Book Review - A Cornish Secret by Emma Burstall - #HolidayReading Thailand

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Amazon UK

Title: A Cornish Secret

Author: Emma Burstall

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Head of Zeus

Publication Date: 1st June 2018

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Be careful what you kiss for...

Esme Posorsky is an enigma. For as long as people can remember, she has been part of community life in the quaint Cornish fishing village of Tremarnock, but does anyone really know her? She is usually to be found working in her pottery studio or at home with her beloved cat, Rasputin. But when an old school friend turns up with a secret from the past, nothing will ever be the same again.

Meanwhile teenager, Rosie, is excited to find a bottle washed up on Tremarnock beach with a message from a former German prisoner of war. While the rest of the village is up in arms about a new housing development, she sets out to find him. Little does she know, however, that her discovery will unleash a shocking chain of events that threatens to blow her family apart.

Tremarnock may look like a cosy backwater, but some of its residents are about to come face-to-face with tough decisions and cold reality...

How refreshing it was to be back amongst friends in Tremarnock.  Ever since the first book of this wonderful series I have been hooked.

There are some fabulous new characters introduced into this book, including Caroline and Max, in two very different story lines. 

If you haven't read any of this series, besides missing out on great books, not to worry, as this can easily be read as a standalone. 

My favourite plot in this book was the fight to save the village playground, and the way the method picked develops. If I didn't know these characters so well, I'd almost think it was unbelievable, but its a great way of peacefully standing ground. 

Then there is Esme's friendship with Caroline, which takes a direction that will almost certainly surprise some. 

Oh and Rosie finds a message in a bottle that is dated to WW2, and she is determined to find either the write or intended recipient of it. 

Meanwhile Lizzie seems to be at her wits end with Robert, while Lowenna is utterly adorable. 

I love all of these wonderful characters and being able to find out what they are all up to currently.  Its another excellent addition to this much loved series. 

Thank you to Netgalley and Head of Zeus for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily. 

Book Review - Tremarnock Summer by Emma Burstall - #HolidayReading Book 18

Book 18 of 30 that I read on my holiday to Fuerteventura in December 2017

Amazon UK

Title: Tremarnock Summer

Author: Emma Burstall

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Head of Zeus 

Publication Date: 30th May 2017

Rating: 4 Stars

Bramble Challoner has had a very normal upbringing. She lives in a semi in the suburbs of London with her parents and works at the call centre down the road. She still goes out with the boy she met at school. At weekends they stay in and watch films on the telly and sometimes hold hands. Bramble is dying for an adventure.

So when her very grand grandfather, Lord Penrose, dies, leaving his huge, rambling house in Cornwall to her, Bramble packs her bags immediately, dragging along her best friend Katie. The sleepy village of Tremarnock had better be ready for its newest residents...

Really enjoyed this latest installment in the Tremarnock series. With it is the introduction of many new characters including Bramble and Katie who are moving to Cornwall from London. 

I liked seeing how Bramble would react to suddenly having  a whole manor house as her disposal, and the housekeeper was rather a surprise. 

I loved the variety of recurring characters in Tremarnock and always love seeing more from Liz and her family who are still by far my favourites. 

I found parts of Brambles story slightly on the predictable side, although there were elements that had me gasping out loud, and the ending did surprise me a bit too. 

This could easily be read as a standalone book, but since the others in the series are so good Iwould recommend those too!

Already very excited to learn there will be  a book 4 for this series, and can't wait to read it. 

Thank you so much to Head of Zeus and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily. 

Guest Post - What's In A Name? by Emma Burstall - Blog Tour

Choosing a name for a book character can be almost as hard as naming a baby. When I was deciding what to call my children, I ummed and ahhed for ages because I wanted to get it just right, and so it is with the men and women in my novels. Often I’ll spend hours writing out different combinations of first names and surnames until I’m completely satisfied. 

A name can convey so many things, from someone’s personality and age to their nationality and background. Plus, if my character is someone I like, then I have to find a name I like, too, and if it’s my hero or heroine, I have to love it.

There’s another issue as well. I try not to name my characters after family or friends, in case they think I’m writing about them when I’m not. This is especially important when it comes to villains, for obvious reasons. It can be extremely difficult, though, because I know a lot of people, and at times I’ll plump for something generic, like ‘Helen’, ‘Claire’ or ‘Ben’, and hope no one gets the wrong idea. 

My sister once pointed out that I’d used the name of one of my nieces for a minor character, and although it’s a very common girl’s name, I then worried that the other niece was feeling left out. So you see, it’s hard not to ruffle feathers however hard you try!

Here are some tips for choosing names for your own books:

1.   Think about the kind of person your character is and their defining features, physical, intellectual and emotional. Names have associations, although of course this will vary for different people. For me, ‘Summer’ and ‘Tansy’ suggest carefree, New Age types while ‘Susan’ and ‘Victoria’ are practical and sensible. Graveyards can be a good source of inspiration. I once found a headstone in a Cornish cemetery bearing the name ‘Mary Screech’. I thought it was so marvellous that I made a note and used it for a character, Shelley Screech, who was suffering from a particularly nervous disposition!

