The best way to mend a broken heart, is to start again in Devon…

Synopsis

Can a village pub serve up a second chance at love?

Fiona is a brilliant maitre d’ and wine-waiter, who has worked with dashing celebrity chef Reuben for years. Now they’ve fallen in love. But when he proposes, in a flash of self-doubt, she realizes she can’t go through with it.

Driven by a mixture of courage and confusion, she flees London for Brambleton – a picturesque seaside village that promises a fresh start.

Soon Fiona has a new job at the lively local pub, pouring her heart into every glass and banishing thoughts of Reuben by studying every night to become a qualified sommelier. But just when she’s started to rediscover what she wants, a new chef turns up at the pub, and throws Fiona’s careful plans into disarray…

With warmth, humour, and a touch of heartache, A Perfect Devon Pub is a gorgeous story that celebrates the joy of good food, fine wine, and close friends – and reminds us that the path to true love often begins with finding the love within ourselves.

My review

Fiona used to enjoy her life in London. She loved her job as a sommelier in a fancy restaurant, working together with the man she is dating. The only thing that is missing, is to pass the test to become an Advanced Sommelier, organised by the CMS. However, when she fails that test, not only does she start to doubt herself, but she also sees how her own boyfriend and head chef Ru, went behind her back for a Plan B. Being heartbroken, Fiona escapes to her aunt Ivy, in Devon. In Brambleton, she finds a job in the local pub, finding her passion for wine once again. But when a new chef starts at the pub, someone she knows and tried to escape, everything changes once again for Fiona. And when at that same pub, expensive wines start to disappear, Fiona feels that everything is once again at stake. With a broken heart and a reputation at risk, how will Fiona react? And is there a chance for her to put her heart out in the open again?

There are stories that make resonate with you, even if the lives of the main characters are not even remotely close to your own life.

And somehow, there was something about Fiona that I recognized in a way. She seemingly has it all in London, yet there is the sense that she needs to prove herself to others. Even if she is in a great relationship with Ruben, and they run a restaurant together, without Fiona passing the test of Advanced Sommelier, it makes her feel like a failure.

There is a lot I can say about that, how a piece of paper is not proof of anything. That success is based on your achievements, and not on passing an exam. But I would be calling the kettle black, with me being the pot… Because the mind works in a peculiar way, and no matter how much the people around you try to convince you about the opposite, when you feel a failure yourself, that is the only thought you can have…

And unfortunately, those doubts, those thoughts of insecurity is Fiona’s own downfall, as not only she decides to end things with Ru, but also needs an escape.

Despite everything she has been through, emotionally, I was happy to read how Brambleton is giving her everything she needs. And working at the pub, seeing how not only her bosses and her colleagues, but also the customers, appreciate her wine knowledge, is giving her back some of the confidence she has lost.

Growing confidence that is at risk of evaporating again, when the new chef starts. The new chef, who isn’t a stranger to Fiona at all. And I have to admit, I didn’t know what to think about the reappearance, because I didn’t exactly warm towards him. But it could also be that my own judgement was a bit clouded as it was based on how Fiona saw the events taking place.

And even the more the story evolves, his actions, or the way we see them, didn’t make me change my mind about him immediately. But even without actual proof, or with indications of otherwise, I knew that there would be more to him that what we see…

Fiona for sure is going through an emotional turmoil in this book, made only worse by her own thoughts. Yet slowly, we see her also grow, see some of that confidence return. And even with the best attempt to bring her down again, with the mystery of the disappearing expensive wine bottles, while her initial thought and action is to crawl back in a corner, we also see she isn’t that ‘weak’ person anymore that she was at the start of the book.

Slowly, veeeeeeeery slowly, we see the real Fiona emerge. Still not a Fiona without any flaws, but a stronger Fiona. A Fiona that slooooooooooowly start to understand what truly matters, how confidence doesn’t come with a piece of paper. And that confidence can make you stand taller, ready to face even your nemesis, and that you are ready to fight for yourself, against injustice.

This book is a real journey, a journey that not only Fiona has to go through, but also a journey that you as a reader go through. For sure it made me realize that sometimes self – doubt can come from unexpected places, and that they can take away what you care about the most. But that through growth, and strength, you can gain not only selflove, but also love for and from others.