November sees a new monthly feature
"One from the Shelf"
Focusing on those books which have stayed unread, on my book shelf, for far too long
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| Headline Review 2016 My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book |
My thoughts...
Rose seems to have everything, her beautiful marriage to her childhood sweetheart, Lucas, her burgeoning career as an artist and a wonderful relationship with her best friend, Emma. But the fickle finger of fate strikes and Rose's life is changed in a heartbeat when she is widowed at twenty four. Lost in grief, Rose's home town of Talting in Cornwall do everything they can to protect the young widow but, as already observed, fate has a strange way of intervening, and for Rose the arrival of a stranger in town brings more than she could have ever imagined.
There's a real sense of community in this lovely story and whilst the town of Talting is fictional, I sense that there is more than a hint of truth to this setting. Living in an area where everyone knows each other's business can be a blessing, and a curse, but for Rose, grieving as she is for Lucas, the camaraderie of the town and her friendship with her best friends, Emma and John brings a warmth to what is sometimes a rather sad story.
The author writes well and there is a lovely sense of anticipation as the story starts to be revealed. I loved the characters, especially Rose who I felt an emotional attachment to from the beginning. The twists and turns in the story are revealed slowly and several times I thought I knew where the story was going, only to have it veer off into an altogether different direction.
I really enjoyed reading this debut novel. I found the story sad but perfectly charming,with a real sense of time and place and a lovely skilful way of allowing the characters to tell their own story, which captures the imagination, whilst tugging away at the old heartstrings.
The Second Love of My Lie was this author's debut novel in 2016. There is also a digital prequel novella, The Summer I met You which is also published by Headline Review.
More about the author can be found on her website
Follow on Twitter @Vicky_Walters
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