The Coming Back to Cornwall series has been published in its entirety in 2018. The three books trace the story of friends Alice and Julie who decide to return to the town where they spent a teenage summer, escaping failed relationships and boring jobs, in the hope they can make a real life in Cornwall. At the back of Alice’s mind is the thought of Sam, who she fell in love with aged eighteen and who she has never really forgotten.
Book One: A Second Chance Summer
Is it possible to relive the best time of your life? As they approach their thirties, Alice and Julie are about to find out.
Two friends decide to throw caution to the wind; coming back to Cornwall, where they spent a long, happy summer ten years before. As they return to the same small flat in the centre of town, and seasonal jobs at the Sail Loft Hotel, Alice harbours hopes of finding Sam, the love of her life, while Julie is determined to enjoy the freedom she’s been missing.
A lot can change in ten years, though.
Book Two: After the Sun
When things seem too good to be true, they usually are.
Alice is finding her feet managing the Sail Loft Hotel when Sam is presented with an offer he can’t refuse. The bad news is, if he says yes, he will have to leave Cornwall.
Sam’s visits home see him split in his loyalties between his daughter Sophie, and spending time with Alice. Sophie’s mother, Kate, seems to be doing her best to make things difficult.
Meanwhile, Alice’s friend Julie is also facing a long-distance relationship as her new partner, and Sam’s best friend, Luke, is working in London. With no children to think of, and plenty of disposable income (on Luke’s part at least), life should be more simple but Julie has yet to find a long-term job and Luke is still getting over the recent death of his mother.
Can these fledgling relationships pass the long-distance test, and can Julie and Alice make life in Cornwall work for them now that the summer sun has gone?
Book Three: As Boundless as the Sea
Two years into her new life in Cornwall, and while Alice Griffiths’ own romantic hopes have been dashed, it appears that whichever way she looks, her friends are getting hitched.
A handsome stranger at Bea’s wedding could well change Alice’s fortunes but she may be better off ploughing her energies into her working life.
While each season brings a new wedding, the months leading up to Christmas, and David and Martin’s big day, become about taking risks for Alice. Should she leave the safety of the Sail Loft Hotel? Is starting a business the best idea she and Julie have ever had, or the end of a beautiful friendship? And should she push Sam Branvall out of her mind for good and take a chance on handsome, successful Paul Winters?
From upsetting her manager at the Sail Loft, to Sam moving back to town; not to mention a phone call announcing her mother has been taken seriously ill, it’s going to take a cool head to navigate successfully through this year. Luckily, Alice has her friends to support her. Even if they are all getting married.
If she can just keep her cool, and keep her friends, then she should make it safely through to those cold winter nights and twinkling Christmas lights.
Book Four: Sticks and Stones
The scene is set for the perfect summer. Business is booming. The weather couldn’t be better. Best of all, Sam is coming back to Cornwall. For good.
A storm is brewing, however. It seems that somebody, somewhere, has it in for Alice, although it is not clear who, or why.
As Julie tries to help her friend, she finds her own thoughts turning progressively towards motherhood. Sam, meanwhile, has the pressure of a new job, as well as a stressed-out girlfriend and a teenage daughter to contend with.
Fearing for her business, her relationship, and her sanity, can Alice get to the root of the problem before any permanent damage is done?
