Photo diary: Cornish holidays

And whoosh, our week in Cornwall whizzed by in a flash... you count weeks and days until the holiday arrives, and then it's all done and it's time to go home...

I hope we can still go all together to Cornwall for another couple of years, but then who knows. Children grow up, have their own lives to live and their own plans and ideas.

We've been staying for holidays in Perranuthnoe every summer since Eddie turned one year old. That year my Mum visited with us. We stayed in a small cramped cottage, and I have fond memories of Eddie seeing the sea for the very first time. He wasn't impressed. 

Sasha loves Cornwall. We have a social story (photos, symbols and short text) about going to Cornwall, which he enjoys to read on a daily basis. He is mesmerised by the sea. The waves tell hims stories, and he waves his own arms as a conductor to the sea orchestra.

For Saturday evening we booked a table at the Godolphin Arms in Marazion, just opposite St Michael's Mount. The view is amazing, and the food was decent.

We ordered drinks (I had half a pint of the local ale called Tribute, as it made me think of Hunger Games and the tributes), and were admiring the view. There was a light breeze from the open window.

Whenever I am going to look at this tranquil image, I will remember what happened next during our dinner. My husband coughed and startled Sash, who got scared and flew into one of his anxiety attacks, hitting himself on the head, shouting and crying.

We were sitting in a kind of a side room, with just one long table for our company, and nobody directly next to us. I was very upset that such a lovely evening turned ugly so fast, and even more upset on Sasha's behalf as he was genuinely distressed.

Thankfully, the anxiety attack didn't last more than ten minutes, but we hastened to finish the meal and leave the place. And then my darling boy was calm and smiling, as if nothing has happened.

Our days in Cornwall fall under the same routine. In the first half of the day we go to the sandy beach in the village for surfing, running, football etc. 

In the evening we often take a scenic walk along the coast towards Marazion and St Michael's Mount towards the rocky beach.

I'm sure it's not called the rocky beach, but that's what we call it. It's a beautiful walk with the views over the Mount's Bay. It might be a bit repetetive, but the familiarity is part of Sasha's equilibrium, he doesn't easily take to changes, and we do love this walk. 

Sometimes we stop by in the local church of St Michael and St Piran. This is the image of St Piran above the entrance door inside the church.

I can never get bored of looking at St Michael's Mount.

A couple of years ago I read a book about the raid on Penzance by the Barbary pirates in 1640, when 60 locals including women and children were taken captive during the church service and taken as Christian slaves to Algiers. The pirates sailed past St Michael's Mount, but deemed it too much trouble to attack and instead went into town for an easy prey.

Eddie had a blast, surfing, laughing with his friend P, who stayed with us.

For years now, ever since Eddie was three years old, he and I have been doing an "obligatory" jumping on the beach photo. One of us is getting taller and more handsome, another one is getting shorter and chunkier, but at least I can still jump. 

I'm glad that my boy doesn't mind taking part in something silly like that and doesn't seem to be embarrassed by his mother.

On Friday we packed our bags and said Good bye to our cottage and Perranuthnoe. For the last several years we went to Newlyn to have brunch before a long journey back home. 

This time we decided to visit Padstow instead. The town was just one seething mass of tourists. We did manage to get a table at the Greens of Padstow, with the lovely views over the estuary. It was stifling hot to sit outside, however, the food was tasty.

I didn't want anything too heavy, and opted for a salad of burrata and tomatoes. 

This photo was taken on the last evening of our holiday - the sunset over the Mount's Bay. Eddie said the sun looked like something out of Star Wars.

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Christmas at Polkerran Point by Cass Grafton (review + #giveaway)

 

"The sky wore a pastel-blue cape, with gossamer strands of feather-like clouds trailing its length. The sea glistened under a weak sun, and although the strong wind whipped the sea into white caps, crashing against the rocks beneath the lighthouse, the water barely rippled where it entered the embrace of the cove".

Isn't it a beautiful description of the Cornish coastline?! If you love Cornwall and books set in this distinctive location, you might be pleased to know there is a new book out - 

Christmas at Polkerran Point by Cass Grafton. 

This cosy romance set in Cornwall is the third book in The Little Cornish Cove series, which reads perfectly as a standalone. I read the first book a few years ago (see The cottage in a Cornish cove), and was happy to re-visit Polkerran Point and get re-acquainted with some of the characters from book one. 

