April is thirty-five, newly single and ready to start again.
Investing her life savings into a run down chalet park on the Cornish Coast, April wonders whether she might have bitten off more than she can chew. Dealing with a truculent tenant, a dwindling bank account and a grumpy, but gorgeous, handyman all whilst trying to hide and heal from a past life is more of a challenge than April imagined.
But with guests starting to return for the holiday season will April’s new start be a new failure?
I requested this title on NetGalley as I live in Cornwall, and it is set only a little further down the coast from where I live. Whist I haven’t read anything from this author before I thought it would be the ideal escapism during the UK lockdown.
The story started quickly, with April fleeing Yorkshire and her old life under the cover of night. Whilst driving she remembers memories of the same journey, completed with her mother as a child. The sense of urgency and fear her mother emanated, and the feeling of calm and safety once they arrived at the holiday park in Cornwall. Back in the present, she arrives exhausted but hoping to find the same freedom of the past and ready for a new beginning.
The book was off to a promising start, and I was excited. I thought this book, with its chick-lit cover and romanticised blurb, was going to surprise me. There were huge prospects for more depth; moonlight flits with a sinister edge, emotional domestic abuse and PTSD. But the further I continued the more disheartened I became. The author touched on these powerful subjects so briefly that I began to wonder why they were necessary at all. The storyline could still have been served whilst using simpler backgrounds for the characters. This then wouldn’t have implied that the reader was in store for something greater.
That negative aside, I did still enjoy the book. The writing style was effortless, making for an easy read. The characters were relatable; full of human fears, insecurities and feelings of inadequacy. I thought the banter between April and hunky handyman, Cillian, were humorous. But, it was long-time tenant Martha, whose cutting quips had me chuckling.
I wouldn’t advise against reading this book, but I couldn’t wholeheartedly recommend it either.
** Thanks to HQ Digital, via NetGalley, for this ARC **
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