The latest from bestselling author Phillipa Ashley has to be up there as one of my most favourite reads of the year so far and perhaps even my most favourite from the author herself.
Rose has had a fairly bumpy start to life, being brought up mainly by her grandmother whilst her mother flitted in and out of her life, she then faces the ultimate test but she survives the life threatening illness thanks to a mystery donor. When life changes again for Rose, she decides she wants to find this mysterious man who helped her.
The search takes her to Cornwall, far from the flat fens of Cambridge and the surrounding area. With the pull of working on an archaeological dig, Rose finds herself in the little fishing village of Falford.
She makes an impact instantly on two bothers, Joey and Finn and it could possibly be that one of them is the man she has been looking for. Being drawn into the community of Falford, she finds herself a flat with wonderful sea views over the local Cornish Magick shop and befriends Oriel. Wanting to experience everything she can, she finds herself involved in learning to sail and explaining where some of the myths and legends come from to sceptic Oriel.
Friendships and relationship blossom and Rose seems to blossoming most of all. She realises that she enjoys this way of life especially when she can combine it with her own work as well. Of course nothing is going to run smoothly, whether is squally storms at sea, returning loves or the discovery of magical swords there is much to keep you turning the page.
If you want to experience Cornwall and the sea without getting your feet wet, then this book does it in abundance. I learned just as much about sailing as I did about stone circles and the legends. Phillipa Ashley had me caring about the main character Rose from the outset and even if some of the characters were slightly full of themselves, as the story goes on you can sort of start to like them too!
A perfect read to bring sunshine into your life whatever the time of year and a book I didn’t want to end!
Thank you to the publisher via netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.
An Endless Cornish Summer is out now.
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