Blurb:

Christmas at Polkerran Point

Fate may have brought them together but secrets seem destined to keep them apart...

An accident and a lost passport mean Gemma's six-month sabbatical to go travelling is not off to a strong start. She heads to Polkerran Point to stay at her aunt's while her new passport is processed and to find temporary work in the meantime.

Enter musician Matt. Newly moved into a secluded, renovated mill - complete with a recording studio - Matt is preparing for his band's big reunion. Focused on writing new music for the album, he needs a live-in housekeeper.

Even as sparks fly, Gemma can sense Matt's keeping secrets and with her role ending once Christmas is over, will there be anything to keep her in Polkerran?

Gemma Merriott is recovering from a scary accident on her trip abroad. Having lost all her travelling possessions and a passport, she arrives to Polkerran Point to stay with  her aunt and recuperate. While waiitng for her passport, and dreaming of travelling around Europe, Gemma is looking for a temporary job. 

"The die had been cast. Gemma's plans had fallen foul. Instead of exploring pastures new, she would be in the small Cornish village of Polkerran Point for the foreseeable, and... her aunt had been kind enough to invite her to stay..."

As a child, Gemma enjoyed visiting her aunt and spending time in the harbour. 

It so happens, that there is a job available - as a housekeeper to a reclusive musician Matt, who stays in a newly renovated mill. Years before, Matt used to be a guitarist in the famous band. Now that the band reunion is looming, he is engrossed in his work on a new album. Domestic chores are not his forte, he needs someone to organise his life for him, and around him.

Matt appears to be a grumpy, self-absorbed arty type, not capable of looking after himself, always relying on someone else to provide him with daily comforts, from adoring adoptive parents to the housekeepers. A man-boy in some aspects...

Gemma is not sure whether she even wants to work for Matt, but the job comes with a small cottage to live in, and the money is decent. 

You feel a tad sorry for bubbly Gemma, who loves her food but has zero talents in the cooking department. 

The atmosphere in the house is strained, and it looks like Matt has some secrets from his past that he does not want to share. 

"Rather than rigidly entrapped in the past, Matt seemed haunted by it. Lost and uncertain how to find his way forward".

Despite his aloofness, Matt is the man who sets Gemma's heart aflutter. She is intrigued. "Matt was a strange mixture, one minute dismissive, the next a vulnerable, wounded figure who needed... what, exactly?" 

Living together at the mill, they learn to trust each other and break down the barriers holding them back.

Once Christmas is over, will Gemma resume her travels, leaving Polkerran Point behind?

Gemma and Matt are both likable, yet some of their habits might leave you exasperated.

Gemma is a sweet woman, with a big appetite and an excessive love of all things Christmas-related. The way she obsesses with Christmas decor probably hints there is something missing in her life. 

And Matt, as much as he is busy, surely he is capable of putting his dirty clothes and wet towels in the washing machine? There's nothing remotedly romantic about washing someone else's undies.

There is a whole gallery of supporting characters providing a comic relief to the more dramatic storylines. 

Just the other day I was talking about a different book set in Cornwall and mentioned the hostile locals. This village is the exact opposite - openly nosy, quirky and warm-hearted.

Anna who is the main character in book 1 of the series, is a hard-working owner of a popular B&B. She is also a talented baker, and has her hands full, yet kindly allows a daily stream of visitors.

In her place, I would dread brace myself every morning, expecting being invaded by the over-friendly locals who have no boundaries. They come daily, expecting being served free hot drinks and pastries. This sounds a bit intrusive. Anna is a saint to put up with this.

This book is the quintessential festive reading, full of mischief, nostalgia, amusing word puns. Some of the scenes, like the Christmas fayre, or the ceremony of switching on the Christmas lights in the harbour, make me think of what it would be like to spend a winter holiday in my favourite location. I often watch online the Christmas lights switch-on in Mousehole on webcam, and hope one day to see it in real life. 

This story will delight the fans of Phillipa Ashley, Cressida McLaughlin, Emma Burstall and Trisha Ashley, and will make a lovely festive gift.

I believe this book would make a great Hallmark or Netflix Christmas film.

Christmas at Polkerran Point is a charming, sparkling seasonal read, light, funny and delightful.

This review is part of the blog tour for Christmas at Polkerran Point.

Many thanks to Cass Grafton, Canelo and Rachel's Random Resources for my copy of the book!

