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![A Cottage by the Sea: A fan favourite from the Sunday Times bestseller by [Carole Matthews]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51EKtT4gZiL._SY346_.jpg)
A Cottage by the Sea: A fan favourite from the Sunday Times bestseller Kindle Edition
Carole Matthews (Author) See search results for this author |
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THE BESTSELLING NOVEL FROM THE MULTI-MILLION-COPY-SELLING AUTHOR
For three friends, one summer will change everything . . .
Grace has been best friends with Ella and Flick forever. The late-night chats, shared heartaches and good times have created a bond that has stood the test of time.
When Ella invites them to stay for a week in her cottage in South Wales, Grace jumps at the chance to see her old friends. She also hopes that the change of scenery will help her reconnect with her distant husband.
Then Flick arrives; loveable, bubbly, incorrigible Flick, accompanied by the handsome and charming Noah.
And all at once they realise this is going to be one week which will change all their lives forever...
A Cottage by the Sea is the bestselling reader favourite by Carole Matthews, filled with breath-taking romance, heart-warming friendships, and a whole lot of laughter. Perfect for fans of Milly Johnson, Cathy Bramley and Sarah Morgan.
YOUR FAVOURITE AUTHORS LOVE CAROLE MATTHEWS:
'A life-affirming story full of joy and hope' CATHY BRAMLEY
'A sun-filled, fun-filled wonderful escapist adventure' MILLY JOHNSON
'A wonderful setting where dark clouds part to reveal a happy ending' KATIE FFORDE
'An irresistibly warm-hearted story' TRISHA ASHLEY
'Warm, witty and hopeful - I was charmed' SARAH MORGAN
'The queen of funny, feel-good fiction' MIKE GAYLE
A COTTAGE BY THE SEA was a Sunday Times bestseller on 31st March 2013
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherSphere
- Publication date3 Jan. 2013
- File size1904 KB
Product description
Book Description
About the Author
Carole Matthews is the Sunday Times bestselling author of twenty-nine novels, including the Top Ten bestsellers The Cake Shop in the Garden, A Cottage by the Sea, The Chocolate Lovers' Christmas and The Chocolate Lovers' Wedding. In 2015, Carole was awarded the RNA Outstanding Achievement Award. Her novels dazzle and delight readers all over the world. She is published in more than thirty countries and her books have sold to Hollywood.
For all the latest news from Carole, visit www.carolematthews.com, follow Carole on Twitter (@carolematthews) and Instagram (matthews.carole) or join the thousands of readers who have become Carole's friend on Facebook (carolematthewsbooks).
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.Review
Deftly done with some bittersweet depth, and an achingly romantic heart (Star Magazine)
A captivating book, vivid descriptions full of twists and turns. A must-read (Stevenage Comet)
This book is an absolute delight and one of her very best . . . Totally absorbing, a fabulous holiday read! (Hot Brands, Cool Places)
A perfect summer read (Sidmouth Herald)
Perfect summer reading. No one does it better than Carole, and this bittersweet story of friendship, marriage and romance is beautifully handled by a writer at the top of her game (Rowan Coleman)
A Cottage by the Sea is a warm, romantic tale of love and friendship, loyalty and betrayal. Holidays with friends may never seem the same again! (Take a Break) --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.
Product details
- ASIN : B0091LL94K
- Publisher : Sphere; Digital original edition (3 Jan. 2013)
- Language : English
- File size : 1904 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 449 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: 14,662 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- Customer reviews:
About the author

Carole Matthews is the Sunday Times bestselling author of thirty-four novels, including her latest Christmas for Beginners. Her numerous Top Ten Sunday Times books are Million Love Songs, Paper Hearts & Summer Kisses, Sunny Days & Sea Breezes. Matthews is also an Amazon number one bestseller. Carole has been awarded the RNA Outstanding Achievement Award. Her novels dazzle and delight readers all over the world.
