I love Cornwall, don’t you? It’s so full of contrasts, wild rugged coastline, beautiful beaches with azure-blue seas which turn stormy grey in an instant when the rain lashes down. Stuck here at home, it’s one of the places I yearn for, and Philippa Ashley does such a fantastic job of conjuring it up for me, I could almost be there.  And at a time when reading is about the only way to escape real life, this couldn’t be a better book to take you away from it all.

This is a lovely, lilting story about a woman who has lived through loss and rebuilt her life, about the importance of female friendship, and the serendipity of new beginnings. Marina’s husband drowned seven years ago and the village of Porthmello has surrounded her with love ever since. Her friend Tiff Trescott (and if you ever listen to BBC Radio Cornwall, that name will ring a distant bell…) tips up fleeing the double-whammy of heartbreak and job loss, and together Marina and Tiff make their way through the summer months. This is a book full of laughter and sadness, about women finding new ways to live and love, but it’s also a love-letter to beautiful Cornwall.

Reading this book is like that shaft of sunshine cutting through the clouds on a miserable day, it puts a smile on your face and gives you a bit of hope for the future. Just what’s needed at the moment.