The House at Mermaid's Cove by Lindsay Jayne Ashford ~ a Review

by Donna Huber

Cornwall, England: April 1943

I though the sea would take me, but it spat me out as the sky was turning pink. I drifted in like flotsam, washed up in a sandy hollow among weed-strewn rocks. I lay there, numb with cold, broken shells prickling my cheeks. Why could I feel my face by not the fashes on my feet? (p. 1)

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

August 2020; Lake Union Publishing; 978-1542006354
audio, ebook, print (285 pages); historical fiction

I love books set during WWII and since I read so many of them, I love it even more when I find one that tells a different tale. The House at Mermaid's Cove was unique enough to make it stand out from the crown.

The story opens with a girl with shorn hair and a number washing ashore in Cornwall. The dashing man who finds gives her food, shelter, clothing, and eventually a job. This beginning sounds a lot like everyone WWII romance. However, the woman is a nun wanting to leave a rather restrictive order. The regulations she describes do not look anything like what I see from the nuns in Call the Midwife. But then again she is Irish so it would be a Catholic order instead of an Anglican order that would be in England. 

Her boat being bombed on her way back to Dublin from Africa seemed like a sign - a sign that she could start a new life where she could do good. The dashing man, Lord Trewella (but he prefers Jack), has just the job for her - working with the French Resistance and Allied Forces.

We get a little look at the life on the home front as Jack's estate is a working farm with Land Girls milking cows and tending the vegetable gardens. There's also a dance with the American Forces stationed nearby and regular village life. But we also get to see how the English helped the French Resistance by ferrying supplies and information to Franch and bringing back downed Allied pilots.

Ashford has also found an interesting legend in which to build her story - about a mermaid who lures men to their deaths. We also weaved into the story the lush, tropical-like, landscape of this part of Cornwall - providing a visual beauty that is matched by her beautiful writing. 

The characters, the writing, and the setting all combine to give the reader a lush and enjoyable story that tantalizes all the senses. 

Buy The House at Mermaid's Cove at Amazon

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Donna Huber is an avid reader and natural encourager. She is the founder of Girl Who Reads and the author of how-to marketing book Secrets to a Successful Blog Tour. 

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