Last but not least, I have the pleasure (once again) to host Fern Britton on the 5th day of her blog tour for her brand new novel, ‘Coming Home’. Big thanks to the publishers for the blog tour invite, as well as the ARC of the book. I am so excited to share my review with you all today:
Three women.
A lifetime of secrets.
The only place to be is home.
Ella comes back to the beautiful Cornish coast to heal her heart after the death of her beloved grandmother, Adela. There she finds her home again and discovers a new life, but she also opens a treasure trove of secrets.
Twenty years ago Ella’s mother Sennen ran away from Cornwall. Sennen had been a young single mum and, unable to cope, had left their children with her mother Adela…and a part of her with them. She’s spent the years since hiding from her past, hiding from herself.
Now it’s time to come back to Cornwall. To face her mistakes. To pray for forgiveness. And to hope for a future with her long-lost daughter and son. Will she be welcomed back with open hearts?
They say home is where the heart is. It’s time to come home…
What does TWG think?
Do you agree with the phrase; ‘Home is where the heart is’? Or do you agree with the song lyric; ‘Wherever I lay my hat, that’s my home’? And anyway, what is the true meaning of ‘home’? Every single person will have their own definition, especially Ella. She’s lost the woman who brought her up, yet the idea of finding the woman who gave her up, is even closer than she originally thought. Should Ella try to fight for her right to get in contact with the woman who hasn’t watched her grow up? Or should Ella side with her brother, a man whose anger is 100 percent directed to the woman who walked out on them as children. The difference being, he remembers their mother; Ella doesn’t.
If you’ve read ‘The Postcard’ by Fern Britton, a couple of the characters may be incredibly familiar for you when you read this book. Don’t worry, you’re not going crazy!
All families have drama, it’s the way of life. Fern Britton has focused on the concept of family dramas, highlighting one of the reasons which cause families to drift apart to begin with – parents not being around. When Sennen fell pregnant, she was facing motherhood as a single mum. When Sennen fell pregnant for the second time, the thought of coping on her own with two young children, became far too much for Sennen to deal with (even if she did have her parents to help). ‘Coming Home’ is a story which explores the aftermath of Sennen’s decision, as well as finding out how the innocent parties of the situation, the children, grew up knowing the truth of what their mother did. Is their anger justified? Was Sennen right to leave her two young children with her mother, disappearing into the night?
I would be lying if I said that ‘Coming Home’ was an easy read, because it wasn’t. The overall theme of the book is incredibly intense and, if like me, you’ve had a parent walk out on you as a child, you’ll be able to sympathise with the characters in a whole different way. You may find you echo the characters anger as well – I know I did!
The storyline is very well written, engaging readers from the get go, allowing them to form their own opinion of every eventuality the author describes. Whilst I had to remember to not judge the mother on her decision, seeing as I wasn’t in her position, I still found it hard to just sit on the fence where she was concerned. Obviously, seeing as I don’t wish to sway anyone with my own opinion, I’ll keep that part of it to myself. Just be prepared to go on an emotional journey.
Once again Fern Britton has captured the true essence, in my eyes, of the word ‘home’ and what it means. Even though I found parts of the storyline quite emotional to read, I was still able to appreciate what the author was trying to convey where Sennen was concerned. I may not have agreed with Sennen’s decision, but I enjoyed being able to read the book from her point of view, whilst also being able to see both sides of such a heart-wrenching situation.
Written from the heart, ‘Coming Home’ is guaranteed to warm you from the inside out. Beautifully written and incredibly touching, Fern Britton has written a novel which is so in tune with every day circumstances, it really would be difficult to not relate to the book in any way. Why? Because the themes covered in this book ARE real life, and it’s about time someone wasn’t afraid to write it in black and white. Beautiful.
The Writing Garnet 