When a place steals your heart…

Synopsis

Welcome to Sea Glass Cove!

Marine archaeologist Lauren Sunshine is used to life on the go. Her suitcase is always packed ready to explore the country’s underwater heritage so when a shipwreck is found off the Dorset coast, she is thrilled to be leading the excavation team.

Philippa Silver, ‘Phil’ to the folk of Sea Glass Cove, has devoted her life to the Museum by the Sea. But funding is tight, and despite subletting half of the museum to her best friend Jules’s sea glass shop, she fears for the museum’s future.

Phil hopes the wreck discovery could bring more visitors, but there’s a problem – the museum’s too small to house its treasures. Thankfully, new friend Lauren seems as determined as she is to save the museum.

But, when Phil’s brother Ollie catches Lauren’s eye, she begins to wonder if she has more than one reason to be interested in life at Sea Glass Cove….

My review

Lauren Sunshine is a marine archaeologist that is thrilled to be leading the excavation team in Sea Glass Cove. She has prioritized her career above everything, and her suitcase is always packed.
But her meeting Ollie, makes her wonder if there is more to life than excavating. And that is not all, because in Sea Glass Cove, she also befriends Philippa Silver, Phil, who runs the Museum by the Sea. A museum at risk of closing, yet Phil won’t go down without a fight, especially as she has her best friend Jules, who runs the sea glass shop sublet from the museum.
In the timespan of one summer, several lives will be changed, but in what way?

Why do we always allow our jobs to ‘dictate’ our lives? We should be working to live our life at the fullest, and not spend our free time worrying about work. And while I can appreciate someone dedicated to their work, it’s shouldn’t be your main focus.

Unfortunately, that is exactly what is taking place in Lauren’s life. She has worked hard to get the recognition she has now, and she for sure took her mentor’s advice at heart, to have her career as her only priority. There is no room for love, or just dating in her life, also because she never stays long at one place.
On one hand, I admired her for what she has achieved at her age. But on the other hand, it is also a sad situation. Not only doesn’t she has someone to return to, but she doesn’t really have a place to call home, as her suitcase is always ready to take off once again.

But I also know that you only have to find the right place with the right people living in it, to make you wonder if perhaps your initial choices and convictions were wrong.

And that place is Sea Glass Cove for Lauren. Obviously, a love interest is always a good reason, but the best reason is that you find just the right people, and make friends. And one of those friends is Phil.

Not that Phil is a less worrier… She truly loves working in the Museum by the Sea, but the museum is struggling heavily. There are just not enough visitors, and she also sublet the premises to her best friend Jules even if there are enough artefacts found from the shipwreck Vissen.

There are several dynamics in this book. There is the attraction between Lauren and Ollie, bit facing several struggles, misunderstandings and miscommunications, fuelled also by fear. And then there is the relationship of Phil with Jules. How do you know when someone is into you? And dare you to evolve the relationship from friendship to more? Even if there is the fear that it could possibly ruin everything?

Obviously, the doubts and fears are a bit frustrating as a reader, but that’s only because you know that the endgame, if the characters would just dare to, could be wonderful.

A lot is taking place in this book, the quest to find the missing chess pieces, the quest to save the museum, a life – altering competition and much more. But it never feels too overwhelming, as it all makes perfect sense in the greater picture of the story.
There are also so many lovely characters in this book, that for one reason or another just take a piece of your heart.

I enjoyed reading this story, as while a lot is happening, it never feels rushed. The author took her time to make us understand perfectly not only the inner turmoil, but also how everything works in the characters world.
This was the perfect read to get away from the real world, and let yourself submerge in the surprisingly exiting world of excavation and the sense of home in a wonderful place just like Sea Glass Cove.