A Cottage by the Sea

Grace has been best friends with Ella and Flick since university. The late-night chats, shared heartaches and good times have created a bond that has stood the test of time. Now in their thirties, Grace is always a bit disappointed about how little time they get to spend together, so when Ella invites them all to stay for a week in her cottage in South Wales, Grace jumps at the chance to see her old friends. She also hopes that the change in pace will help her reconnect with her husband, Harry. Unfortunately for her, Harry isn't as enamoured with Cwtch Cottage as she is. Then Flick arrives; loveable, bubbly Flick, accompanied by the handsome and charming Noah, and suddenly the week ahead looks as though it may be even more confusing for all the residents of Cwtch Cottage.

My opinion: I'm just going to come out and say it. I loved this book! This book is the first Carole Matthews book I have read and I will definitely be reading more. My TBR pile is about to grow again!!

The book is about three friends and their partners who spend a week together at Ella's cottage in Pembrokeshire that she inherited from her parents. They've been friends since uni, but don't see each other too often any more because of their busy lives so the holiday was a chance got then to catch up and have some fun together. As the week goes on we see that there are cracks in each one of their relationships, but each girl is trying to smooth things over as best they can and hope that the sea air will heal all!

The fact that this book is set in Pembrokeshire is a massive draw for me. It's where I had my holidays as a child, and where my partner and I have stayed and gone exploring countless times over the years. The book describes the area beautifully, and even mentions our favourite beach, Barafundle! I have put a picture of it at the bottom of the review to share how gorgeous it is!

Other than Pembrokeshire, I also loved the characters and the way this book was constructed. Because it was only set over the period of a week, it could gave dragged, but was really well paced, and meant we got to know the characters a little better. I particularly loved Grace who had gone through her life on a set path, always doing the right thing, and the lovely Noah seemed like such a genuinely nice guy. I love it when the writer makes you feel like you really know a character. Grace's husband Harry was a right bastard, but I liked that the writer implied it, but let me make up my own mind.

This book was so well written, and I really couldn't out it down! I just kept thinking "I'll just read one more chapter..."

A fantastic book, and I may have accidentally bought Calling Mrs Christmas by Carole Matthews too, so look out for a review of that one in the run up to Christmas!

My rating: A wonderful five stars!