Second Chances at the Cottage By the Sea by Rebecca Alexander is the fifth book in a series called Cottage by the Sea. I ran across the novel by accident and fell in love! I have to admit I have gone back and found all the prior books and read them. The islands off Cornwall are the setting. Each book contains two stories; one present day and one in the past. The stories are all tied to the islands and the people who live on the island. Each novel can be read as a stand alone. While some of the characters interconnect, there is no information that is needed for the prior knowledge.
Most of the stories from the past are from WWII and I found the stories fascinating. The role of the islands in protecting Britain, helping share information and saving wounded airmen. I was fascinated by the people and their stories of survival.
In this particular novel, we meet Eleanor Markham. Her company has been hired to help the island figure out how to have a music festival to help bring money and tourism to the area. The difficulty of transportation, having enough to do, places to stay and food to eat is what Eleanor Markham does. One of her needed tasks was to ask Bruno Roskelly to lend her land for camping. Eleanor and Bruno slowly began to make a bond.
Eleanor stayed at a bed and breakfast with Sally. Sally is an older lady who only opens her home to people now and again. The bed and breakfast is where the old Doctor’s once lived and worked. When she came to the island, Eleanor also knew she wanted to explore more about her mother’s early life. From what she has found so far, her mother was born on the island and adopted off the island. She is hoping Sally can help her.
The story from the 1940s was with the first woman doctor to come live on the island. Dr Dorothy had to work so hard to even get people to accept her as the doctor. She struggled to make a living and help the women. Eleanor’s story was part of this story (you just know it).
I loved this book. I loved this series. I loved reading this author. The island people were really the key to the novel, between their strong backbones and their pitch-in and help everyone attitude. The stories Rebecca Alexander tells in her books are touching, emotional and always hopeful! Second Chances at the Cottage By the Sea by Rebecca Alexander is an awesome read!!!
