📖 Publication Day Review ~ Letting in the Light by Charlotte Betts

Piatkus
7 July 2022

My thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book

1914 Spindrift House, Cornwall

Edith Fairchild's good-for-nothing husband, Benedict, deserted her when their children were babies. Now the children are almost adult, Edith and Pascal, her faithful lover of two decades, are planning to leave their beloved Spindrift artists' community and finally be together.

But an explosive encounter between Benedict and Pascal forces old secrets into the light, causing rifts in the happiness and security of the community. Then an assassin's bullet fired in faraway Sarajevo sets in motion a chain of events that changes everything.

Under the shadow of war, the community struggles to eke out a living. The younger generation enlist or volunteer to support the war effort, facing dangers that seemed unimaginable in the golden summer of 1914.

When it's all over, will the Spindrift community survive an unexpected threat? And will Edith and Pascal ever be able to fulfil their dream?

📖 My Review..

I've thoroughly enjoyed reading this trilogy which follows the fortunes of those who live and work at Spindrift House in Cornwall. In this last book in the series we pick up the community in 1914 when the country is on the cusp of war and great events are about to take place, some of which will change the occupants of Spindrift House forever.

In Letting in the Light we meet the familiar characters who make this lovely corner of Cornwall their home and once again Edith is continuing to support the community at Spindrift however, with rumblings of war, her children feel it is their patriotic duty to protect King and country,  something which will bring its share of heartbreak for all of them. Throughout the story there is a great sense of the Spindrift women keeping everything afloat, especially when their wartime experiences start to reveal their personal strengths. Edith's resilience is sorely tested but as always she finds great comfort in her relationship with Pascal especially when old secrets, once again, threaten the stability of all those who love Spindrift House.

As this is the last book in the trilogy there is a sense of the righting of wrongs and there may well be a worthy comeuppance for some, however, with the loose threads woven together so beautifully the whole of the Spindrift canvas finally comes together in a wonderfully depicted snapshot of a bygone era.

🍷Best Read with… a perfectly presented Cornish cream tea

About the Author

Charlotte Betts began her working life as a fashion designer in London. A career followed in interior design, property management and lettings. Always a bookworm, Charlotte discovered her passion for writing after her three children and two stepchildren had grown up. The Apothecary’s Daughter was her debut novel and won the YouWriteOn Book of the Year in 2010, the Romantic Novelists’ Association Joan Hessayon Award for New Writers in 2011 and the RoNA’s Historical Category award for 2013. The sequel, The Painter’s Apprentice was published in 2012 and shortlisted for the Festival of Romance’s Best Historical Read Award in 2012.

Twitter @CharlotteBetts1 #LettingInTheLight

@PiatkusBooks

Website

Amazon

📖 Blog Tour ~ The Fading of the Light by Charlotte Betts

Delighted to be part of this blog tour

Piatkus
2 July 2021

Spindrift Trilogy #2

My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book
and for the invitation to the blog tour

From the multi-award-winning author of The Apothecary’s Daughter, The Fading of the Light is the next book in the Spindrift Trilogy, a beautifully evocative, multi-generational family drama set at the turn of the century and perfect for fans of Elizabeth Jane Howard, Santa Montifore and Lucinda Riley.

1902. Spindrift House, Cornwall.

Edith Fairchild, deserted by her feckless husband Benedict eight years before, has established the thriving Spindrift artists’ community by the sea and found deep and lasting love with Pascal. They have accepted that they cannot marry, but when Benedict returns unexpectedly to Spindrift House, all Edith and Pascal’s secret hopes and dreams of a joyous life together are overturned.

Benedict’s arrival shatters the peaceful and creative atmosphere of the close-knit community. When Edith will not allow him back into her bed, the conflict escalates and he sets in motion a chain of tragic events that reverberate down the years and threatens the happiness of the community forever.

My thoughts..

Having thoroughly enjoyed the first book in the Spindrift trilogy, I was excited to meet again with Edith Fairchild and her community of artists, and artisans, who have made their home at Spindrift House on the beautiful Cornish coast. Together with her fellow artists, Edith and her children live a quiet life, creating beautiful paintings and learning to be self sufficient. It's a peaceful life, that is, until the unexpected return of Edith's nefarious husband, Benedict, whose very presence at Spindrift house upsets the equilibrium of this close community in more ways than one.

It's been delightful to be back at Spindrift House with Edith and her friends and though Benedict's return to the community upsets everyone even the villains make the story such a joy to read.  The author recreates the Edwardian era to perfection, with its ambiguous moral codes and  discrimination against women, bringing vividly to life a time when a morally degenerate husband could do as he wished regardless of the hurt he caused to his wife and family.

