"A remote cottage on the wild coast of Cornwall sounded to Blythe Barton Stowe like the perfect escape from the pain and humiliation of recent events in her Hollywood life. But soon she seems to be reliving a centuries-old tragedy, and the handsome owner of the shabby manor house on the hill appears vitally entwined in her destiny. As they unearth one shocking family secret after another, Blythe is forced to conclude that her intriguing neighbor is more than just an impecunious British gentleman bent on saving his ancestral home. And the impeccably honorable Lucas Teague begins to see Blythe as a lifeline in an otherwise bleak existence.
But is the unbridled attraction they're experiencing a dangerous distraction, or could it be strong enough to transcend the insurmountable complexities of time and place?"
(from the publisher)
my thoughts:
A thoroughly enjoyable, complex and emotional story of one woman's journey to escape the pain of her high-profile Hollywood divorce.
Blythe Barton Stowe was a successful partner with her British-born movie producer husband, Christopher Stowe, and enjoyed fame and fortune with their box-office hits. But her world is rocked when she arrives unannounced at her husband's office and finds the cad with another woman....and the identity of the woman is an even bigger shock to Blythe! Devastated by the humiliation of a scandalous divorce and the paparazzi, Blythe escapes to a remote area in Cornwall to come to terms with many painful memories and events in her life. She rents a small cottage on the grounds of a large manor and meets the landlord, Lucas Teague, a man who has his own secrets and pain due to the recent death of his wife. These two have a long and difficult journey to find healing and happiness, but it is a realistic relationship with jealousies and insecurities and it kept me turning the pages to find out how they would work out their challenges.
There is also a timeslip element in this story as the modern day Blythe has visions of an ancestral story from the 1700's of Blythe Barton and her forced and violently unhappy marriage to Kit Trevelyan. The mystery and secrets of her ancestors were very compelling and tied the threads of the present-day story to the past. A Cottage by the Sea was a marvelous tale of betrayals, passion, mystery, family secrets, ancestral history, and romance.
4/5 stars
athomewithbooks.blogspot.com
Title: a Cottage by the Sea
Author: Ciji Ware
Publisher: Sourcebooks
2010
529 pages
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