Purchase Link - https://geni.us/CAPP

 

Author Bio – Cass began her writing life in Regency England, enlisted Jane Austen’s help to time-travel between then and the present day and is now happily ensconced in 21^st century Cornwall.

Well, in her imagination and soul; her heart and physical presence reside in northern England with her ever-patient husband and Tig and Tag, their cute but exceptionally demanding moggies.

A bit of a nomad, Cass has called three countries home, as well as six different English counties, but her aspiration is to one day reunite with her beloved West Country.

In the meantime, she writes feel-good contemporary romances set in Cornwall and, in doing so, manages to live there vicariously through her characters and settings.

An Ambassador for the Jane Austen Literacy Foundation, Cass is also a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, the Jane Austen Society UK and the Society of Authors.

Social Media Links –

FB - https://www.facebook.com/cassie.grafton

Insta - https://www.instagram.com/cassgraftonwriter/

 

Giveaway to Win a paperback copy of Christmas at Polkerran Point along with a small gift bag (Open Int)

The gift bag contains a pack of Christmas post-it notes, a Cornish coaster, a gingerbread tree ornament and some festive-wrapped Tic Tac mints!

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The Echoing Shore by J.H. Mann

 

"I was running hard, gasping for breath in a dark, damp lane interspersed by shards of moonlight. From what or to where? I had no idea".

The Echoing Shore by J.H.Mann is a gripping psychological thriller, set in Cornwall.

It's been a while since I've read a book at such a speed, just in a couple of days, I just couldn't put it down.

Blurb:

The Echoing Shore

A Yeovil Literary Prize award winner

A lifeboat is lost off Cornwall's wild Atlantic coast. All eight crewmen die. The cause is never fully explained. Ten years later, Kate Tregillis, the editor of a small, struggling newspaper, becomes obsessed with solving the longstanding mystery.

Her investigations provoke a backlash of threats and violence in the insular fishing community of St Branok. In exposing the truth, she risks the future of her newspaper and even her life - and discovers that the man she loves has his own secrets.

From the first pages, we are plunged into the tragic events that would shatter the local fishing community of St Branok. A lifeboat, the Talan Bray, goes into the vastness of the North Atlantic into the storm, only never to come back. Eight crew members perish, including a young man who's only just joined in. There are no answers as to what's happened during the storm.

A decade later, Kate Tregillis, who works as an editor in the local newspaper, is compelled to look into the circumstances of the disaster, when a London freelancer named Danny Flanagan comes into the offices of The Gazette to offer his services.

Kate wonders if bringing Danny into the fold while knowing almost nothing about him is wise, but the newspaper is struggling, they need all the help they can get to keep afloat.

"The fate of the paper was on a knife edge. It could go either way and it was down to me - and me alone - to find a solution. Danny might be part of the answer".

"Even with a skeleton staff, the Gazette was devouring money. We needed more than a few interesting stories to survive. We needed a bloody miracle".

When Danny suggests a feature on the tenth anniversary of the loss of Talan Bray, Kate knows it has to be handled diplomatically, or there will be repercussions.

"The loss of the Talan Bray had been the biggest story to hit St Branok in a generation - hit being the operative word. It'd rocked the community to its core. And there remained a bitterness and rawness about it locally which made it dangerous territory. Still, we needed the whole community to be talking about the Gazette. Better to be talked about than ignored".

When Danny starts digging without a care whose feathers he might ruffle, the locals don't take to it kindly. The community closes its ranks and breathes hostility not just towards the newcomer Danny, but also Kate. The threats and violence escalate, and the future of the newspaper is becoming even more bleak.

"The truth, as Danny had pointed out earlier, was that I couldn't stop him investigating. He was a freelancer, free as a bird: a journalist able to sell his story anywhere he chose. If I told him to get out of our offices, I'd lose any opportunity for the Gazette to be part of the story".

Will Kate and Danny be able to discover the grim truth of what's really happened on that stormy night ten years earlier? 

Suspence and escalating menace are handled expertly, with the past stretching its tentacles into the present.

One of the things I particularly liked about the book is the realistic, ordinary-looking characters. 

I recently read a snippet from a writer's newsletter where she describes her successful colleague. Apparently she writes romance only about young, beautiful, successful women who meet and fall in love with rich handsome blokes, and live happily ever after in mansions, etc. I thought then, that's the kind of books I tend to avoid, though I presume there's a market for them. 

