Daisy Wickens has returned to Ottercombe Bay, the picturesque Devon town where her mother died when she was a girl. She plans to leave as soon as her great uncle’s funeral is over, but Great Uncle Reg had other ideas. He’s left Daisy a significant inheritance – an old building in a state of disrepair, which could offer exciting possibilities, but to get it she must stay in Ottercombe Bay for twelve whole months.
With the help of a cast of quirky locals, a few gin cocktails and a black pug with plenty of attitude, Daisy might just turn this into something special. But can she ever hope to be happy among the ghosts of her past?
If I’m being honest, not all books are going to work for me all the time. This is one of those fair weather books. If I’d read it in a certain mood, I may not have liked it at all. But, to be fair, I read while I was in a whimsical mood, so I actually did like it. I am mentioning this because I know there are other readers like me–what works one minute, may not the next.
I did enjoy this book. It’s a fantastic summer read and would make a fantastic early fall read, too, because once you’re in a whimsical reading mood, it enchants. Somewhat reminiscent of a Hallmark movie, it’s gripping in a light way–the main character, Daisy, and the ways in which she maneuvers her life–running away from problems (or people and familial situations) instead of facing them and dealing with them–is almost a novel (and Hallmark film) cliche, but as long as I tried not to think about it, it didn’t bother me as much as it may have. Ignorance is bliss, I suppose.
My one gripe was I thought Daisy might have been a stronger character when I chose to read this book. I really hoped for more for her, but the novel just didn’t deliver. I wanted a stronger, more intelligent lead character and I really didn’t get that with Ottercombe Bay. I don’t know that I’ll read more by this author, so if you’re waiting on anything else from her, you may want to check it out yourself rather than waiting on another one of my reviews.
For my blog readers, please do note that other people are really loving the book, so you might, too. Most of you, I believe, are looking for something more, though, and with that in mind, I beg that you hold your horses and wait on the reviews for some of the other books I’ve read over the last few months. There were some really great titles in there, lacking the indecisive, running-from-everything lead character.
Rhiannon Writes On 