A review by bananatricky
Sunrise at Butterfly Cove by Sarah Bennett
4.0
Mia Sutherland's husband dies tragically young and she has tried to make a new life by renovating a crumbling guesthouse in peaceful Butterfly Cove. Unfortunately the job is bigger than she anticipated and she is almost prostrated by her grief. She has made two firm friends in the older couple Madeline and Richard who have helped her with the little restoration that she has achieved.
Daniel 'Fitz' Fitzwilliam is a photographer, feted by the London arts scene he has become a monster in his own eyes: drinking too much, dabbling in drugs and believing his own hype. Disgusted by himself and realising that his girlfriend was part of the problem he gets on a random train out of London. Disembarking from the train at the end of the line Daniel realises he has no plans, no hotel room and no taxi, until a kindly older woman takes him under her wing and decides he can stay with Mia.
Despite initial misgivings, Mia eventually agrees that Daniel can stay for one week, in return for helping her with the house.
Together the two of them heal each other's wounds as they restore the house, aided and abetted by Madeline and Richard. But as they both emerge from the detritus of their pasts, real life intrudes once more and Mia has to deal with her parents and her younger sisters while Daniel needs to face up to what he left behind in London.
I really liked this, partly of course for the envy that a young woman could afford such a sumptuous sounding property, even if it does need a lot of decorating and repair, but also because it unfurled gently, like a butterfly's wings. Nothing too angsty, nothing too alpha male, just real life family dramas.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Daniel 'Fitz' Fitzwilliam is a photographer, feted by the London arts scene he has become a monster in his own eyes: drinking too much, dabbling in drugs and believing his own hype. Disgusted by himself and realising that his girlfriend was part of the problem he gets on a random train out of London. Disembarking from the train at the end of the line Daniel realises he has no plans, no hotel room and no taxi, until a kindly older woman takes him under her wing and decides he can stay with Mia.
Despite initial misgivings, Mia eventually agrees that Daniel can stay for one week, in return for helping her with the house.
Together the two of them heal each other's wounds as they restore the house, aided and abetted by Madeline and Richard. But as they both emerge from the detritus of their pasts, real life intrudes once more and Mia has to deal with her parents and her younger sisters while Daniel needs to face up to what he left behind in London.
I really liked this, partly of course for the envy that a young woman could afford such a sumptuous sounding property, even if it does need a lot of decorating and repair, but also because it unfurled gently, like a butterfly's wings. Nothing too angsty, nothing too alpha male, just real life family dramas.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.