Both main characters in The Echoing Shore are not young, rich or beautiful, at least when it comes to their appearance. They are dedicated to their jobs, to the point of risking their livelihood and even their lives, searching for truth. 

Cornwall is one of my most favourite book settings, but often, this location is seen through rose-tinted glasses, unduly sentimental and idealistic, with ever so helpful, welcoming neighbours, and friendly communities. 

In this story, the small Cornish fishing village can be a hostile environment, aggressive, parochial, judgmental and truculent. 

The descriptions of Cornwall are again, not of a picture-perfect variiety. This landscape is dark, dangerous and deceptive, yet also stunning in its intense beauty. The author captures the atmospheric background perfectly, in fact, it's not so much a background, as a living, breathing entity which builds the local character, with its resilience and determination.

"Another mist had rolled in from the Atlantic and the wind had died. An unnerving stillness prevailed. The ocean swelled languidly, seemingly as thick as treacle, exuding a quiet menace..."

The Echoing Shore is a character-driven narrative. Kate is a strong-willed protagonist who knows her own mind and is not easily scared off.

Tight plotting, authentic setting, convincing real characters make this book riveting, intense and dramatic.

Flew through The Echoing Shore. Highly recommended.

Many thanks to J.H.Mann and Rachel's Random Resources for my copy of the book!

Praise for The Echoing Shore:

'A gripping story full of twists and turns' - Margaret James, Writing Magazine.

'An enthralling read that keeps you guessing to the end' - Victoria Howard, author and judge for the international 2023 Yeovil Literary Prize.

'I would definitely pick this book up from the bookshop shelf' - Claire Gradidge, winner of the Richard and Judy Search for a Bestseller competition.

 

Purchase Links

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Echoing-Shore-J-H-Mann-ebook/dp/B0DFT3LPTQ/

https://www.amazon.com/Echoing-Shore-J-H-Mann-ebook/dp/B0DFT3LPTQ/

 

Author Bio –

Jason Mann is an award-winning journalist and writer living in the South West of England with Nicola, his wife, and their lively whippet, Patch. He is also a shore-based volunteer for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. Jason says: ‘Many of my stories are set in the wonderful county of Cornwall where truth can sometimes be stranger than fiction. I have swum and surfed there much of my life. It has been a special place for me with its legends, soaring cliffs, rugged moors and wild seas. The landscape has a raw, mystical magic. My father and mother’s recollections of rescues and tragedies on the North coast are often the inspiration for my stories. My father became one of the county’s early lifeguards after his predecessor was killed by a strike of lightning while standing in waist-deep water during a rescue.’

Social Media Links –

Facebook – www.facebook.com/jason.mann.9047

Instagram – www.instagram.com/jhmannauthor/

X (Twitter) – www.twitter.com/JasonMa74964503

Website: www.jhmannauthor.com

The Secret Daughter of Venice by Juliet Greenwood (review + #giveaway)

 

"She could sense it. Now, more than ever, she knew she had to find out about her past, or her future would never be truly her own".

The Secret Daughter of Venice is a historical novel, set in England and Italy during and after the WWII.

Blurb:

The paper is stiff and brittle with age as Kate unfolds it with trembling hands. She gasps at the pencil sketch of a rippling waterway, lined by tall buildings, curving towards the dome of a cathedral. She feels a connection in her heart. Venice.

England, 1941.

When Kate Arden discovers a secret stash of drawings hidden in the pages of an old volume of poetry given to her as a baby, her breath catches. All her life, she has felt like an outsider in her aristocractic adoptive family, who refuse to answer any questions about her past. But the drawings spark a forgotten memory: a long journey by boat... warm arms that held her tight, and then let go.

Could these pictures unlock the secret of who she is? Why her mother left her? With war raging around the continent, she will brave everything to find out...

A gripping, emotional historical novel of love and art that will captivate fans of The Venice Sketchbook, The Woman on the Bridge and The Nightingale.

Kate Arden feels suffocated by the confines of Arden House. Snatched from everyone and everything she knew, she was brought to England as a little child and adopted by the Ardens. Though loved by her sisters, and being treated kindly by her step-mother, Kate feels she doesn't belong here. 

All questions about her past are left unanswered. 

Kate is a talented artist, and dreams of studying art, but Leo Arden, her strict father, doesn't want her to move to London. She's always been interested in sketching and drawing, and some suppressed distant memories suggest that she might have had an inspiring teacher.

