The Café at Seashell Cove! Meet Cassie Maitland, who comes home to Seashell Cove for a holiday, and finds family, friendship and true love by the sea. Get it here.
The Café at Seashell Cove
‘I about fell out of my chair laughing… Hysterical… One of my favorite authors… Perfect… So many laughs my sides were sore after reading!… Hilarious.’ Novel Gossip, 5 stars
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Get it here!
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When Cassie Maitland needs a holiday from her glamorous but stressful job in event management, she escapes home to gorgeous Seashell Cove, where her family’s cosy café sits perched on the cliffs above sparkling waves and golden sand.
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But a lot has changed while Cassie’s been away: her parents have transformed their tired café into a welcoming haven, her friends Meg and Tilly have whole new lives, and old flame Danny’s twinkling eyes and winning smile make Cassie feel even more flustered than they used to.
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Keen to throw herself back into local life, Cassie starts to run themed events – including a not entirely successful cat-café day, complete with dozens of felines. Luckily Danny is always around to lend a helping hand, and Cassie soon begins to wonder if her life in London was really all she made it out to be…
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Could a new start in Seashell Cove be exactly what Cassie needs?
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A heart-warming and hilarious read about friendship, belonging and seaside living. Perfect for fans of Debbie Johnson, Holly Martin and Jenny Oliver.
Hear more from Karen
If you enjoyed The Christmas Café at Seashell Cove, and want to keep up-to-date with all Karen Clarke’s latest releases, you can sign up here. Your email address will never be shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Also by Karen Clarke
SEASHELL COVE SERIES
The Café at Seashell Cove
The Bakery at Seashell Cove
The Christmas Café at Seashell Cove
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BEACHSIDE SERIES
The Beachside Sweet Shop
The Beachside Flower Stall
The Beachside Christmas
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Being Brooke Simmons
My Future Husband
Put a Spell on You
A letter from Karen
I want to say a huge thank you for choosing to read The Christmas Café at Seashell Cove. If you did enjoy it, and want to keep up-to-date with all my latest releases, just sign up at the following link. Your email address will never be shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.
www.bookouture.com/karen-clarke
It was wonderful to return to Seashell Cove at Christmas to tell Tilly’s story and catch up with some familiar characters. I particularly enjoyed revisiting the café, which gave me the opportunity to pop in lots of references to favourite festive cakes!
At the heart of the story was Tilly’s difficult relationship with her older sister. I’m happy to say, I had no such issues with mine growing up. We had lots of laughs back then, and it’s lovely to have a sister who’s also a friend, but I wanted to explore the effect a ten year age gap would have, and how different perceptions of their upbringing impacts their lives.
My biggest challenge was writing about Tilly’s love of swimming – despite growing up by the seaside, I cannot swim, and am terrified of being in water. Maybe, one day, I’ll pluck up the courage to book some lessons.
I loved writing about Seth and Jack, and now know far more about motor racing than I ever thought possible – enough to be thankful that neither of my sons plan to take it up!
I hope you loved The Christmas Café at Seashell Cove and if you did I would be very grateful if you could write a review. I’d love to hear what you think, and it makes such a difference helping new readers to discover one of my books for the first time.
I love hearing from my readers – you can get in touch on my Facebook page, through Twitter, Goodreads or my website.
Thanks,
Karen
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www.writewritingwritten.blogspot.com
The Bakery at Seashell Cove
A warm welcome and delicious chocolate gateau are always on the menu at the Bakery at Seashell Cove
– and this summer, romance is in the air…
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Meg Larson thought she had everything she wanted: she works in the local bakery, she’s months away from marrying her high-school sweetheart, and home is beautiful, sunny Seashell Cove, where the sky is blue, the sea is turquoise and the sand is golden.
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Except that the bakery is up for sale and her fiancé Sam’s more interested in bikes than their relationship. When Meg receives shocking news about her family, he’s on a cycling tour and ignoring her calls – and posting selfies on Facebook with a female cyclist he looks far too cosy with...
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Luckily the bakery’s estate agent, Nathan, is understanding and funny, and as the summer goes on an unexpected friendship blossoms. When the bakery is given a second lease of life under a mysterious new owner, Meg realises a change might be exactly what she needs too.
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Will Meg find the happy-ever-after she dreams of in Seashell Cove?
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An uplifting, laugh-out-loud rom com that will make you dream of romantic days at the beach. Perfect for fans of Debbie Johnson, Holly Martin and Jenny Oliver.
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Get it here!
