5 Stars from me

Oh my, the aching beauty that spills from these pages is just breath taking.

At 11% I adored the book, by 60% it made me cry and I simply didn’t ever want it to end.

I know of no other author who can create the emotive resonance that Amanda Jennings brings to life within the pages of a book: much like in her other excellent books Sworn Secret, The Judas Scar and In Her Wake.

All the characters (and there are only a handful) are utterly credible and I felt their emotions, their fragility their realness is if it were my own.

My favourite character? Probably Jago, although poor old Angie wins the sympathy vote. The rest of the characters weren’t particularly likeable but it was their flaws which made them so defined.

The setting and the era are flawlessly described. Who wouldn’t covet the lifestyle of the Davenports? The agony and deprivation of life for poor Angie is sensitively accurate – the grief, the loneliness, the worry are all spot on.

As for Tamsyn, the innocent mixed up teenage whose life has been turned inside out by grief, her portrayal is particularly raw and exposed – Jennings knack for honing in on the feelings of teenagers is uncanny.

A beautiful book – it literally is the perfect summer read – I want to dive into that pool and I want to go to one of the Davenport’s parties!

Synopsis: Some friendships are made to be broken.

Cornwall, summer of 1986.

The Davenports, with their fast cars and glamorous clothes, living the dream in a breathtaking house overlooking the sea.

If only… thinks sixteen-year-old Tamsyn, her binoculars trained on the perfect family in their perfect home.

If only her life was as perfect as theirs.

If only Edie Davenport would be her friend.

If only she lived at The Cliff House…

Amanda Jennings weaves a haunting tale of obsession, loss and longing, set against the brooding North Cornish coastline, destined to stay with readers long after the final page is turned.

‘A beautiful, stirring story of loss and obsession’ Lisa Jewell