What a beautiful, thoughtful and heart melting story! I have loved all the books in this series but I think this one is my ultimate favourite. I was moved to tears by The Girl in the Cottage by the Sea for it truly captured my heart and the music references resonated deep in me-- since I am also a musician and understand its creative expressive connection to the soul.
Ms Alexander’s writing is just stunning in this Cottage Island instalment and some of the descriptive lines, similes and metaphors are pure perfection. I felt emotionally, mentally and physically transported to this gorgeous island soaked in fascinating history. Though Morwen is a fictional setting, the author has made it clear it reflects the local islands near where she lives in England.
I truly enjoyed Amber’s journey to completeness and finding true romantic love through her visit to the island and in reconnecting with her musical abilities. It was heartbreaking to read of her scary injury that led to some pretty extensive surgery and recovery. For a musician to lose certain physical abilities, even temporarily, is most devastating. For one never knows whether they can play again or not as well. There is a real sadness that burrows deep into the soul and wounds the mind when such a thing happens.
Initially, Amber’s injury steals her confidence and places her in a vulnerable state. She receives a lot of tender care from Patrick which was great but she confuses this emotional support for love. This leads to her engagement to a man who is not right for her. He loves her but is not the one to make her heart sing. She cannot understand her feelings at first so the break up is quite dramatic. And he, of course, feels betrayed. But once she realises her feelings are not the right kind for a marital union, she has the courage to call it off before it is too late. I feel the author exposes and explores this predicament very well. I truly felt Amber’s anguish upon the realisation but rejoiced in her courage to make things right.
Then she heads to the island to continue in her recovery and gets a fresh start. Helping with the restoration of her family’s cottage gives her a chance to rediscover herself and to zero in on her true passions. Through some prompting, she picks up the violin again and discovers she still wants to play but in a different way. She worked hard to become a great violinist travelling with the Symphony Orchestra as first violinist. But does she want that life now? She makes some changes to her playing style that caused the injury in the first place and her father has her violin modified to take some strain off her neck. Her creative soul soars and pours again through her music while the house whispers a song to her that she begins to compose. And, healing begins in her heart. Part of this transformation comes as a result of meeting lovely Ben, who was hired to work on the cottage with her. As they collaborate together manually and creatively, something fresh and beautiful ignites and blossoms.
As noted, Beehive Cottage is a huge character in this story for it has witnessed and fostered new beginnings and contains many secrets in its walls. During its restoration phase, Amber finds a manuscript/journal hidden in a dusty cupboard that was written by a women named Georgina who lived there during the Second World War. It is quite a moving account recorded in the second timeline. Losing her husband in the sinking of a war ship, left her in a vulnerable state. First he is missing, before being declared deceased. So, her hopes rise and fall over a long period. Plus, the cottage she lives in is not hers. Her home in London was destroyed by bombs. Thankfully her husband’s aunt has a cottage on the island that was left to him and their son, so it becomes their place of refuge. But she never has it easy. Out of necessity, she takes on a few jobs to get enough money to feed her children. Friends help her when they can and because her husband is not declared dead for a long time, an army pension is not available to her at first. But she seeks help from a legal man working locally (who was a casualty of the war) to assist her with the paperwork. He does what he can. It was interesting to learn of all the stipulations that were placed on these pensions and how difficult it was for a woman left behind to begin her life again with someone new. And I won’t say more but Georgina has a few surprises come her way. Her journey is quite moving and prompted copious tears in me, both from sorrow and joy. I was happy to see her finally receive some much deserved happiness for I admired her perseverance, courage and strength.
I was so deeply lost in the story that when I turned the last page I did not realise I was at the end! I wanted to read more! I loved both threads equally well and they totally captured my attention and held my heart completely. They blended together beautifully in an uplifting finale, too. I can say without hesitation this novel deserves more than five stars as it is an achievement on all levels. It shines with the resilience of the human spirit and the beauty of romantic love. The Girl in the Cottage by the Sea is a stunning, breath-taking triumph. A novel I will never forget. 5+ Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for the ARC.
