Pippa spent many childhood summers in the little village of Taxos in Greece, where she and her friend Niko had many wonderful adventures. Now as an adult she is returning for a holiday with boyfriend Henrik. But the recession has hit Taxos hard, and business is far from booming. With Henrik's large company planning on turning Taxos into a tacky tourist destination, Pippa teams up with the locals to help put together a plan to save the village, and the main attraction is a little tea shop run by Pippa and serving her delicious scones. This is a perfect easy summer read. The descriptions of Taxos make you feel as though you are there with Pippa on her holiday. I liked Pippa from the start, and her scones sounded mouth-wateringly good! I didn't take much to Henrik, I was glad she was having doubts about him. And I didn't feel that strongly either way about Niko, which isn't very positive. At times the plot was a bit slow moving, and elements of the story were a bit implausible, but if you're looking for an easy holiday read, then this is a good bet. (LO)
Love doesn't always go to plan in Samantha Tonge's latest novel, Game of Scones. The summary says: "Growing up, Pippa Pattinson's summers were spent in the idyllic Greek island fishing village of Taxos. There she spent many long hazy days determinedly ignoring thoughts of the life her parents had mapped out for her (a dreary-but-secure banking job and obligatory sensible husband!) Instead she daydreamed of running her own tea shop - serving the perfect scones -with mocha-eyed childhood friend Niko by her side... Arriving back in Taxos for the first time in years, with suave boyfriend Henrik, Pippa barely recognises the tired little town - but is relieved to catch glimpses of the quaint, charming village she's always loved. Together Niko and Pippa put together a proposal to save Taxos from tourist-tastic ruin, and at the heart of their plan is Pippa's dream project - The Tastiest Little Tea Shop in Taxos. It's time for Pippa to leave her London life behind and dust off her scone recipe that's guaranteed to win over both locals and visitors. And amidst the rolling pins and raisins, it seems romance is blossoming where she's least expecting it." Game of Scones is out in April 2015.