📖 Blog Tour ~ The Ghost of Seagull Cottage by Anne Allen

The Guernsey Novels #9

Thanks to the author and Random Things Tours for my copy of the book
and the invitation to the blog tour

A haunting tale of love, loss and finding one’s place in the world

Widowed artist Annabel returns to Guernsey seeking a fresh start for herself and her young daughter away from her late husband’s controlling family. Seagull Cottage appears perfect, by the sea and with a low rent. The snag is it comes with a resident ghost, Daniel, a sea captain who died 70 years ago in 1946. He built the cottage and objects to anyone not family living there. He and Annabel have to come to terms with sharing what he still considers to be his home.

After a difficult start they begin to share their pasts and an unlikely friendship blooms, becoming deeper as they spend more time together. Annabel realises she’s falling for him but would she truly prefer a ghost to a real live man?

Blending elements of romance, mystery and the supernatural into a compelling tale about the power of human connection and presenting a modern twist on R.A. Dick's novel The Ghost and Mrs Muir and the classic movie of the same name.

📖 My Review..

It’s always such a treat to return to these Guernsey novels and this ninth book in the series follows the story of Annabel and her little daughter, Emylia, as they seek to make a new start in the beautifully named Seagull Cottage. That they also share the house with the ghost of a long dead sea captain adds a light supernatural element and with this author’s customary warmth and understanding Annabel and her sea captain soon form a close bond of friendship.

I’m old enough to remember watching the old black and white movie adaption of R A Dick’s novel The Ghost and Mrs Muir and whilst the story has been brought up to date for the 21st century, it also captures something of the original and the special bond between Annabel and her sea captain is done really well. I raced through the story in a couple of afternoons, enjoying the wonderful imagery and being immersed in Guernsey life, smiling at the tender interaction between the ghost and Annabel and watching as Annabel started to blossom with other relationships, making friends with the women of the island and putting down roots.

As always the island of Guernsey comes alive and I very much enjoyed exploring the island with Annabel as she seeks to become reacquainted with the place and its people. Learning to adapt to life on the island whilst at the same time trying to support herself and her daughter makes for interesting reading and I very much hoped that everything worked out for them. The Ghost of Seagull Cottage is a really lovely addition to this long running series, and whilst there is a connection between the stories, it is perfectly possible to read each one as a standalone story. If you haven’t discovered this lovely author’s writing then do start at the beginning and  enjoy getting to know Guernsey through these rather special stories.

About the Author

Anne was born in Rugby to a Welsh father and an English mother. As a result, she spent many summers with her Welsh grandparents in Anglesey and learned to love the sea. Now she is based in Devon to be near her daughter and two small grandchildren. Her restless spirit has meant many moves, the longest stay being in Guernsey for nearly fourteen years after falling in love with the island and the people. She contrived to leave one son behind to ensure a valid reason for frequent returns. Her younger son is based in London - ideal for city breaks ☺

By profession, Anne was a psychotherapist who long had a desire to write and Dangerous Waters, her first novel, was published in 2012. It was awarded Silver(Adult Fiction) in TheWishingShelfAwards 2012. Since then she has published six more books in The Guernsey Novels series; Finding Mother, Guernsey Retreat, The Family Divided, Echoes of Time- winner of The Diamond Book Award 2017, a finalist in Readersfavorite awards and granted a ChillWithABookAward, The Betrayal, and The Inheritance, published April 2019. Her Previous Self. a Regency time-slip, is published 2nd August 2021.

To find out more about Anne visit her website - www.anneallen.co.uk

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