Published by Headline on April 29 2021
Format: eARC
Source: Net Galley
Amazon UK
Also by this author: The Stranger in My Bed
When Hattie is made redundant and evicted from her flat in one horrible week, she needs time to rethink.
Her Uncle Albert left her and her father each half of Fisherman's Rest, his home in the Cornish town of Port Medden, so this seems the perfect place to escape to until she can figure things out.
As Hattie stays in the cottage, clearing it out, tidying it up and getting it ready to sell, she starts to find her feet in Port Medden and making a new home here begins to feel right.
If only her dad didn't need a quick sale and things weren't complicated by her unwelcoming neighbour Marcus . . .
This book may be 352 pages but I never wanted it to end. I felt a change of pace was needed when I picked this book up, after a few thrillers and a few books which were ok. Here, I was taken to a summer filled with love, loss and happiness. It is just what I needed and I may have even shed a tear or two. Ssshhhhh!!!
This is only my second outing with Karen, my first was her thriller which blew me away. So being my first romance by Karen, I had nothing to compare. She has created a story that is so beautiful. Yes, we may know how it is going to end, yes we may know there will be miscommunication and misdirection. But it is as I always say, the journey we go on is the most fun. This is never the same and the interpretation is always different.
We have Hattie, she inherited a cute dilapidated cottage in Cornwall with her Dad. Her Uncle Albert sadly passed but she hasn’t seen him since she was a child. Rocking up on her bike she needs this break. However, she meets Marcus, her neighbour and things are off to a rocky start. Thinking she is shallow and money-grabbing, he couldn’t be further from the truth if he tried. Although, I think Marcus is definitely what I needed!!! Shame he is not real – oh woe!
I loved the history of Fisherman’s Rest and the love that Hattie plunged into the cottage. From all the descriptions by Karen, I could picture the cottage and to be honest, I would be tempted to buy it!! It is always hard to let go of the past, and for Hattie, the cottage reminds her of happier times. My heart went out to her as she thought back to those times and to everything she has missed. Life really is too short!
It wouldn’t be a review without mentioning Buddy, the parrot. He might tell me to bugger off if I didn’t! He was a lively character in this tale! Always making me smile when he was there.
I really did love this book, I felt it was over way too quickly. I have to make a point of saying, this is book two in a series but you don’t need to have read the first one, I haven’t. The characters from the first book are mentioned but you don’t feel like you are missing out. However, I do want to get to know them!!
I will be back to read more romance by Karen. She can safely add me to her lists of fans! She has written a book that has made me smile through the pages and for me to not want a book to end, well kudos for that!
Until next time xxx
My thanks to Karen for inviting me on her tour and the publisher for approving me on NetGalley in order to read the book
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
Karen King says
Thank you so much, Zoe. xx
Carla says
I like the sounds of this one, nice review Zoe. Sounds like it would make a good poolside read over the summer.