"...drawing had always been her refuge, the one thing she could hold onto from her past and that elusive memory of the woman - who had surely been her mother - holding her, guiding her, encourgaing her".

Her late (adoptive) mother left illustrated Shakespeare's volumes to all her daughters, with messages hidden inside. One day, after examining the volume once again, Kate realises that the book cover has something hidden within the finer leather. There is a selection of drawings that might reveal the secrets of Kate's past, and possibly her true mother.

"Somewhere here lay the secrets of her past, and the reason Leo Arden brought her from the warmth of grape vines and olives to the frigid winter of Arden House".

The pater familias is the product of his generation and social status. Leo Arden believes he knows best what his womenfolk need. Children have to be obedient. The whole family tiptoe around him, not daring to provoke him or displease. If only he would tell Kate what she desires to know.

Instead, Kate is left to find her true origins, by solving the clues left to her, and some hints from her old teacher.  Her early memories come as day dreams, and they are all about distant shores, warmer climes, and gentle hands that cherished her.

"She shivered, remembering the deep cold that had settled in her bones in her first terrified days at Arden House; and the feeling of absence - absence of familiar heat, of earth brittle with lack of moisture and yet rich with the scent of lemons and olive groves, rosemary and wild thyme. The absence, most of all, of love".

Unfulfilled as an artist, and unable to pursue her painting until the war is over, Kate uses her artistic skills to alleviate the suffering of the most vulnerable. Working with young children who've lost everything during the Nazi raids, she proves to be a talented and compassionate teacher.

"She was going to escape! Her life was going to be her own, at least. and perhaps she could use that freedom to follow the clues left to her by her mother and find her, wherever she might really be."

Along Kate's tale we follow the story of Sofia, who is looking for her daughter in Italy, while the war is raging around. Sofia is a talented artist herself. Rather than return to New York when she still could, she stays in Venice, to find answers to the "question that had, in the midst of all her riches and success, eaten away at her, leaving her hollow inside".

Will mother and daughter be able to discover what's happened to each other? Will Kate at last know who she really is?

The plotline settings alternate between England (Warwickshire, West Midlands and Cornwall) and Italy (Venice and Naples).

I loved the Cornish setting, and the descriptions of the sea... the old cottage that used to be the artists' haven, the gallery at St Ives. 

The secret daughter of Venice is a moving story of secrets and deception, fractured families and tragedies, and being true to oneself. 

Juliet Greenwood captures the time and social setting beautifully. The descriptions of hardships of life during the war and human suffering are poignant and harrowing (e.g. the scene of the baby rescue after the raid is heart-stopping). Evocative, vivid, inspired. Highly recommended. 

This review is part of the blog tour for The Secret Daughter of Venice.

Many thanks to Juliet Greenwood, Storm Publishing and Rachel's Random Resources for my e-copy of the book!

Purchase Links

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Secret-Daughter-Venice-absolutely-historical-ebook/dp/B0CVV7F4N7

https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Daughter-Venice-absolutely-historical-ebook/dp/B0CVV7F4N7

 

Author Bio –

Juliet Greenwood is a historical novelist published by Storm Publishing. Her previous novel, The Last Train from Paris, was published to rave reviews and reached the top 100 kindle chart in the USA. She has long been inspired by the histories of the women in her family, and in particular with how strong-minded and independent women have overcome the limitations imposed on them by the constraints of their time, and the way generations of women hold families and communities together in times of crisis, including during WW2.

After graduating in English from Lancaster University and Kings College, London, Juliet worked on a variety of jobs to support her ambition to be a full-time writer. These ranged from running a craft stall at Covent Garden to running a small charity working with disadvantaged children, and collecting oral histories of traditional villages before they are lost forever. She finally achieved her dream of becoming a published author following a debilitating viral illness, with her first novel being a finalist for The People’s Book Prize and her first two novels reaching #4 and #5 in the UK Kindle store.

Juliet now lives in a traditional quarryman’s cottage in Snowdonia, North Wales, set between the mountains and the sea, with an overgrown garden (good for insects!) and a surprisingly successful grapevine. She can be found dog walking in all weathers working on the plot for her next novel, camera to hand.

