By Rosamunde Pilcher

I did enjoy this one, one of her more slight of the “little” novels. The heroine, being an RP heroine, is hapless and naive and led down the primrose path by the antagonist in the piece for a little too long despite numerous red flags. But she didn’t make me scream with frustration at least. She was at her weakest and strongest all in one night. So we didn’t have to suffer endlessly. As always there are a few cringeworthy moments that do not have the benefit of our more enlightened attitudes of today.

I had a lump in my throat a few times, especially at the beginning before she goes to Porthkerris. Several of her books I know are set in this fictional artist colony based on St. Ives in Cornwall. So evocative and lovely. This one almost seems a bit of a precursor to her masterwork, The Shell Seekers. Besides the setting, it shared a number of elements. The good guy love/interest was one of her most appealing and romantic. The resolution was lovely and perfect without an ugly confrontation and drama-fest that many authors would not have resisted writing in. (Not that I wouldn’t have enjoyed that as well.) All in all, it had the elements that draw me to this beloved (by me at least) author. Listening to the story being narrated compounded my enjoyment. **3 1/2 stars**Rounded up because Rosamunde Pilcher.

July 30, 2019