For all the latest news from Carole, visit www.carolematthews.com, follow Carole on Twitter (@carolematthews) and Instagram (matthews.carole) or join the thousands of readers who have become Carole's friend on Facebook (carolematthewsbooks).
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Ella has inherited a holiday cottage in Pembrokeshire from her parents and invites everyone to spend a week there renewing their friendship which has seen them grow apart. Initially Ella and Grace don't think Flick will turn up, she's been even more unreliable than usual lately, but at the last minute she arrives with a new (single) man in tow, Noah. Grace and Harry have been distant with each other for a few months and she hopes that a short break will give them time to reconnect and get their marriage back on track. Ella wants to settle down, preferably in Pembrokeshire but is worried that Art is hanging on to his aged rocker status along with his flat in London for dear life.
So the party of six are divided between Art, Flick, and Harry, the heavy-drinking city-lovers, on the one hand and Ella, Grace, and Noah, the nature-loving countryphiles on the other. One group want to spend their days in the pub, the others want to walk along the coastline and explore nature.
I am a great fan of Carole Matthews but I have to say this book was a bit of a miss for me. First, it couldn't have been any more obvious what was happening if she had erected neon signposts. Second it reminded me strongly of the film Cousins starring Ted Danson and Isabella Rossellini. Generally, I thought Grace was too much of a doormat (and proud of herself for it).
Basically it is the story of three couples - Ella and Harry, Flick and Noah and Ella and Art - and what happens during a week away in a remote Welsh cottage. The setting itself is pure escapism, beautiful sprawling cottage, rugged coastlines and gorgeous scenery with a sprinkling of generally exquisite weather that we get maybe once every five years. The biggest issue with it is that you know, from about Chapter Four where things are going with Ella/Harry and Noah/Flick. Maybe that's why I gleaned such enjoyment from it, I knew where things were going early on and so there were no surprises within the pages and it gave me the satisfaction of being right.
I think it also helped that the type of holiday they have would not work for me at all - surfing, coasteering and cliff top walks are definitely not on my list of things to do whilst away. I'm also not sure the remoteness would suit me. However, it is fun to read about whilst doing exactly what you need to make your holiday suit you - I think I'm more of the Flick and Harry school of thought about how to enjoy yourself and relax.
The characterisation is absurdly good and, with the use of very loose flashbacks, we get to know the three girls pretty well. The men are more caricatures than characters unfortunately but as this is supposed to be all about the women I found myself forgiving that. Ella is our narrator through the book and she is full of contradictions, which I actually quite liked.
Honestly, there is a lot that is wrong with this book but I genuinely enjoyed every minute of this book over the couple of days I spent reading it. Perfect holiday reading but I suspect it would not work half so well if you are picking it up in lunch breaks or on the commute.
I enjoyed the story and the twists and turns throughout the book. I could really picture the characters travelling around our beautiful county!
Grace, Ella and Flick have been friends since college. Ella invites them (along with their other halves) to spend a week in South Wales in her cottage. Grace jumps at the chance but her husband Harry is not impressed. Harry would rather they go abroad and lay in the sun. Grace however wants to spend some quality time with her best friends. Grace is also hoping this holiday will fix her marriage as things are not right between her and Harry.
Ella can't wait to show of the cottage which once belonged to her parents. Ella also feels close to her parents (which are no longer with her). Also she is hoping that she can get Art to settle down a bit. Art is a manager to a band and travels the world.
Flick is different she leads a very high life and can not cope with technology. This is does not go down well as you can not even get a phone single where the cottage is located. Flick takes along Noah who she has not know for long and hoping that he will be the man she can settle down with.
I did not like Flick or Harry as it just seemed that did not want the holiday to work out at all. I loved Ella and felt sorry for her. Grace and Noah I just fell in love with.
The story is told from Grace's point of view and it really works. The way the holiday is described in the book it made me feels as though I was actually there with them. Really can't recommend this book enough - beware you won't be able to put it down!