What an incredibly powerful story of determination, love, transformation and overcoming the odds! Liz’s stories always have ample layers of depth to them and The Key to the Last House Before the Sea is no exception. Intricate thoughts always manage to rise to the surface like driftwood on the sea.
I have absolutely loved this entire series so jumped at the chance to read the newest ARC. In fact, any book by Liz will be a must-read as I have really enjoyed her heart-felt themes, complex characters and exceptional writing. The Heaven’s Cove series is phenomenal. Each book is a standalone so you can read them in any order. These may be classed as ‘feel good’ or ‘uplifting fiction’ but that does not mean they are not filled with complicated situations, especially since they are always about relationships and families—which we know means lots of colour, clashes and crises. Solutions are always found though, leaving the reader satisfied with an apt ending that is usually happy but why not? Life is full of enough dramas and so it is nice to see good things happen to devoted, determined individuals with good hearts and honest intentions like Nessa: a character I thoroughly admired.
Nessa is a single mom with a five year old daughter. She has been abandoned by her husband, a free spirit, and their child rarely sees her father. He is a weak person who shrugs off his responsibilities. His mother, Valerie, though, has difficulty seeing his flaws and blames Nessa for chasing him away. Valerie wants her son around more but for selfish reasons. Nessa, on the other hand devotes her life to trying to make her daughter’s life safe, comfortable and happy but her lack of funds and loss of job (no fault of her own) have presented challenges that seem insurmountable. Also, her grandmother, with whom she has lived, has recently died and this leaves her homeless (though she stays briefly with a friend) while she continues to find a way to get a roof over her and her daughter’s head. A key comes to her through a package left by her grandmother that may be the answer to her troubles but this task bears many challenges and road blocks. She must make difficult choices. Yet through these decisions, we see she is a selfless woman with a great love for her daughter. But there are those lurking nearby who try to take advantage of her circumstances.
One issue addressed in this novel is how difficult it can be to have no family support either because members have all died (as in Nessa’s case) or through selfish expectations imposed by others (as in Gabriel’s case).
The characters in The Key to the Last House Before the Sea truly carry a complexity with many facets to explore. Sometimes I like to look at character’s names. Nessa’s name means pure, holy; butterfly and I think it fits her well. Gabriel – we know means bearer of good news (as one of heaven’s angels) and although he starts out being a bearer of bad news, he manages to find courage to become a finer man. But I won’t give anything away except to say he is not as he appears and once he spends time with Nessa, she sets about in him a transformation. Her pureness of heart (honest love for her daughter) and positive attitude of going after her dreams rubs off on him. Does she help him become a better man or the man he really is, without all the trappings imposed on him by his father? For he is not just a business man but also a suppressed artist. Not only does Nessa affect him but also Heaven’s Cove does as well. The longer he is in this glorious setting, the more it begins to do its magic on his heart.
The story is told through three characters: Nessa, Gabriel and Valerie (the ex-mother-in-law). The dynamics of these three is quite interesting: the sparks of friction have a way of heating up and keeps the plot rolling. We hunger to see character growth in Gabriel and Valerie. Nessa, though, is more of a static character (like Anne of Green Gables). I would say she is not so much one who changes (little bits maybe) but she brings change in others by being who she is. Her good heart brings out the best in people or shows them up (as in the case of her ex-husband whose faults come through loud and clear through his own pitiful actions).
This novel caught my interest from the cover to the first page and held me in its grips to the very end. I loved everything about it! You can smell the salt, hear the gulls, see the light playing on the waves in this gorgeous setting of Heaven’s Cove which acts as another character. The story of Ghost Village is powerful and transforming and will tug at your heart strings in an eternal way. It is easy to see why Nessa wants to hang on to the cottage with so much family history embedded in its past. And its connections to her grandmother have become entwined around her heart. Her fight and dealings to save it, left me cheering throughout. To believe in a special history so much, you will try everything to save it – that’s beautiful in my books! Progress is not always right or good and sometimes pieces of the past must be preserved to ensure the future is bright. I loved The Key to the Last House Before the Sea and highly recommend it. 5 Shimmering Stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Many thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for a copy to review.
