Reviewed by Emma Crowley
Love comes when you least expect it...
Tressa Buckland likes her quiet life in Port Lowdy, with its cobbled streets and colourful terraced houses overlooking the sea. Her job at the local paper allows her to pursue her art in her free time, with no one but her tabby cat Ginger Pickles to mind her in Mermaid Terrace. But then the owner of the paper is called away on an emergency, and it's up to Tressa to run the paper for six months. Her first task: find a new part-time journalist.
Dan Byrne is the angriest man in Ireland – or so the readers of his very successful column, 'Dan takes on the world', think. But after a story goes south and he loses his job in Dublin, Dan has no choice but to start afresh. When an opportunity comes up in sleepy Cornwall, Dan and his Golden Retriever Ritchie set off for a new adventure.
For Tressa, Dan's arrival to Port Lowdy changes everything. Tressa tries not to look too deeply at her own life, but Dan sees a story to uncover in absolutely everyone – even her. The two of them couldn't be more different... yet, if they can find a way to work together, they may just breathe new life and joy into this sleepy seaside village.
Many thanks to Aria via NetGalley for my copy of Finding Love at Mermaid Terrace to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
Finding Love at Mermaid Terrace was the second book that I have read by Kate Forster and what an absolutely gorgeous read it turned out to be. This story has such a lovely relaxed feel with a great setting, that of Port Lowdy. It’s a sleepy seaside village where not many people visit except during the summer months. It’s steeped in routine and there is a certain way of doing things. Yet the community is close knit and the characters just walk off the page to meet you. You embrace them all and their stories and don’t let go until the last page.
In fact I enjoyed this book so much, I would love a sequel as I don’t feel quite ready to leave such a wonderful story and setting behind. It’s a delightful read that I enjoyed immensely, and it was a perfect book to devour between more heavier reads. All the characters have their own problems and secrets and yes Tressa And Dan might have the majority of the focus but still there are other well defined characters who worm their way, in a good way, determined to share their story and it all makes for a very good read.
Tressa has spent the last two years living in the village. She loves her cottage on Mermaid Terrace and despite being single she is not on the look out for love, rather that art is her one true love. She moved to the village from St.Ives to escape her family, in particular her mother, Wendy. The reasons for this move are explored and developed so well over the course of the book. We get clues and teasers as to the real reason she feels Wendy does not love her. Tressa feels that she is such a big disappointment to her family and that she can’t live up to someone. But surely we are all individual and unique in our own way and shouldn’t feel a burden to compare ourselves to others or to live up to their legacy. Don’t get me wrong she loves her family but she finds them intimidating and feels she can never be free to be herself around them. Tressa clearly needed to come to terms with and remind herself that she too is important and worthwhile regardless of anyone else’s opinion.
I thought Tressa was overly harsh on herself but in the present day it did show that the events and memories of the past did have such a powerful impact on her mindset and how she lived her life now. She had escaped and was happy in Port Lowdy but the ghosts of the past have never truly left her and with the arrival of Irish journalist Dan things are about to change for Tressa. Whether she wants them to or not remains another question? Is she willing to deal with a whole host of emotions and situations that arise as Dan tries to draw her out of her comfort zone both in terms of her work, heart and her family relations?
Tressa is a loner by circumstance rather than by chance. She is shy and doesn’t believe in finding love as if it isn’t lost why go looking for it? It would come if it’s ready and if it never found her she had her cat and her art. I loved that Tressa was so independent and I saw a bit of myself in her. She was determined in her path and happy with the life she had carved out for herself. Although I would have liked her to reconcile with her family and explore and solve her issues with them. Her close friends, George and Caro are like parental figures to her. She has known them since childhood and they give her all the advice and support she needs in the absence of this from her own family. When Caro falls ill and George has to put Tressa in charge of the newspaper he runs, this means Tressa takes on a whole new level of responsibility. Up to now she had been the advertising manager and photographer but this new role will see her meet new people and her life will take many unexpected turns. Will they all be positive or will some negativity and anguish creep in there testing her to the max?
Dan works for an Irish newspaper and is known as a journalist for not mincing his words. His latest article has seen him land in deep water resulting in him being let go and his apartment taken from him. By chance he finds an advertisement looking for a journalist for six months for George’s paper. Before he knows it, Dan and his dog, who provides many a comedic moment, have arrived in Port Lowdy. It’s a step down from his previous job in more ways than one. But maybe he needs this time to soften his sharp edges and to deal with his own family issues from the past that have made him slightly hard nosed when it comes to newspaper reporting. Dan and Tressa rub each other up the wrong way constantly. There was an awful lot of back and forth between them with sharp comments and smart retorts. In one way I loved this because it contrasted nicely between the moments where they shared a memory or got close and were near to unburdening themselves to each other. Than in another way I wanted to bash their heads together as did many other residents of the village because I could see that they were just perfect for each other.
They fitted together and balanced each other and had so many similarities but there was so much confusion and wrong doing that one wondered would a happy ending ever be found? Dan has such good intentions but I think he quite often went about things in the wrong way and he could have been more subtle. As they continue about their work for the paper the setting of Port Lowdy came to life and was the backdrop for many an event and sometimes a tender, raw and beautiful moment. The descriptions of the village and surrounding areas were just so beautiful and I could visualise everything so clearly in my mind. The setting combined with a good solid storyline really helped bring the book to life and only added to my overall enjoyment of it.
As well as Tressa and Dan and their storyline, there were several other characters who featured. There was a danger that one might have overshadowed the other or there would have been too many storylines running alongside each other and therefore things would have become confusing but this didn’t happen. I felt they all added something overall to the story. Penny, the post mistress, is lonely and is longing for a time in her past that brought her much joy but was so cruelly taken from her. Can she reconnect with the past once Dan gets his claws into a good story? Will it turn out that maybe her loneliness and angst was all in vain or will things be taken a step too far?
Remi is recently arrived in the village from France. He is taken on at the Black Swan pub by Marcel and Pamela. Remi is a dark person in some ways given his history but it really is eating him up. He wants to make amends with what has happened in his past which caused him to find himself in the position he is now? Can he find what he is desperately seeking and if so will the object be happy with what has to be said? Again, Dan is the instigator here but in a good way even at times his intentions are really misconstrued.
No doubt about it Finding Love at Mermaid Terrace is a real feel good read. It’s not light and fluffy or too overly serious instead there is just the right amount of tension, angst and emotion balanced alongside lovely , tender, moments. I really loved it and look forward to lots more books from Kate Forster in the future.
No comments:
Post a Comment