A Cottage by the Sea

BY CAROLE MATTHEWS

Paperback – 28 Mar. 2013

What a gorgeous read this is! I have absolutely LOVED it, from the very first page to the happy, smiley, last.

Grace is an instantly likable character and I really felt her unhappiness within her marriage to Harry. (Although Harry is oddly likeable in his own way.) I shared Grace’s optimism though that a relaxing holiday, with good friends, by the sea, might be all they need to recharge their batteries and find each other again. Considering they live, and work, in London the fresh air at least should do them the world of good. Little did they know….

I love the fact that this book is set in Pembrokeshire. We spent a glorious week there in July 2019. We were planning on going again in 2020, but Covid-19 well and truly put the kybosh on that! (Fingers crossed for summer/autumn 2021.) I loved reading about places we visited such as Barafundle Bay. It made me go back through my photo’s on Facebook. Happy days! It is such a gorgeous place. I am not at all surprised that Grace falls in love with the place or that Ella would love to stay there in her cosy little cottage, indefinitely.

Ella is another lovely character, who deserves far better than the bloke she’s ended up with!

I can’t say Flick was my favourite character, but I enjoyed the friendship the three women have shared since Uni. Friends are often as different as chalk and cheese, but as close as sisters. I imagine Flick might be okay in small doses. Noah (her latest conquest who she has brought along for the week) on the other hand is extremely likeable!!

What should be a relaxing week of quality time all together proves to be far more eventful than any of them could have ever imagined.

Full of fun, sunshine, friendship, romance, heartache and drama! I highly recommend!