To Love and Be Loved

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I find the character of Merrin quite daring and brave as opposed to what other characters feel about her when the story started. Much of the remainder of the book is spent with our h living in a city 3 hours away, working at a castle-cum-luxury hotel, missing her Cornish home terribly, but continuing to stay away because of the gossip and the guilt of putting her family through the fiasco that was(n't) her wedding. She misses her Gran's funeral because she just *can't* stomach the possibility of seeing Digby or his mother. Insert eyeroll. And then came what would be one of the most important moments of her life: the wedding day. She would remember every detail, no matter how insignificant. Moments that would forever mark her life, but for very different reasons than she thought.

Merrin was in love and excited to marry her beau, Digby. She could see her entire future with her family and Digby in Port Charles, Cornwall. It was her home, after all. But the day of the wedding leaves her shattered and vulnerable. Merrin leaves her home in the fishing village to rebuild her life. I loved the family and especially Merrin's parents. The sisters' best friend Bella was a real tonic and had me laughing out loud in places - irreverent but caring, with a heart of gold. I also liked Miguel, who is instrumental in helping Merrin mend her broken heart. What worked for me: I am an unapologetic angst whore and there's a fairly constant stream of angst, largely coming from our h who seems to think that all anybody thinks or talks about is The Jilting. That assumption is supported to some degree by others in the story, but surely other awful events occasionally steal their focus?! Incidentally, that's also what *didn't* work for me because enough already. Shitty, horrible things happen and this was indeed one of them, but put on those big girl panties and move along. That level of self(h)-generated angst felt very YA/NA, which I have recently discovered I really just cannot stomach any longer. Another aspect that worked for me was the h's growth. Our delicate hothouse flower of an h does indeed grow and mature and her efforts are rewarded in the end.

Bonus: The prospect of Vera Wilma Brown finding a Frank Ferdinand Falkenstok after everything Merrin goes through was a fitting end and definitely made my heart happy. Merrin lives in the beautiful fishing village of Port Charles in Cornwall, it's her happy place, filled with childhood memories and where she intends to stay for life, that is until she is faced with the worst humiliation possible, she flees the village and the comfort of her family, to escape the gossiping that every small village is known for. Mother Teresa was one of the most admired women of the 20th century, and her memory continues to inspire charitable work around the world. She believed the greatest need of a human being is to love and be loved. In 1948, she founded the Missionaries of Charity to work directly with the very poorest of Calcutta. From the efforts of one woman entering the slums of Entally, the Missionaries of Charity grew into an organization operating soup kitchens, health clinics, hospices, and shelters in 139 countries, at no cost to any government or to those who served. In 2016, she became Saint Teresa of Calcutta. Where do I start? Merrin is a beautiful character, full of hope, romance and life. It broke my heart to read how she crumbled, along with all her dreams, on that fateful day. This latest novel is about a Cornish family, in particular Merrin Kellow, who is in love with rich boy Digby Mortimer. Then, on what should be the happiest day of her life, Merrin's world collapses and she flees her beloved home town to escape being the subject of local gossip.

The “About the Author” section of Amanda Prowse’s To Love and Be Loved ends with “Amanda’s ambition is to create stories that keep people from turning off the bedside lamp at night, that ensure you walk every step with her great characters, and tales that fill your head so you can’t possibly read another book until the memory fades….” I don’t have to turn off the bedside lamp since I read on my Kindle ☺, and I have already started my next book because that’s what I do☺, BUT this story will be on my heart for a very long time. I loved this family, and Bella, Merrin’s best friend, is one of my favorite characters - a peacekeeper, yet she tells it like it is. This story has humor, heartbreak, warmth, and a family secret too. Due to the writing style you can feel yourself being immersed in the Cornwall scenery and the fishing village in which it is set, the story appears very slow at times and you find yourself lost at times within the timeline and how much time has passed, whereas the addition of a new love interest for Merry right at the end feels very rushed.

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I hold my hands up and say that Amanda Prowse as one of my favourite authors, she never fails to produce fantastic books and I’m always looking forward to any new books she writes.. There are a couple of characters in here that I truly despised. Even after I read what they had to say I was not happy with them. Some things should not ever be tampered with. But that would have made this book different so it's really done to perfection in my humble opinion. The would be mother in law did finally grow on me a tad. Not a lot, but a bit. As much as I didn't want to like her, she had some good points. I felt for her a little. I liked the author's writing style, the story wasn't super fast paced, quite a gradual build up to where it ended, but easy to follow and enough to keep me entertained. I will say I found it hard to picture this story taking place over 6 years. If it wasn't for the casual mentions of how long it had been since Merrin and Digby's non-wedding and other characters having children, I probably would've thought this book took place over a year or two. Sure characters changed and some died, but they never felt more mature or more worldly.