The Beachside Sweet Shop
Chocolate fudge, butterscotch and raspberry bonbons… treat yourself to some sugary treats, a big slice of friendship and a sprinkling of romance at The Beachside Sweet Shop.
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When Marnie Appleton inherited a sweet shop from her grandfather she was determined to do his legacy proud. The shop has been a much-loved feature of the little seaside town of Shipley for years, but now Marnie needs to bring it up to date, and she’s recruited gorgeous new assistant Josh to help.
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Marnie gets busy redecorating the shop and choosing delicious new sweets to stock, but things are never that simple: new neighbour Isobel, a fame-hungry blogger, is on a crusade against sugar, and she’ll go to any lengths to secure bad publicity for Marnie’s shop.
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Marnie fights back with homemade sugar-free treats, but with her best friend Beth heavily pregnant, her grandmother Celia recovering from an operation, and her very recently ex-boyfriend Alex returning to Shipley with a new love, Marnie has a lot on her plate.
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And then there’s Josh, with whom Marnie is struggling to keep her relationship strictly professional…Will both the sweet shop and love flourish?
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Available now!
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A deliciously heartwarming read about family, friends and handmade coconut ice. Perfect for fans of Cressida McLaughlin, Debbie Johnson, and Tilly Tennant.
The Beachside Flower Stall
A feel good romantic comedy
Out now!
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A heartening and uplifting read about lost love, true friendship, and blossoming romance. Perfect for fans of Cressida McLaughlin, Cathy Bramley, and Debbie Johnson.
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Carrie Dashwood fled Dorset ten years ago when her best friend Megan stole her love, local heart-throb Tom. Now she’s back to help run her aunt Ruby’s flower stall in idyllic Shipley.
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Trying to persuade herself that her feelings for Tom are in the past, Carrie plans to avoid him and Megan completely. But it’s not to be, because Ruby’s Blooms are arranging the flowers for Megan and Tom’s wedding.
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Soon Carrie’s crawling under the stall to hide and accidentally inventing an imaginary boyfriend... But with the stall’s finances in jeopardy and Ruby needing her niece more than ever, Carrie has to keep her emotions in check.
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With bouquets to arrange, family secrets to uncover, and Tom unavoidably a part of her life again, can Carrie keep her cool, save the stall, and find her very own happy ever after?
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Out now!
The Beachside Christmas
Snow is falling and there’s romance in the air. Curl up for a cosy Christmas by the fire at Seaview Cottage…
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When thirty-year-old Lily Ambrose’s latest relationship ends in disaster, she remembers happy childhood holidays in the seaside town of Shipley and decides it’s the perfect place for a fresh start.
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But when Lily arrives, the town’s spirits are as low as her own: the local celebrity due to turn on the Christmas lights has gone on a cruise instead. Keen to prove herself, she calls in a favour and secures gorgeous reality star Ollie.
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Lily’s neighbours are initially thrilled, but Ollie is as uncontrollable as he is good-looking. He can’t remember the town’s name, calls the Christmas decorations tacky, and manages to offend everyone. And whilst handsome but stubborn cameraman Craig tries to help, even he can’t stop Ollie’s madcap plans to stage a romance with Lily…
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Will Lily be able to keep Ollie under control and bring the Christmas cheer back to Shipley – and find herself a real kiss under the mistletoe?
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An addictive, heart-warming and uplifting read about friendship, romance, and Christmas spirit. Perfect for fans of Phillipa Ashley, Cathy Bramley and Debbie Johnson.
* * *
Available now.
Acknowledgements
A lot of people are involved in making a book, and I would like to thank Oliver Rhodes and the brilliant team at Bookouture for making it happen. Particular thanks to my wonderful editor, Abi, for her insightful guidance, to Jane for copy-editing, Claire for proofreading, Emma and Nikki for my gorgeous covers, Alex for marketing, and Kim and Noelle for spreading the word.
As ever, I owe my lovely readers a massive thank you, as well as the blogging community, whose reviews are a labour of love, and Amanda Brittany for her tireless feedback and friendship despite a difficult year.
And last, but never least, thank you to all my family and friends for their constant encouragement, my children, Amy, Martin and Liam for their unwavering support, and my husband Tim for endless cups of tea, and for everything else – I couldn’t do it without you.
Published by Bookouture in 2018
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An imprint of StoryFire Ltd.
Carmelite House
50 Victoria Embankment
London EC4Y 0DZ
United Kingdom
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www.bookouture.com
Copyright © Karen Clarke, 2018
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Karen Clarke has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work.
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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers.
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eBook ISBN: 978-1-78681-587-3
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events other than those clearly in the public domain, are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.