A Cornish Christmas by Lily Graham

Blurb

Nestled in the Cornish village of Cloudsea, sits Sea Cottage – the perfect place for some Christmas magic … At last Ivy is looking forward to Christmas. She and her husband Stuart have moved to their perfect little cottage by the sea - a haven alongside the rugged cliffs that look out to the Atlantic Ocean. She’s pregnant with their much-longed for first baby and for the first time, since the death of her beloved mother, Ivy feels like things are going to be alright. But there is trouble ahead. It soon emerges that Stuart has been keeping secrets from Ivy, and suddenly she misses her mum more than ever. When Ivy stumbles across a letter from her mother hidden in an old writing desk, secrets from the past come hurtling into the present. But could her mother’s words help Ivy in her time of need? Ivy is about to discover that the future is full of unexpected surprises and Christmas at Sea Cottage promises to be one to remember. This Christmas warm your heart and escape to the Cornish coast for an uplifting story of love, secrets and new beginnings that you will remember for many Christmases to come.

Review

I really didn't expect what was inside the cover of this book. Magical doesn't really describe it - 'other-worldly' may be better.

The author struck a chord in her emotional writing about the aftermath that the death of a loved one causes. She writes from the heart, and it certainly affected mine. I empathised very strongly with the main character, and it brought to the surface emotions I had thought well-buried, so congratulations to Ms Graham for evoking such a strong response.

As to the plot and the story line? I'm not adverse to a bit of the supernatural and this was offered to the reader with just the right amount of it. Any more, and the story might have bordered on the ludicrous.

The cover suggests more of a humorous, light-hearted read, though the blurb is actually more like what the reader gets, so make sure you're not in a chick lit frame of mind when you read this - it's more women's fiction, if you get what I mean.

I liked the author's style of writing (almost poetical in places) and her tone, and I'll definitely read more of her work.

About the Author

Lily grew up in dusty Johannesburg, which gave her a longing for the sea that has never quite gone away; so much so that sometimes she'll find sand grouting the teaspoons, and an ocean in a teacup. She lives now in the English countryside with her husband and her sweet, slobbering bulldog, Fudge, and brings her love for the sea and country-living to her fiction.

Her first two novels were Amazon bestsellers, and have since been re-published by Bookouture, with The Summer Escape (previously published as An Invincible Summer) and A Cornish Christmas (previously published as The Postcard) out now. She is currently working on her third novel.