You always remember your first love they say. And Tish is no different, she remembers the dark and enigmatic Fergal who was an artist with a paintbrush and with music but he went off to seek fame and fortune and left Tish behind. How could he? Well it appears there were other forces at work regarding the love of the impetuous youth.
Some years later, everyone has moved on Tish is now happily married to James and Fergal is now a distant memory. But with some expectation you know that Tish’s life is now going to turn upside down. The marriage to James seems to suddenly start developing cracks, quite large gaping ones, as Tish persuades him to move to the countryside and a cottage so she can live the life she has dreamed of whilst trying to maintain her novelist status. James merely thinks she is playing at all this and needs domesticity i.e. waiting on him hand and foot to be complete. Tish has other ideas and James also has other ideas on how husbands should behave. I hated James with a passion – in fact whatever happened to him he rightly deserved. Trisha Ashley wrote him perfectly!
And then if it was not difficult enough for Tish. Fergal appears back. In fact Fergal buys the house which backs onto Tish and James cottage garden. Now there is going to be trouble for Tish wherever she tries to seek solace.
This is a novel which has so much packed into it and I felt for Tish from the very first moment. How she did not collapse with the strain of everything that was happening to her was a mystery. But women in Trisha Ashley novels are strong and you know it will be alright in the end but you are never quite sure if the right you want is the right that Trisha will give us. Only one way to find out – keep reading.
So much is packed into this book, that to talk about it all would inevitably give away too much and I try very hard not to do that. But as well as the awful James, there is the equally vacuous Nerissa and the rather stranger mother. Not only has Tish have to put up with this, she is writing novels of which I assume are of a Mills and Boon – esque type. Looking after a dog that falls victim to one particular dog and ends up multiplying forth. A rather vocal parrot who seems to enjoy a rather funny relationship with Tish’s neighbour. Then there is the strange feeling that she does not have the full picture regarding her upbringing and her rather odd Granny seems to be dropping hints and clues all over the place. Besides, the cooking that she seems to have started in a vengeance As I say so much and you really get a great story and I loved this book.
I know this is a reissue but as I have never read it I was thrilled. Now I have A Winter’s Tale on my shelf to read and I think a couple of other back list books and will nearly be up to date but then there is a new novel out Wish Upon a Star which is out towards the end of 2013! Yay!
The Book Jotter 