Day: March 16, 2021

This was an honest portrayal of how grief can both numb and blind the people affected by a tragedy.

I thought that the author did a really good job of setting the scene. It was a scenic, family-friendly, small town that served as a juxtaposition to what Louisa was experiencing. It was nice to see how these two opposing things set against each other.

In that regard, I thought the creation of the characters was also well-done. Although I could not relate to Louisa on a personal level (thankful for that), I most definitely related on a professional level.

I have been a freelance writer for over five years, so I totally got her feelings on writing assignments, deadlines, and the realization that editors only care about your work – no matter how much you want to think they actually like you.

That, I think, made me more sympathetic to her personal struggles, because I came from a place of at least partial understanding.

I guessed the “big reveal” pretty much from the beginning, but I was intrigued by how the author rolled out the information. I loved how the characters were fully formed (both to the reader and each other within the story) before things got more complicated.

I also found Robin and Leah’s plot line to be engaging. At first, I thought it was just in place as a holder for Louisa’s story, but I thought the author did a fine job of Leah’s eventual truthfulness with her mother.

She was also a catalyst for a major turning point in the story, which was unexpected. That was well-done also.

While I liked just about everything in the book, especially the concept of art and the thought of the beach as a canvas, I did think that a few revelations seemed forced. They didn’t bother me, just seemed to come out of nowhere.

But major props for one of the most thrilling, page-turning climaxes that wasn’t in a crime/suspense/thriller book. Sometimes, family drama has a more subtle turning point. Not the case here. You have to hang on for this one!

I would definitely recommend this book. The message of forgiveness (of self, of others) and recognizing one’s own errors, but recognizing the ability to correct them and move forward with life are great reminders. Definitely pick this one up!

Author Bio:

After a varied career, Emma Davies once worked for a design studio where she was asked to provide a fun and humorous (and not necessarily true) anecdote for their website. She wrote the following: ‘I am a bestselling novelist currently masquerading as a thirty something mother of three.’ Well the job in the design studio didn’t work out but she’s now a forty something mother of three and is happy to report the rest of her dream came true.

After many years as a finance manager she now writes full time and is far happier playing with words than numbers. She lives with her husband, three children, and two guinea pigs in rural Shropshire where she writes in all the gaps in between real life. It’s a county she adores, her love of its beautiful people and landscapes providing endless inspiration for her books, and in fact the only thing that would make Shropshire more idyllic is if it were by the sea.