Title: Meet Me at Beachcomber Bay
Author: Jill Mansell
Publisher: Headline Review
Publication Date: 12 January 2017
Twitter: @JillMansell
Facebook: /OfficialJillMansell
Website: www.jillmansell.co.uk
Blurb
MEET ME AT BEACHCOMBER BAY is a romantic, funny and unputdownable new novel about love and friendship from Jill Mansell, bestselling author of THE ONE YOU REALLY WANT and YOU AND ME, ALWAYS – ‘A glorious, heartwarming romantic read’ Woman & Home. Perfect for anyone who loves Milly Johnson, Lucy Diamond and Jenny Colgan.
Love is in the air in St Carys, but you’d never know it – the people of this seaside town are very good at keeping secrets…
The man Clemency loves belongs to someone else. She has to hide her true feelings – but when she ropes in an unsuspecting friend to help, wires start to get crossed.
For the first time in Ronan’s life his charm has failed him in winning over the woman he wants. Loving her from afar appears to be his only option.
Belle seems to have the perfect boyfriend, but something isn’t quite right. And now a long-buried secret is slowly rising to the surface.
The truth has a funny way of revealing itself, and when it does St Carys will be a very different place indeed…
Review
Every January I look forward to the new Jill Mansell novel. Having been a reader of Mansell’s novels since my teen years, I always approach a new publication with a bit of trepidation just in case it doesn’t live up to the earlier books. In this case, I’m happy to report that Meet Me at Beachcomber Bay does indeed live up to expectation.
I always love a good setting, particularly a seaside location. Meet Me at Beachcomber Bay is set in the fictional seaside town of St Carys in Cornwall and a perfect escape from rainy city life.
Clemency Price meets Sam on a flight. Despite an immediate attraction, Sam is already married. Moving on three years, Clemency’s step-sister Belle brings her new boyfriend home to St Carys to meet the family and Clemency is shocked to find out who it is!
Mansell knows how to create engaging and believable characters. From the protagonists – endearing Clemency to the spoilt Belle and the handsome Sam – to the supporting characters – postwoman Kate, artist Marina and estate agent Ronan – St Carys certainly provides a variety of interesting individuals, each with their own problems and stories.
I liked the light-hearted banter between the characters and found myself laughing out-loud in places. I particularly liked the interactions between Clem and the cheeky Ronan and the longstanding sibling rivalry between Clem and Belle.
The stories run effortlessly alongside each other, providing a great flow to the book and allowing the reader to easily flit between the different characters and sub-plots. As each story unfolds, Mansell avoids the pitfall of predictability by throwing in a few secrets and surprises along the way, enough to capture the reader’s interest and ensure the story is a real page-turner.
Meet Me at Beachcomber Bay is a bright and breezy feel-good story, full to the brim of humour, wit, and romance. A great choice to chase away the winter blues!
After finishing Meet Me at Beachcomber Bay, I’m now greatly looking forward to reading Mansell’s 2018 release This Could Change Everything.
*At the time of writing this review, Meet Me at Beachcomber Bay is currently on sale for £1.99 for the Kindle edition*
About the Author
Jill Mansell is the author of over twenty Sunday Times bestsellers including THE ONE YOU REALLY WANT, TO THE MOON AND BACK, YOU AND ME, ALWAYS and MEET ME AT BEACHCOMBER BAY. TAKE A CHANCE ON ME won the RNA’s Romantic Comedy Prize, and in 2015 the RNA presented Jill with an outstanding achievement award.
Jill’s personal favourite amongst her novels is THREE AMAZING THINGS ABOUT YOU, which is about cystic fibrosis and organ donation; to her great delight, many people have joined the organ donor register as a direct result of reading this novel.
Jill started writing fiction while working in the NHS, after she read a magazine article that inspired her to join a local creative writing class. Her first book was published in 1991 and she is now a full-time novelist. She is one of the few who still write their books by hand, like a leftover from the dark ages. She lives in Bristol with her family.
Jill keeps in touch with her readers on Twitter – @JillMansell – and Facebook – /OfficialJillMansell. You can also visit her website www.jillmansell.co.uk.
BuyLinks
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