The Guest House by The Sea written by Faith Hogan and published by Aria & Aries

Esme has run The Willows guest house for as long as anyone in Ballycove can remember, but as her eye sight fails and she has a fall just before the start of the summer season she is forced to sit back for the first time in her life and let her friend Marta take charge.

From her chair in the entry hall, not much passes Esme by and she shares her pearls of wisdom with the guests who are staying for many different reasons. There's Cora, the wife visiting indefinitely... without her husband; Niamh, the city professional with a life-changing decision to make; and Phyllie, the grandmother whose family is slipping away from her.

Esme's guests provide the colour that helps her keep her grip on the world. All of them have something they want to escape – or to hold on to. But Esme can help them find their way before the summer is over?

Although Ballycove is a fictional coastal village in Ireland, this story took me right back to my childhood holidays in Ireland with my family and it was wonderful. In my head I could imagine the beach and spent a lot of the time comparing the scenery to Bantry where my family are from!!

The book touches on many areas including unwanted pregnancy, a possibly failed marriage, and the heart-breaking dementia storyline – but all the tales are all beautifully woven together with golden thread.

An absolutely wonderful book.

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