Review: Deft British romantic comedy set in the historic city of Bristol
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 23, 2014
A pleasing romantic comedy that tells the story of a community's fight to save their street - the Cupid's Way of the title - from demolition.Revolving around the nearly-30 heroine Evie Stone is a varied cast of characters of all ages. I especially enjoy the way Phillips weaves interesting and dignified elderly characters into her books, adding depth to the romantic themes played out by younger people at the heart of her stories.The story's not only about the seemingly doomed romance sparked in the early part of the book between Evie, campaigning to save her grandparents' home, and handsome Michael, CEO of the company bent on demolishing it. There are also other romantic themes - the relationship between her spirited grandparents, for example - and themes about identity, recognising who you are and being unafraid to embrace it. The ending is satisfying and heartwarming - but I'm not giving any plot spoilers here!So why only four stars, not five, as so many others have given it, at the time of this review?Unlike Phillips' previous books, Cupid's Way is set in Bristol, a city I've lived and worked in, and while Phillips makes clear the interesting contrast of old and new buildings and the presence of ancient architecture nestled among the state-of-the-art, some of the geographical references were a little bit hazy, e.g. specifying which of Bristol's train stations Evie comes into (they're very different) and terms such as "the Bristol bypass" (there isn't one), which occasionally broke the spell for me. People who don't know the city might consider I'm being a bit harsh here - sorry about that!Disclosure: I know the author personally and received a free copy as a gift, but not with a specific request for a review).