Cottage on Oceanview Lane

Emerald Cove, Book 1

By: Lilly Mirren

Narrated by: Coralie Bywater

Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

When a renowned book editor returns to her roots, she rediscovers her strength and her passion in this heartwarming novel from the author of The Waratah Inn.

Sarah Flannigan is moving home to the small, beachside hamlet of Emerald Cove. After years in the city building a career as an editor at one of the top publishing houses in the country, she’s uprooting her life to help her mother run the family cafe after the divorce.

Cindy Flannigan never thought she’d find herself single and alone in her sixties, but when her husband runs off with a younger woman, she uncovers secret debts he’s accumulated that will leave her in dire financial straits for the first time in her life. She calls on her eldest child to help and is delightfully surprised when her daughter moves home to the Cove. But concerns for her daughter's future happiness soon mar the reunion.

Take a trip to Emerald Cove, where no one's a stranger, in this heartwarming and uplifting tale for fans of Debbie Macomber, Danielle Steele, and Sheila Roberts.

Please note: This is the first book in a continuing story.

©2020 Black Lab Press (P)2020 Black Lab Press

A fresh perspective

Beautiful story of three women, who are at different stages of their lives and figuring out their true worth. Follow Meg, newlywed who’s faced with tragedy; Sarah, who’s advanced in her career and just broken up with her longtime bf/fiancé; and Cindy, who’s on the cusp of retirement when betrayal can cost her everything that she’s worked for. Great HEA.
I accepted a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This story keeps you captivated.

Lots of great characters in this series. This series has romance, conflict, friendship, family and mystery. I really enjoy these Australian coastal community stories!

Confusing loose ends and disjointed storylines

I understand that this is the first book in a series, but I found it to be very disjointed and confusing. There were multiple storylines, one of which didn't even connect with the rest of the stories until the penultimate chapter.

While the description makes it sound like this focuses on Sarah and Cindy's stories, those two are just the start. The book starts with Meg's story, which draws in Vicky a bit as well (whose story is left hanging at the end of the book). There is also a female cop's story (I forget her name because I was having a hard time keeping all the characters straight).

There are way too many things left unexplained or addressed at the end of the book for this to be a standalone story. As a matter of fact, the story seemed to end abruptly. I was very surprised when I heard the closing credits play. So, if you do opt to listen to it, know that you're committing to more than one book in the series. Book 1 by itself doesn't leave much of anything resolved, with more questions than answers.

I have to admit, after listening to the books in The Waratah Inn series, I much preferred that to this one.

There was also a technical error (around chapter 12 or 13, if I remember correctly) where two soundtracks played simultaneously for a few seconds. It's not a huge issue, but enough to knock off a star in the performance rating.

Cute

Cute stories. The book was well written, but I wish each of the story lines was a little bit more developed. The narrator was great.

Lilly keeps it flowing

Ms Lilly has done it again. What a wonderful storyline and your hooked from the very beginning, I sure hope this isn't a stand alone, the characters are developed very nicely from the beginning. Keep it coming ma'am.

Small Town Literary Fiction you shouldn't miss!

This book follows the lives of four women who all live in Emerald Cove. Sometimes their lives intersect with each other, often times they don't. As the story moved between each person I found myself rooting for each person as they grow and faced adversity. Throughout the book the ladies deal with dishonest employees and the potential loss of their business, dark pasts, loveless relationships and the paralysis of a spouse. The story of this community pulled me in and I can't wait for the next book in the series.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Let this story pull you in

This is my first from both the author and narrator. The author wrote a story that will hook you in . In this audio will get you learning about a few characters and what they go through in their lives .
Sarah is th3 one that is mentioned the most , what she does when her engagement fails , she know she needs to change everything, she decides to leave the city and buy a cottage, Sarah also takes her mother with her .

First time I heard Coralie Bywater. . Her voice is good , her voice fit the story

Another hit!

Loved the book, I struggled just a bit with this narrator. I much prefer the narrator in the Waratah Inn series.

Beautiful listen!

Cottage on Oceanview Lane is a beautiful written story of three women in different stages of life. From newlyweds to career changes, to divorce, this book has a little bit of everything. Lilly Mirren weaves a story that grabbed my heart.e meet Meg who is recently married, when tragedy strikes. Sarah just broke up with her boyfriend and has been called back home to help her mother with their family cafe, and Cindy, Sarah's mom who has been left by her husband with problems she should not have to face. The problems are realistic and the growth and strength of these women extraordinary. I loved their journey, and hope Mirren continues to update us on them.

This is my first Coralie Bywater listen, and I really enjoyed her. She has a fantastic Australian accent and finds her niche inside each personality of the characters. She was a joy to listen to.

A Hodgepodge of Lives

Perfectly narrated by Coralie Bywater, this is a group of stories happening in parallel among friends and family, including a newlywed and her surfing-star husband, a career woman returning home, her mother whose family enterprises are falling down around her ears (after her husband walked out on their marriage after mortgaging the house and the business), and hints of a few others who are working on issues. Well, I guess that is what life is all about!