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a_reader_obsessed's review
3.0
3 Stars
Historical lovers come on over! This is chock full of propriety, societal rules, and all the manners one can muster!
This story focuses on veteran Michael who is home and recovering from having lost a great deal, most significantly his former lover whom he had a spat with before they went to war. He’s holding a torch and trying to move on with his life, and Porthkennack is the perfect setting to convalesce on holiday with his sister and her family. When he reconnects with his dead lover’s brother, a chance at happiness is a hopeful possibility again.
What unravels are shocking secrets that would give a telenovela a run for its money. Entertaining enough, this series is quirky to say the least, as it jumps back and forth in different times, never really with a cohesive connection except where the stories take place so rest assured, sticking to reading order is not necessary at all.
Again, if historicals are your jam, then this just might suit your fancy!
Historical lovers come on over! This is chock full of propriety, societal rules, and all the manners one can muster!
This story focuses on veteran Michael who is home and recovering from having lost a great deal, most significantly his former lover whom he had a spat with before they went to war. He’s holding a torch and trying to move on with his life, and Porthkennack is the perfect setting to convalesce on holiday with his sister and her family. When he reconnects with his dead lover’s brother, a chance at happiness is a hopeful possibility again.
What unravels are shocking secrets that would give a telenovela a run for its money. Entertaining enough, this series is quirky to say the least, as it jumps back and forth in different times, never really with a cohesive connection except where the stories take place so rest assured, sticking to reading order is not necessary at all.
Again, if historicals are your jam, then this just might suit your fancy!
cadiva's review
4.0
3.5*
I liked this one but it was another with oblique references and sort of fade to black sex scenes which I always feel disappointed with.
In addition, there was a melancholy air throughout the book, understandable given the circumstances, but it made it all a little lacking in different sorts of feelings.
I mostly felt irritated with Michael's rose tinted view of his lost love Thomas, especially when it was clear the man had been a bit of an arse!
Harry I loved though, although I also found him a tad too easy going when he got the full story of what had been going on in the pre war years.
I think my favourite characters were the kids and Eric actually
I liked this one but it was another with oblique references and sort of fade to black sex scenes which I always feel disappointed with.
In addition, there was a melancholy air throughout the book, understandable given the circumstances, but it made it all a little lacking in different sorts of feelings.
I mostly felt irritated with Michael's rose tinted view of his lost love Thomas, especially when it was clear the man had been a bit of an arse!
Harry I loved though, although I also found him a tad too easy going when he got the full story of what had been going on in the pre war years.
I think my favourite characters were the kids and Eric actually
ctsquirrel's review against another edition
4.0
The story was quite soap opera-y: dubious parentage, affairs, and other Great Revelations. As it's been awhile since I've read something of this type I enjoyed it. I liked all of the characters, especially Michael's brother-in-law Eric who is just a good guy.
This Porthkennack novel was a bit lower on the scenery than the previous novels, a lot of beach wandering and Cornish slang but that's about it. I wanted some caves or smugglers or something.
This Porthkennack novel was a bit lower on the scenery than the previous novels, a lot of beach wandering and Cornish slang but that's about it. I wanted some caves or smugglers or something.
kaa's review against another edition
3.0
This series has been hit or miss (mostly miss) for me, and this book didn't really break the mold. The atmosphere of it was really lovely, especially at the beginning, and I really liked some of the themes about war and trauma. However, I didn't enjoy the angst and drama that appeared in the middle, and I really didn't appreciate the duplicitous bisexual trope.
mrnnprsns's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
suze_1624's review against another edition
4.0
A well crafted tale of the immediate post war years, when class and position and proper behaviour were all still in place but changes had been wrought by the war.
Seen through the innocent eyes of the children, Michael’s great friendship with childhood pal Thomas is gradually stripped away to reveal the less idealised truth.
Eric is a trooper. Richard and George, children of the time. Caroline, well only she knows exactly how it all happened but is still accepting of Michael and Harry.
Harry and Michael navigate the interwoven family issues and do come out the other side with what we can only hope is a long term future.
I liked the shell reference - I had thought it would be artillery shells but whilst the war is a constant backdrop it is not the main story line.
Seen through the innocent eyes of the children, Michael’s great friendship with childhood pal Thomas is gradually stripped away to reveal the less idealised truth.
Eric is a trooper. Richard and George, children of the time. Caroline, well only she knows exactly how it all happened but is still accepting of Michael and Harry.
Harry and Michael navigate the interwoven family issues and do come out the other side with what we can only hope is a long term future.
I liked the shell reference - I had thought it would be artillery shells but whilst the war is a constant backdrop it is not the main story line.
alisonalisonalison's review against another edition
4.0
This is lovely. It's well written and engaging and full of twists and turns. Cochrane is so good at conveying a time period and the tone of the writing and the whole atmosphere just seem very post-World War One. This is not really a romance, so if you're expecting grand declarations of love and lots of sex and a sappy HEA, you will be disappointed. It's more of an intimate family drama with a low-key romance as a secondary plot. Mostly the story is about Michael getting his bearings again and making a life for himself after coming home from World War One when most of his friends and former lovers didn't. He goes for a holiday in Cornwall with his family to the place they always used to go before the war and it stirs up all sort of feelings. Much of the plot has to do with family secrets and betrayals and there is a touch of the sensational melodrama here and there. I love how the setting--the landscape and the two houses--is almost its own character. Time seems to exist here almost independently of "real life" and we actually don't know that much about the daily lives of the characters outside of this Cornwall holiday and I quite liked that. Going on holiday is often like that--that sense of leaving the real world behind and existing in a bubble in a different way for a short time. I enjoyed this very much. I thought it was a very well done story.
veethorn's review against another edition
2.0
Hm. This book ultimately only gets two stars because of the evil bisexual trope. And that hooking up with your dead lover’s brother is a little weird. Other than that, it was fine, and really well-written.