Reviewed by Emma Crowley
Heartbroken Lowri Morgan, a young Welsh widow, is finally packing up her beloved husband’s belongings, her young daughter Wren asleep at her side. Then, hidden amongst the very last pile of papers, Lowri finds an official-looking letter – and her whole world shifts…
Her husband had a secret inheritance, one he’d never mentioned or done anything about. And now, it seemed, somewhere called Clearwater Castle was hers – and, in time, little Wren’s. How could he have hidden this from her and why? And what on earth was she going to do?
Arriving in Clearwater village, Lowri doesn’t find the fairy-tale home she’d pictured. The castle is near-derelict, a tiny cottage in the grounds barely liveable, and her responsibilities – as outlined by the ruggedly handsome but prickly local stonemason Huw – are overwhelming. This is not the future she’d imagined for her and Wren, but as the only link left to her husband, she’s determined to make the best of it.
Lowri never asked for a new start, but it seems fate has decided she needed one. As she and Huw reluctantly begin to work together, sparks start to fly between them. Can they find a way to save Clearwater Castle and bring life back to the village? What will they find out about themselves – and the mystery of the hidden inheritance – in the process? And will Lowri, heartbroken once already, find the courage to give love one more chance?
Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of Secrets of Clearwater Castle to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
It’s been quite some time since the wonderful Emma Davies has written anything in the romance genre as she turned her hand to cosy mysteries which I have to admit wouldn’t be a genre that I would read. So I was thrilled to see that she is back with the first in the Clearwater Castle series – Secrets of Clearwater Castle and what a return to the genre it was. I was completely and utterly sucked in right form the very first page and I adored everything about the story. It was pure perfection from beginning to end with memorable characters that you root for all the way, not to mention a brilliant storyline. This is the women’s romance genre at its very best and from early on I could tell that Emma Davies was loving writing this feel good, romantic tale which had lots of mystery and trials and tribulations along the way.
Lowri Morgan is a widow in her early thirties with a young daughter named Wren. Her husband Alun has been dead for two years and Lowri is slowly starting to emerge from the shock and horror that she has experienced since the accident that took him from her. That’s not to say she wants to move on, she would rather that her family life had never been shattered but slowly she is becoming stronger and she is described as being small, mighty and fearless. These words are very apt in summing up Lowri especially when she comes up against fierce opposition the further the story develops. Lowri can no longer pay for the family home she shared with Alun and it’s time to move on both physically and emotionally.
Her sister is offering her a cottage near her which she can do up. I could sense that Lowri wasn’t overly happy with this set up but that she really had no other option. Fortunately, fate stepped in and whether it turned out to be overall for the positive or the negative, well I was eager to discover as even within the first few chapters I could sense that I was in for a real good story that would have me caught up in its spell until I reached the final word. Whilst sorting through Alun’s stuff she finds a box of memorabilia and is horrified to discover that he had been keeping a huge secret from her. Anger stirs within her when she finds out that a letter that relates to a piece of land which given their current situation regarding moving doesn’t go down well with her at all. Lowri visits the solicitor mentioned in the letter and discovers that she has now inherited Clearwater estate with its crumbling castle/tower, a millpond, cottages, gatehouse and a textile business not to mention several acres.
To say she is overwhelmed and completely surprised would be an understatement and to be honest I’d say anger, anxiety and apprehension all feature strongly too. Lowri is faced with a decision - stay on the path she had set out on and move near her sister or else take the bull by the horns and take on Clearwater and all its accompaniments and the troubles and challenges that they will each bring? Deep down, she knows the road ahead of her will be a very difficult one, but maybe she wasn’t meant to find out about Clearwater right until this very moment? A glimmer of hope sparks within her and she is determined not to quash it. A decision is made to stay and try and implement some changes especially to the textile business which needs a radical updating and perhaps the castle could also be brought back to life.
No doubt about it, Lowri, is a gutsy character who when faced with even more upheaval in her life begins to face things head on despite Bridie Turner who has acted like a caretaker manager, throwing lots of obstacles in her way. It was like she knew Lowri was somewhat clueless in what she had to do moving forward and Bridie certainly took advantage of this. But I loved how Lowri found new friends and established a strong circle around her. She was making a fresh start and was like a fish out of water but with dependable people surrounding her the reader hopes that kindness will triumph over hate and the small things that we do for one another will mean more than can ever be expressed.
Clearwater slowly starts to heal Lowri’s broken heart as she begins to take the estate back to its heritage and though many jump to conclusions about her intentions for the estate and its long term future there are those who are behind her every step of the way. One of those being, Elin whom I loved. She was so generous, thoughtful and supportive and was like a best friend and sister all rolled into one and even though they had never met before, there was an instant connection between the pair. They were on the same wavelength and both had the same appreciation and love for the estate. For Lowri, this came quickly and was only further enhanced by Huw.
Huw was the enigma of the story. He lives on a narrowboat near to the castle and spends a lot of time drinking. He is not in a good place, the reasons for which become clear much further on and he doesn’t always put his best foot forward and present the best version of himself. Deep down, I could see that he must be traumatised by past experiences but given a chance he could do marvellous things. He is desperate to get the job restoring the castle but there are little twists and turns that crop up that really do turn things on their head. I enjoyed reading of the development of the friendship between Huw and Lowri. They don’t get off to the best of starts but they do have things in common, if only they could open up to each other. They needed to get everything out in the open and not harbour secrets or let miscommunication and false information get in the way of something that could truly be fabulous and wonderful. I mean that in terms of both a romantic sense and a working professional sense. Things are out of balance and wrong and the past collides with the present and this all just makes for the most fantastic story that I fully lost myself in.
For me Huw gave off distinct echoes of Amos a character from one of Emma’s earlier books. He is someone that has long stayed on in my mind as being one of the best male characters I have ever read and given the amount of books I read it takes that special something to make such a lasting impression on me. The fact I got these vibes from Huw meant I knew I was guaranteed a book which reminds me just how much I love reading and that is exactly how I feel about this book. I can often become tired of the women’s romance fiction genre as it can tend to just be the same plot rehashed over and over again and I find myself longing for that little something different to inspire me to fall back in love with the genre again and Secrets of Clearwater Castle did just that. It’s a stand out book in the genre with a superb setting, fascinating, varied characters all of whom have something to hide or else shouldering a burden and amidst it all there is strength, continuity, love, friendship, support and community. If you can’t tell by now I loved loved Secrets of Clearwater Castle and if this is the calibre of book one and it makes me feel this way than I can’t wait for book number two which I hope Emma Davies is already hard at work on. A Christmas visit to Clearwater Castle sounds perfect to me! Fingers crossed.
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