 

 

Social Media Links –

Storm:                   https://stormpublishing.co/

Website:              http://www.julietgreenwood.co.uk/

Blog:                      http://julietgreenwoodauthor.wordpress.com/

Facebook:            https://www.facebook.com/juliet.greenwood

Twitter: https://twitter.com/julietgreenwood

Instagram:           https://www.instagram.com/julietgreenwood/

 

Giveaway to Win 3 x Signed copies of The Secret Daughter of Venice (Open to UK Only)

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UK entries welcome.  

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The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. 

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Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  

Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. 

This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  

The Rafflecopter gadget is hosted by Chez Maximka for free for the purposes of the blog tour. I have no access to the data collected.

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The Cornish Rebel by Nicola Pryce ( review + #giveaway )

"Well, I was twenty-one years old now; I was my own person. I was not perfect, not beautiful, not elegant or refined. I spoke with a different accent and lacked society manners, but she would just have to take me how I was..."

The Cornish Rebel by Nicola Pryce is a historical novel, set in Cornwall, 1801. This beautiful and thought-provoking tale is the seventh novel in the Cornish saga series. It reads as a standalone.

Blurb:

In the wake of her mother's death, Pandora Woodville is desperate to escape her domineering father and finally return to Cornwall. Posing as a widow, she safely makes it across the Atlantic, bright with the dream of working ar her Aunt Harriet's school for young women. But as Pandora is soon to learn, the school is facing imminent closure after a series of sinister events threatened its reputation.

Acclaimed chemist Benedict Aubyn has also recently returned to Cornwall, to take up a new role as Turnpike Trust Surveyor. Pandora's arrival has been a strange one, so she is grateful when he shows her kindness. As news of the school's ruin spreads around town, everyone seems to be after her aunt's estate. Now, Pandora and Aunt Harriet must do everything in their power to save the school, or risk losing everything.

However, Pandora has another problem. She's falling for Benedict. But can she trust him, or is he simply looking after his own interests?

Pandora Woodville arrives to Cornwall in March 1801. While travelling alone on board Jane O'Leary, she poses as a widow, for safety reasons. Behind, in the States, she leaves her authoritarian and despotic father. 

Cornwall is more than her childhood home, it is a symbol of freedom and dreams of becoming independent. Pandora was six when her parents left Corwall in a hurry, with a promise to come back later. Only it didn't happen. Pandora's mother died, and her father has had different plans for her.

She believes once she is safely with Aunt Harriet, at St Feoca, all the issues will be hopefully resolved. She will find a job at the school for young ladies, and make her aunt proud.

Pandora's expectations of a happy reunion come to a rather bitter disappointment. She is dismayed to find out that her aunt's school is on the point of being shut down. There's been a series of alarming, menacing events in and around the school, and now all the students have left.

Aunt Hetty is also not a kindly matron from her childhood that she remembers. 

"No warm embrace. No sign of love. No holding me, no asking me about my mother and how she died. No questions about my journey. Just her stiff upper lip and haughty tone, her chin in the air, her penetrating eyes."

The refuge Pandora has been dreaming about for so long is an illusion. The harsh reality is that there is a very strong possibility that the school will be closed soon, and the house and lands will go to a distant cousin of grandfather's, as stipulated in the school's constitution. 

On arrival to Falmouth, Pandora meets Benedict Aubyn. He kindly offers to help her, despite her protestations. While waiting at the inn, she eavesdrops on the conversation between Aubyn and The Turnpike Trust men. He is expected to sign a contract to provide an efficient route from Truro to Falmouth to link with the Penzance and Newlyn turnpike.

The gossip spreads about the imminent closure of the school. With the Turnpike project going ahead, the local hawks are circling around St Feoca. There's big money to be made from the new road, and who is going to think twice about the dwindling fortunes of the spinster headmistress of the closing school and her niece?!

Pandora is in two minds about Benedict. He is kind, attentive and considerate. Yet can she trust him at all, seeing that he's employed as the surveyor by the Trust?! Is he just another unscrupulous and manipulative man? 

Saving the school's reputation is no mean feat, given the circumstances and time constraints Aunt Harriet and Pandora are fighting against. They are on the brink of losing everything. Someone is trying their hardest to get hold of the St Feoca estate. Who is the merciless enemy, taunting them?

With growing suspicions and dramatic revelations, can Pandora and Benedict discover the truth behind the mystery of St Feoca, and find romance?

Pandora is an appealing protagonist. As someone who enjoys painting, I liked the idea of Pandora painting miniatures on shells. 

