My review

The story is about Daisy Wickens who returns to Ottercombe Bay at the death of her great uncle, Ray and finds that in order to inherit the money, she has to stay in Ottercombe Bay for a year. 

This is the beginning of the series, part one, by Bella Osborne. It is a right start for the series with the introduction of various characters, and we get a basic idea what life in Ottercombe Bay is all about. 

The main character, Daisy is not likable, she is moody, rude, pushing even well meaning kind people away, always in a hurry to escape. As a reader, we are given to understand that there is a mystery surrounding her mother’s drowning years ago, at this very bay, which may not be accidental or suicide, and that causes her to run away from this place and it’s people. But Daisy fails to understand that she cannot run from herself, which she has been doing for so many years. Only her great uncle understands that and hence the condition in the will. 

I couldn’t connect with the main character, Daisy, who is quite rude and brash, but I am hoping that Bella develops her in the forthcoming books, so we can see Daisy blossom. Daisy also seems adrift in terms of career and earning money, so it would be fun to see what the author makes her do, to earn a living in the next book.  

The rest of the characters are introduced at various points in the book, as interactions with Daisy: neighbour Tamsyn who is innocent, enthusiastic, prone to flights to fancy in her thoughts, aunt Coral who is kind, helpful and non judgemental, childhood classmates, the police man Jason who likes her,  and Max who keeps on provoking Daisy and is probably the future love interest. 

Being the first in the series, I was not very invested in the characters as the book seems more like an introductory novella, rather than a full fledged story with a plot. It would be fun to see where the author Bella Osborne, takes her characters and this series. This book does end in a cliffhanger… 

I received an ARC from NetGalley and publisher Avon and this is my honest and unbiased opinion. 

My rating : 3 stars 

About the Author 

Bella Osborne has been jotting down stories as far back as she can but decided that 2013 would be the year that she published a full-length novel. In 2016, her debut novel It Started at Sunset Cottage, was shortlisted for the Contemporary Romantic Novel of the Year and RNA Joan Hessayon New Writers Award. She lives in the Midlands, UK with her lovely husband and wonderful daughter, who, thankfully, both accept her as she is, with bad morning hair and a penchant for skipping. 

Book blurb 

Daisy Wickens has returned to Ottercombe Bay, the picturesque Devon town where her mother died when she was a girl. She plans to leave as soon as her great uncle’s funeral is over, but Great Uncle Reg had other ideas. He’s left Daisy a significant inheritance – an old building in a state of disrepair, which could offer exciting possibilities, but to get it she must stay in Ottercombe Bay for twelve whole months.

Product Details 

Publication date : 28th December 2017 

Publisher : Avon 

Language : English

  The beginning of a journey