The Fading of the Light is a beautifully written, and thoughtful, story with a delightful cast of characters who are now as familiar as old friends. I have so enjoyed following the progression of life at Spindrift House sharing in the triumphs and successes of the artists and watching Edith's children running along the coastal paths making their own memories of this special life at Spindrift. Edith has her share of heartache in this story but this is written with compassion and the author's usual fine eye for even the smallest detail.

Whilst The Fading of the Light can be comfortably read as a standalone story it does make sense to start at the beginning of this lovely trilogy and allow this talented author to take you on a wonderful escapist journey to Cornwall.

About the Author

Charlotte Betts began her working life as a fashion designer in London. A career followed in interior design, property management and lettings. Always a bookworm, Charlotte discovered her passion for writing after her three children and two stepchildren had grown up. The Apothecary’s Daughter was her debut novel and won the YouWriteOn Book of the Year in 2010, the Romantic Novelists’ Association Joan Hessayon Award for New Writers in 2011 and the RoNA’s Historical Category award for 2013. The sequel, The Painter’s Apprentice was published in 2012 and shortlisted for the Festival of Romance’s Best Historical Read Award in 2012.

Twitter @CharlotteBetts1 #TheFadingoftheLight

@PiatkusBooks

Website

Amazon

Blog Tour ~ The Light Within Us by Charlotte Betts ☼

 ☼ Delighted to be part of this Blog Tour☼

Piatkus
2020
My thanks to the publishers for my ecopy of this book
and the invitation to be part of the blog our today

1891. Spindrift House, Cornwall.

Talented painter Edith Fairchild is poised to begin a life of newlywed bliss and artistic creation in the inspiring setting of Spindrift House, freshly inherited by her charming husband, Benedict, and overlooking the stunning harbour of Port Isaac. But when her honeymoon turns sour, her dreams are all but dashed after a moment of madness and desire she finds herself pregnant with another man’s child.

Edith swears never to tell her secret and devotes herself to her art. Joined at Spindrift House by her friends – Clarissa, Dora and the secret father of her child, Pascal – together they turn the house into a budding artists’ community. But despite their dreams of an idyllic way of life creating beauty by the sea, it becomes clear that all is not perfect within their tight-knit community, and that the weight of their secrets could threaten to tear apart their paradise forever.

What did I think about it..

Newly weds, Edith Fairchild, and her handsome husband, Benedict, have everything in life ahead of them, both are talented artists, and they plan to start their married life together at Spindrift House in Port Isaac in Cornwall. However, on their honeymoon in France, cracks start to appear in their relationship which doesn't bode well for a happy life together.

What then follows is a delightful historical saga which is so beautifully woven together that from the very start I was enchanted, not just with the idyllic Cornish setting, but also with the way the author so cleverly weaves a story which spans several years in the intriguing life of those characters who get to call Spindrift House their home.

The Light Within Us is an intriguing story as it focuses not just on Edith and Benedict's complicated life together but it also allows a glimpse into what limitations were placed on women in the latter part of the nineteenth century. Many times I found that I was gritting my teeth at the injustice of life for Edith and her friends, Clarissa and Dora, as they all have their share of burdens. In many ways it's a story about marriage and motherhood and the complications of each, but its also about the glory of art and the tensions and insecurities faced by artists, who never think that their work is up to standard,

I raced through The Light Within Us very quickly as it's one of those stories which, very easily, takes you into itself and wraps around you so comfortably that you eat and breathe with the characters as they go about their lives. It must be said that some characters I liked more than others and there's one in particular who I could have easily seen the back of very quickly!

Beautifully written from first page to last, The Light Within Us, captured both my heart and my imagination as it was a really lovely story to read. It is also the first book in a proposed Spindrift trilogy and I feel that there is so much more to come as the saga progresses. I'm really looking forward to discovering what happens next for Edith, and her friends, at Spindrift House.

About the Author

Charlotte Betts began her working life as a fashion designer in London. A career followed in interior design, property management and lettings. Always a bookworm, Charlotte discovered her passion for writing after her three children and two step-children had grown up. The Apothecary’s Daughter was her debut novel and won the YouWriteOn Book of the Year in 2010, the Romantic Novelists’ Association Joan Hessayon Award for New Writers in 2011 and the RoNA’s Historical Category award for 2013. The sequel, The Painter’s Apprentice was published in 2012 and shortlisted for the Festival of Romance’s Best Historical Read Award in 2012.

Twitter @CharlotteBetts1 #The LightWithinUs

@PiatkusBooks

Website

Amazon UK