Pandora is intelligent and talented, she is also very insecure and emotionally needy. Growing up in a disfunctional family with an odious tyrant of a father, she feels she has to prove herself. She is jealous of her aunt's protegee Grace, who is more beautiful, and appears to be everything Pandora would like to be. Jealousy is not a pretty quality, even if understandable. That Pandora is not without flaws, makes her more realistic and easier to relate to.

This is the third novel by Nicola Pryce that I've read (see also The Cornish Lady and The Cornish Captive).  All three have spirited female protagonists, who don't conform to the views of society of what women's role in life should be. 

The latest book in the Cornish series keeps exploring the themes of the women's rights (or lack of them) and identity against the social and political restraints of the times. It's fascinating to meet some of the characters who appear in the previous books, like Lady Clarissa Crew, Mrs Lilly and Angelica Trevelyan, compassionate and strong-minded ladies.

There is a passionate discussion between Pandora and Benedict on how the society does not accept a woman having a life of her own.

"Men consider women their property  - that's how they view us. Either they shield us like delicate orchids and allow us to go nowhere or, if we do dare go somewhere, they brand us as forward and inviting trouble. We must marry and give up our freedom or become drab governesses and spend the rest of our lives avoiding unwanted advances from those who see us as fair game". 

And while the society has moved on regarding women's rights, there is still a lot of work to be done for the women's empowerment and gender equality.

The Cornish Rebel is a compelling novel, where history and its vivid characters come alive. Pryce has drawn a portrait of a complex and talented young woman. A storyteller of immense talent, Nicola Pryce creates an absolute treat from start to finish.

The book cover design deserves a special mention. A young woman, looking at us with a defiant expression on her face. She is not a mild and feeble simpering young lady, a man's subordinate, but someone who knows her mind and is ready to challenge the societal constrictions on women. Her hair is windblown, just like the blooms of the coastline, with birds floating free in the sky, as a symbol of freedom.

This book review is part of the blog tour for The Cornish Rebel.

Many thanks to Nicola Pryce, Corvus and Rachel's Random Resources for my copy of the book!

Purchase Links

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cornish-Rebel-sweeping-historical-romance-ebook/dp/B0BV9F8TW2

https://www.amazon.com/Cornish-Rebel-sweeping-historical-romance-ebook/dp/B0BV9F8TW2

Author Bio

Nicola Pryce trained as a nurse at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London. She has always loved literature and completed an Open University degree in Humanities. She is a qualified adult literacy support volunteer and lives with her husband in the Blackdown Hills in Somerset. Together they sail the south coast of Cornwall in search of adventure.

Social Media Links – https://twitter.com/NPryce_Author 

https://www.facebook.com/nicolaprycebooks/

If you enjoy historical fiction, don't forget to enter the giveaway below.

 

Giveaway to Win a The Cornish Rebel Tote Bag and Paperback (Open to UK Only)

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I read The Cornish Rebel on our holiday to Cornwall. The waves and the beach in this super short video are properly Cornish.

Cornish Clouds and Silver Lining Skies by Ali McNamara

The word "Cornish" in the title, and an image of the island which reminds of St Michael's Mount is enough for me to reach for the bookshelf and buy the book. In fact, the fictional island of Aurora is inspired by St Michael's Mount, albeit on a much smaller scale.
 

Cornish Clouds and Silver Lining by Ali McNamara is a romantic comedy with a supernatural twist.

Blurb:

Meteorologist Sky Matthews does not like surprises.

Sky monitors her life like she does the weather, carefully and with a scientific eye. So, when she finds herself temporarily relocated to a tidal island off the Cornish harbour town of St Felix, she feels completely at sea. Worse still, she has to work alongside TV weatherman Sonny Samuels, who barely knows his storms from his tsunamis.

It doesn't take long for Sky to become enchanted by the strange weather patterns over St Felix. Sonny is convinced they link to local folklore, but Sky isn't about to fall for that. Until she meets Walter, a local weather watcher with no qualifications beyond a lifetime of experience, and Sky is forced to question everything she thought she knew about the weather, herself... and Sonny.

Is it possible the clouds were trying to tell her something all along?

Sky Matthews arrives to Cornwall with her little dog Fitz. She's got a job on a tidal island Aurora, off the busy harbour town of St Felix. "The offer to come to Cornwall had come completely out of the blue. Due to ill health I'd been on an extended leave of absence from my position as a senior meteoroloist at Met Central in London".