2. Make sure your name fits the person’s age. Patricia, Barbara and Sheila, for instance, were very popular in the Thirties and Forties, but they’ve gone out of fashion.  And how many eighty year old Kylies or Tegans do you know? Exactly. If you need ideas, there’s plenty of information online about top boys’ and girls’ names in a particular year of birth.

3.  Try not to have too many names beginning with the same letter, as this can become confusing for the reader. Also, read all your names out loud once you’ve picked them. I once had to change someone’s name at the last minute, because I realised that it sounded too similar to someone else’s. This is especially important if your novel is to be made into an audio book.

4. Try alliterative initials if you want a character to be really memorable. This works particularly well with children’s books, think Bilbo Baggins and Rowena Ravenclaw, but use sparingly in adult fiction or you’ll risk irritating your readers.

5. Try to avoid unpronounceable names, unless it’s intentional. I once called a female character ‘Persephone’ precisely because it’s so unusual. The other characters kept mispronouncing the name in different ways and winding her up, which provided lots of comic scope.  


Thank you so much Emma for this interesting post. I completely agree about not having too many names beginning with the same letter,  I've read some books where I've been very confused the whole time for just that reason.

Bramble Challoner has had a very normal upbringing. She lives in a semi in the suburbs of London with her parents and works at the call centre down the road. She still goes out with the boy she met at school. At weekends they stay in and watch films on the telly and sometimes hold hands. Bramble is dying for an adventure.

So when her very grand grandfather, Lord Penrose, dies, leaving his huge, rambling house in Cornwall to her, Bramble packs her bags immediately, dragging along her best friend Katie. The sleepy village of Tremarnock had better be ready for its newest residents...

Purchase from Amazon UK

About Emma

Emma Burstall was a newspaper journalist in Devon and Cornwall before becoming a full time author. Tremarnock, the first novel in her series set in a delightful Cornish village, was published in 2015 and became a top-10 bestseller.

Website - EmmaBurstall.com
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/emmaburstallauthor 
Twitter - https://twitter.com/EmmaBurstall 


Please do follow along with the rest of the blog tour:

Book Review & Giveaway - Tremarnock by Emma Burstall - Cornish Week

Amazon UK

Title: Tremarnock

Author: Emma Burstall

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Purchased

Publisher: Head of Zeus

Publication Date: 21st May 2015

Rating: 5 Stars

Tremarnock is a classic Cornish seaside village. Houses cluster around the fishing harbour. It has a pub and a sought-after little restaurant. It is here that Liz has found sanctuary for herself and her young daughter, Rosie - far away from Rosie's cheating father.

Liz works all the hours God sends. First thing in the morning she's out, cleaning offices. At night she is waitressing in the village restaurant, while friends and neighbours rally round and mind Rosie. But trouble is waiting just round the corner.

As with all villages, there are tensions, secrets - and ambitions. Emma Burstall's wonderfully engaging first novel about Tremarnock is the story of what happens when one shocking turn of events sweeps a small community.

Having read one of Emma Burstall's previous books, I was delighted to see this as a new release appear on Amazon, and I couldn't resist buying it. Tremarnock is a Cornish village, that depends on its tourism, and is a very pretty place. 

Liz, is single mother to daughter, Rosie, and she works two jobs as a cleaner in an office block first thing in the morning, and a waitress in the evenings. She has a fabulous support network of the rest of the villagers, who made her feel so welcome when she first moved to Tremarnock, after she left Rosie's dad. 

It is Rosie's story that makes this book as special as it is. She has had a lot to deal with in her 9 years, and watching her deal with any misfortune that comes her way is inspiring. She is the central character to everything that occurs in this story, and she is a pleasure to read about.

The prologue had me intrigued from the start and it was with that knowledge that had me wondering quite a few times exactly what happened, and it took a while for all to be revealed, and not in the most obvious way. 

There is a huge cast of characters in this book, from all of Liz's co-workers, to the neighbours that mind Rosie regularly, to a certain restaurant owner. Each of them have interesting stories, and its a huge part of village life that they are all so neighbourly and friendly. But of course not everything is as it seems on the surface and there are plenty of surprises in-store.

Tremarnock is a fabulous story, and the first of a trilogy set in the village, and I am really looking forward to the second book. This one does have a proper ending, so I have no idea where the second book will go, but I hope this isn't the last we have seen of Liz and Rosie. 

Giveaway to win a book sculpture of the cover of Tremarnock (UK Only)

When I first announced my intentions for a Cornish Week, the author and incredibly talented Ann Troup offered to make a book sculpture based on the cover of a book I was planning to feature.

We agreed to Tremarnock by Emma Burstall, and this wonderful sculpture has been created, using the pages of another Cornish book. 

We are absolutely delighted to offer this as a prize to the following giveaway. This is for the UK followers of my blog only. Don't worry if you are international, I have a few other giveaways still planned for this week which you will be able to enter. 

Giveaway open to residents of the UK only (due to the fragility of the prize, we don't want to risk sending it internationally), all options are voluntary, but please do what they ask, as I will be verifying the winner. Giveaway closes 23:59 26/8/2015. Winner will be announced on twitter and emailed, and they will need to reply within 7 days, or forfeit the prize, and I will re-draw for a new winner.  Good luck everyone.

a Rafflecopter giveaway