To Love and Be Loved

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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. The wisdom imparted in this book is something I never want to forget. All of us have been quoted little sayings and quips from our parents and Grandparents. With this family being from Cornwall, they have some unique words of wisdom. Families are so complicated; no one knows this better than Amanda Prowse, and she can get it onto paper. Relationships between siblings, between parents, between lovers . . . Lies are told, some of them turn out not be lies, just secrets. Villains turn out to be not so bad. She has them all in this wonderful story. The romance, actually takes up little space, just the important space. The relationships, the deep hurt that Mirrin felt. These things are the story. It reflects all of us, our lives, out relationships. Our stories. I was a lovely book. I have read a couple of Amanda Prowse's books but not for awhile, that is not going to change. I read this book as part of my 12 Friends, 12 Books and I remember why I read the other books. Amanda Prowse's writing is heartfelt, descriptive and relatable. To Love and Be Loved is Merrin's story. Born and raised in a small coastal town in England, she's devastated when she is left at the alter. She became a story, the girl left at the alter and everyone in the village pitied her. She couldn't live like that, so she moved away to start a new life. She missed her family, her village and her life as much as her parents missed her. It took 6 years before she was able to return, and only then when her dear father had died. With a picturesque Cornish setting and strongly developed characters, Amanda Prowse delivers a story that soars through the peaks and valleys of the magnitude of love. Nineteen-year-old Merrin is happy in her beloved Port Charles, with its rugged Cornish coast and cragged shorelines. For generations, the men in her family were fishermen. She loves her special spot of Reunion Point and the village that faces the sea, and she believes in love. When her world suddenly falls apart, she bravely leaves her beloved community to heal her heart and escape embarrassment.

Merrin Kellow is at the church with family and friends for her marriage to Digby Mortimer when she’s told that he’s changed his mind. Port Charles is a close community and rather than be the subject of gossip she drives away to start a new life, stopping in Thornbury on the outskirts of Bristol where she’s offered a position at Milbury Court Hotel. It isn’t until tragedy strikes her family that Merrin feels she has no choice but to return and face what she dreads the most, being pointed out as the girl who was abandoned at the altar. The jilting is, quite simply, awful. She gets all spiffed up, takes a magical horse carriage ride to the church, where the vicar tells her Digby (! that's right - that's his name) isn't showing up. So, the groom let her get ready for the wedding - PAY for the wedding trappings, finery, and celebration, and then just didn't show up. When she confronted him later that day, his inadequate explanation hinted at his mother's meddling and highlights his immaturity and unsuitability to assume the mantle of marriage. Our devastated h is accosted by village people who simultaneously pity and chastise her for daring to think she'd be "living in the big house". The h, being very young, super sensitive, and self-conscious, knows she has to leg it out of there because she simply cannot stand to be the object of the town's attention, gossip, and pity. Merrin Mercy Kellow is the main character in this book, but there are some fab other characters too. Merrin’s sister Ruby, her best friend Bella, her first boyfriend Jarvis and also her parents. They live in Cornwall and having spent a lot of lovely holidays there I really enjoyed the setting. Amanda is so descriptive that you can imagine looking out to sea and feeling the sand between your toes.

I enjoyed seeing how the various storylines came together and resolved. The characters are relatable and human, and Amanda allows us to see their flaws as much as their strengths. We jump between multiple point of views, learning more about the past and the people M

And feeling that she was never going to find anything close to the love she had felt at the time, the story grows, showing how she hardens her heart to feelings too intense, pushing away so many people who love her, romantically, and otherwise. The happy ending was good, but bringing a new love interest in the last chapter somehow didn’t work for me. Given what Merrin repeats in the book, it felt surreal. Once home she realized this is where she belongs and decides to stay. However along the way she must mend her heart as she once again rebuilds her life and regains her confidence. Only when she confronts those that hurt her so badly and forgives them can she find peace. From a trusted advisor and devoted friend of Mother Teresa comes a "powerful" ( The Washington Free Beacon) firsthand account of the miraculous woman behind the saint and a book that is "rich in reflection on contemporary sanctity" (George Weigel).Merry is from a small coastal town in England. She lives with her sister, two parents, and grandmother. She and Digby, late teens/early twenties, are madly in love. He proposes, and when the wedding day arrives, something unexpected happens. Years later, Merry has left her hometown and started fresh in a bigger city. Her career grows, and she meets someone new, but it's not the same. She misses her family and friends, yet they also weigh her down, as does the stigma of what happened on her almost-wedding day. How can a beautiful, kind, generous, and wonderful young woman ever recover?

Other novels by Amanda Prowse include A Mother’s Story, which won the coveted Sainsbury’s eBook of the Year Award. Perfect Daughter was selected as a World Book Night title in 2016. She has been described by the Daily Mail as ‘the queen of family drama’. Beautiful descriptions of Cornwall. Something different from the city/ small town descriptions I usually read. Set in the small fishing village of Port Charles in Cornwall, this is the story of Merrin (Merry) Kellow, whose family founded the village generations before. She lives with her parents Ben and Heather, her older sister Ruby, and their Gran Ellen. Her best friend Bella, who I would love to have as a friend of my own, lives just down the path. Everyone knows everyone, and Merrin has always imagined her future as a wife and mother in this place. At 19, when she falls in love with the wealthy Digby Mortimer, she envisions her future raising children in the Mortimer mansion overlooking the village.

Overall this book was about love. being in love and the consequences of love breaking down. The absolute heartbreak of a breakup was so well portrayed it brought tears to my eyes. I felt so much for the main character Merrin. I was hoping she would find her happy ending. How our roots and upbringing impact on our lives and choices were also beautifully explored. Life in a small town can go for wonderful to stifling in a minute. People seem to remember the a memorable incident, at least until the next one comes along. But, some incidents invoke heartbreak, a touch of scandal which never goes away and always a look of pity, whether real or imagined. Until we realize that we are in control of either fueling the fire or putting it out. Merrin is so excited to start her new life in the fishing village where she grew up. What starts with so much promise, ends completely different and Merrin is forced with making hard decisions. Deeply moving and emotional, Amanda Prowse handles her explosive subjects with delicate skill' - Daily Mail Another lesson to be learnt here is that life turns out exactly as beautiful as it was meant to, if only you give it some time. It might not be the life you pictured you would have, but it will be beautiful in the way you deserve and better than anything you could have thought of and that will be tons more than enough.