The Great Village Show by Alexandra Brown

Out Now
Published by HarperCollins
Purchase from Amazon here

The blurb:

The warm and witty new novel from Alexandra Brown, bestselling author of The Great Christmas Knit Off. Perfect for fans of Jenny Colgan and Carole Matthews.

Tindledale is in a tizzy . . .

The Village Show competition is coming around again and after last year’s spectacular failure, the villagers are determined to win. Meg, teacher at the local school, is keen to help and to impose some much-needed order.

After a terse encounter with a newcomer to the village, Meg discovers that it is celebrity chef and culinary bad boy, Dan Wright. Meg thinks he is arrogant and rude but rumour has it that Dan is opening a new restaurant in the village which could really put Tindledale on the map.

As things come together, villagers old and new all start to come out of the woodwork, including new arrival Jessie who seems to have it all. But first impressions can be deceptive and Meg discovers that when it comes to Tindledale – and Dan – nothing is ever quite as it seems . . .


My Review:

I loved the Great Christmas Knit Off which was the first in the Tindledale series and so was very excited to get my hands on The Great Village show, and it didn't let me down.

The book centres around Meg who is the acting headteacher of the village school. She is utterly delightful and I found myself warning to her straight away which absorbed me into the book within a couple of chapters. When the village takes an interest in holding a village show to try and win a place in the national villages of the year Meg throws herself into the task.

Meg has been a single parent for many years, and with her son off at university life has got a bit dull, but the show, along with a mysterious celebrity chef are about to arrive and inject some life and excitement (as well as intrigue) into Meg's life.

Tindledale is a great setting for a book, and The Great Village Show has a fabulous cast of characters that we get to meet. If you have also read the first in the series you will be delighted to hear that we meet up again with the characters such as Sybil who was the main character in The Great Christmas Knit Off. My other favourite character in this book is Jessie who is a newcomer Mum of triplets moving to the village. Her story is a not grittier, and she is a meek and lovely woman.

I love Alexandra Brown's style of writing. She brings the village and characters to life so easily and made it fun for me to connect with them all. Her descriptions feel like they are transporting me into the scenes and into village life which made the book fun to read. I hated the book ending and leaving Meg and the gang behind as I want to move to a village like Tindledale. I can imagine being in the heart of a close community just like Tindledale has created.

This is a book that grasped me and kept me reading for many hours until I sadly reached the end. Yes, it may seem predictable to some and you hope that the outcomes you guess come true, but that doesn't detract from a well written and feel good book. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

Thank you to Harpercollins who kindly provided a copy of the book via Netgalley in return for an honest review.