Friday 13 January 2017

Book Review - Meet Me at Beachcomber Bay by Jill Mansell

Amazon UK
Title: Meet Me at Beachcomber Bay
Author: Jill Mansell
Format reviewed: Ebook
Source: Netgalley
Publisher: Headline Review
Publication Date: 12th January 2017
Rating: 4.5 Stars


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...

Three different main characters, all of them just wanting to meet their true love. In at least two of their situations they may have already met the person already, but circumstances are conspiring against them. When you then add in a fake relationship, a few huge life altering announcements from some of the characters, and a gorgeous beachside location, you know you have all the makings of a classic Jill Mansell book. Which is of course what Meet Me at Beachcomber Bay is. 

Clemency and Belle are step sisters, that have a long standing pact in place to never go after the same man, Belle also used to have a crush on Ronan, but Ronan is struggling to get the woman he really wants, so is happy to fall into a fake relationship with Clemency, when Belle reappears in Cornwall, with her new boyfriend Sam. Oh and Sam and Clemency have met before, not that either of them are willing to tell Belle that. 

That is just the beginning of what happens in this wonderful story where the deep hidden secrets are revealed at a steady pace, and just as you start to get used to whatever the new normal is, something else happens and your mind is blown a bit more. 

All the while, the book is written in Jill Mansell's typical warm hearted, entertaining style, which is quick and easy to read, and draws you into the the story, until you don't want to leave it. I loved getting to know the various people, as well as in Ronan's case his whole family. 

I loved the whole story, and although Belle is a bit tricky to really get to know, and I did guess part way through what it was she may be hiding, there is a point where you can really understand her properly, which was good. Clemency is a lovely person, who seems quite content in her life, and although she is present in a large amount of the book, she seems to be more a supporting sort of person, than star.  

Whereas Ronan I think I was just a bit in love with, and all of his actions were of someone who is a fabulous friend, but also madly in love with someone else. He is also one of the main male characters, the other being the dashing Sam, who I also fell just slightly in love with. They are both fictionally perfect men, who deserve true love. 

This isn't my favourite Jill Mansell book of all time, but its definitely a fantastic story, and will give you a good fix of Jill Mansell's talented writing, great descriptions, and the all around good sense of warmth I always get when I read one of her books. 

Thank you to Netgalley and Headline for this copy of the book, which I have reviewed voluntarily and honestly. 

4 comments:

  1. Ive yet to read anything by Mansell - maybe will give her a go at some point but first I have 300 books on my shelves to get through.....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ah yes, the hazards of a large TBR pile. Have fun reading through them

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  2. Why doesn't count this for your Around the UK in 144 books reading challenge?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The three of us running the challenge agreed it would only be books we have read in 2017 onwards, and I read this book sometime between Christmas and New Year.

      I tend to read and review a few weeks ahead of the current date, so I'll have more that do count from the 19th January.

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