Sky has agreed to take a temporary position on Aurora to prove she is capable again. In the past she used to travel a lot, being placed in many usunual environments. Until twenty months earlier, she has had an exciting and challenging career.

She is supposed have an assitant, working and living in the same accommodation provided for the meteorologists. Talia is young and very enthusiastic.

When she arrives to the train station to meet Talia, Sky is in for a big surprise. Talia is accompanied by a man, who claims to be her new partner at the station, apparently in order to help unravel the mysterious weather conundrum. Sonny Samuels is a minor celebrity, a TV weather presenter, sent to Cornwall by Met Central.

Sky is not amused. In fact, she is rather alarmed, as all her mental preparations for the job are overthrown by this new arrival. "Now Sonny Samuels has been thrown into the mix, I get the feeling that dealing with the over-exuberant weather presenter... is going to cause me more trouble than anyhthing else this island could ever throw at me".

Sky resents his presence, she is not prepared mentally and psychologically to live in close quarters with someone who has an exuberance of a labrador puppy. "I'm trying here, really I am, but Sonny is the sort of person I usually do my best to avoid. He's loud and chatty and a bit too full of himself, and every time I think he might have calmed down a little, he springs right back into full Sonny mode..." 

Yes, Sonny is quite tiresome, but Sky is rude towards him from the first moment they meet. Sonny confides that his friends call him Jamie. Gradually, Sky begins to see a different side to the loud guy. He can be considerate and caring, sensitive and vulnerable under the veneer of over-confidence.

Sky comes to see that the first impressions and assessment of Sonny could be an error. She is trying to figure out how to deal with the mixed feelings she has about him. "I hadn't liked Jamie at all when we first met - but that wasn't his fault. He'd been thrust on me when I hadn't been expecting him, and I never cope well with surprises... But Jaie has changedsince he'd been here. The person I first met had much more Sonny than Jamie - like he had a sort of alter-ego he swapped between. I didn't care for Sonny at all, but I kind of liked Jamie now..."

Sky and Jamie are fascinated by the strange weather occurrences in the area, with the most unusual cloud shapes and virtually impossible meteoroloical patterns. Are they truly linked to the local legends, as Jamie believes? Is it even remotedly possible that the clouds above Aurora signify something personal to Sky?

It's hinted from the start that Sky has a hidden disability (ME). Apart from her serious condition, her behaviour borders on neuro diverse, with its rigidity of thinking. She struggles with changes in her preparations, everything has to be as she planned. While her being upset about the upturned plans is understandable, her rudeness is less so.

Sky believes she's been honest but she appears ill-mannered. Saying that, men like Sonny could drive anyone round the bend with their suggestive jokes and flirtatous behaviour.

Sky tries to hide her disability from her colleagues and friends, which doesn't sound sensible at all. 

"I can't tell them. They'd treat me differently if they knew, and I don't want to be different, I want to be the same as everyone else".

She wants to convince Sonny that she is more than her illness, that although it is part of her, it doesn't define her as a whole being. However, it's not Sonny she has to convince but herself first of all. She is wallowing in self-pity. It is Sky who has to accept herself as worthy of love rather than pity.

"I can't get away from it, however much I want to. My illness is there all the time - hiding, just waiting for me to weaken so that it can be unleashed once more. It's like a monster inside me, that unless I'm very careful, once unleashed, won't be controlled again for quite some time".

Cornish Clouds and Silver Lining Skies is a modern day romance, with paranormal elements, of a fairytale variety. The clouds sending images as messages might be a cute but rather an implausible motif.

For me the best parts were the descriptions of the sea, coast and nature (minus funny clouds). I loved the fictional island of Aurora, with its amazing views and a cosy cottage. St Felix, based on St Ives, also provides a beautiful setting for the story.

Dog lovers will be delighted with several dogs featuring quite prominently in the narrative: Eden's Yorkie Russell Fitz, Sonny's Comet and there's Barney who belongs to one of the minor characters. 

There are some quirky local characters, including the elderly weatherman, known as Wacky Walter Weather, for his weird and wonderful ways of forecasting the weather.

The smuggling plotline and secret tunnels ending in remote caves is a bit far-fetched. Sonny himself says, "If you think this is going to be some Famous Five adventure, with jolly japes and ginger beer, then you need to back out right now". But that's excatly how it feels at times, like Famous Five for grown-ups.

And here are some beautiful clouds over the Cornish coastline. Just clouds, no hidden messages in sight.