A Cottage by the Sea

One Woman, One Man, One Shared Fate...

A remote cottage on the wild coast of Cornwall sounded to Blythe Barton Stowe like the perfect escape from the pain ad humiliation of recent events in her Hollywood life. But soon she seems to be reliving a centuries-old tragedy, and the handsome owner of the shabby mano house on the hill appears vitally entwined in her destiny. As they unearth one shocking family secret after another Blythe is forced to conclude that her intriguing neighbor is more than just an impecunious British gentleman bent on saving his ancestral home. And the impeccably honorable Lucas Teague begins to see Blythe as a lifeline in an otherwise bleak existence.

But is the unbridled attraction they're experiencing a dangerous distraction or could it be strong enough to transcend the insurmountable complexities of time and place?

Ever have that deja vu feeling while you are reading. Well that happened to me when I really got engrossed reading A Cottage by the Sea. I kept on thinking this sounds really familiar, but I couldn't remember if I had read this book before...until I did a little research online and found the original book cover and then it hit me. Yep, I had read the book. But that didn't stop me from re-reading it again and enjoying it.

I truly felt for both the main characters Blythe and Luke. What Blythe had gone through with her husband and her sister was such a betrayal that I could not blame her for wanting to hide from everyone. Luke lost his wife to cancer and is slowly getting back on his feet, he has a troubled relationship with his young son and there's also the family estate that needs to be ran and updated.

Then you add Blythe's visions. Whenever she touches the genealogical family tree she sees what happened to her namesake two hundred before. I found her namesake to be very cruel, insensitive and only cared for her own suffering, but on the other hand I can understand the cause of her troubles. I felt for Kit and Garrett, I found Ennis to be a pig and a user.

Bottom line: It was great to rediscover this book. It was entertaining and full of emotions, but I thought it showed its age. Not that it was a bad thing, it just felt a little dated, considering I was expecting one thing and I got another. Anyway, it was a very good book, and I thought that the historical parts of the book felt a little too over dramatic...or maybe it's just my personal feelings towards the two-hundred year old Blythe.

I found a few reviews online. You can find Marg's review over The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader. There's also Marnie's review at The Burton Review. There's also Bookfool's review at Bookfoolery and Babble.

A Cottage by the Sea by Ciji Ware (4/5) Contemporary Romance/Paranormal; Published: Ivy Books (3/1997); Format: Ebook for Kindle App on Ipad; Books 2010 (78);