When your helping nature is a win – win situation, or isn’t it?

Synopsis

Everyone in Halfmoon Quay, the picture-perfect village clinging to the edge of the Cornish coast, knows Rick Penrose is the person to turn to for help.

Friendly and reliable, not to mention drop-dead gorgeous, he’ll do anything for anyone. When his teenage crush Anya moves back to the quay for a fresh start, he has the perfect solution. She needs a job and his great uncle needs help to run his hotel. It’s a win-win.

Following the death of her husband, Anya Stokes discovered everything about her life was a lie. Without her beautiful home and the luxuries she took for granted, Anya and her daughter, Freya, have no choice but to move in with her aunt and uncle in Halfmoon Quay.

As she begins to turn her life around, Anya realises the perfect man might have been right under her nose all the time. But there’s a fine line between helping and taking over and Rick doesn’t always know where it is. Then Anya discovers he’s been keeping things from her and it’s like the past is repeating itself…

Head to the glorious Cornish coast with bestseller Sarah Bennett for this unashamedly heartwarming and uplifting read. Perfect for all fans of Cathy Bramley, Katie Fforde and Phillipa Ashley.

My review

Rick Penrose is the kind of person that will go lengths to help out. Everyone in Halfmoon Quay know that, and always go to him for a word of advice or to help finding a solution to any kind of problem. So when his teenage crush Anya moves back, how can Rick not attempt to help her out? Because not only did Anya lose her husband, but him death also made her world fall apart, as the life she has been living has been all been a lie. Now she has to rebuild her life, together with her daughter Freya. While grateful that she can be staying with her aunt and uncle, Anya needs to build up a life from scratch, so different from her former life in luxury. Luckily her old friend Rick is able to help her finding a job, as his great uncle needs help running his hotel. Slowly Anya adapt to life in Halfmoon Quay, and old friendships are being rekindled. And she discovers that perhaps a quaint place life Halfmoon Quay may have everything she may need. Or will the thin line between being helpful and taking completely over being crossed, and revelations tear Anya and Rick apart, once again?

There are several certainties in life. And one of them is, that Sarah Bennett is an amazing writer that keep on giving her readers wonderful stories.

For once in a story, I could relate to the male character the most. Rick is always there, ready to solve a problem, to give some advice. Even if sometimes he wishes people would leave him alone, or just solve their own problems, when asked, he cannot ignore the call for help.

And I recognize that behaviour in some extend in myself, even if I am learning to be more ‘selfish’ and not just help out anyone, when helping out means doing something  I don’t want to do, or that it will cost me somehow.

Yet being helpful, and wanting to help is proof that Rick truly is a Good Guy. And yes, I say that with capital letters, because people like Rick aren’t found all that easily. And we should treasure these kind of people, as in a real selfish world, they are treasure to be kept.

Rick is also a family person, and with his large family, he has a big heart to let everyone have a piece of it. For family, he would walk on water. Even if that means that in order to help out his great uncle, he uses a little bit of blackmail, and he has promised to keep the truth hidden from his loved ones.

While it’s clear that Rick for sure does everything with the right intention, I could also see how things were weighing on him. He feels so much responsibility, and keeping secrets doesn’t sit well with him.

Yet it was great to see how his helpful character brought Anya back in his life. Of course they would cross paths easily, as Halfmoon Quay isn’t really the big city where nobody knows or sees you. But because there is a family link, and Rick’s kind nature, of course their meeting again is quicker than in other circumstances.

While I could easily relate to Rick, my heart went out to Anya in this book. Obviously losing your husband is something terrible. But for Anya, it goes much further than just that. Because after his death, Anya learned that her married life has been a lie, just like her life in luxury.

With a daughter to look after, Anya had no other choice than make the move to Halfmoon Quay, with her tail between the legs, having to rely on the goodwill of her family. And I could perfectly understand her feelings about it, because while you need the help, it takes a serious dent out of your pride to admit that you cannot make it on your own.

On top of that, we also learn that while being married, she also lost herself. Wanting to please her husband, who changed through time.

Not only this book is the story about two people finding each other, but it mainly, or at least to me, a story about finding yourself again. Yes, of course how Ricka and Anya are getting closer to each other. With Rick already having had a teenage crush on Anya, it feels like this time around, he has a real shot at winning her over. But he also realizes that the teenage Anya and the Anya of his crush, isn’t the real Anya, just like he isn’t the teenage Rick anymore.

Because both Rick and Anya have been pleasing people for too long, losing themselves in the process.

Rick is so used to help out, that he goes on autopilot and doesn’t always realize that sometimes, his help isn’t needed, or at least not in the way he gives it.

And Anya has to learn to find out who the real Anya is again. And she also has to learn to accept help, but also let people back in. Bringing down those walls isn’t an easy task, and not without any risk, as there will be hurtful moments. But is closing yourself off the right direction?

This story has several ups and down, involving Rick and Anya, but also the other members of the family. Halfmoon Quay, the Penroses and just life in general isn’t a picture perfect, nobody is perfect. Characters make mistake, keep secrets and make assumptions. But it’s what they, and we, do with those imperfections. Do we let them ruin everything, or do we forgive them and do we move on from them?

Sarah Bennett wrote a magnificent story, capturing the difficulties, the struggles of life, but also the warmth and love., She wrote a heart – warming story about finding yourself, fresh starts, and a possible potential that is just the beginning of something beautiful.