Ottercombe Bay, Part One: Where There's a Will... by Bella Osbourne

Ottercombe Bay, Part One: Where There's a Will...

Bella Osbourne

Rating: 5 stars

Amazon UK £0.95

Synopsis:

Escape to the Devon coast, with Part One of a brand-new four-part serial from the author of Willow Cottage.

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.

With the help of a cast of quirky locals, a few gin cocktails and a black pug with plenty of attitude, Daisy might just turn this into something special. But can she ever hope to be happy among the ghosts of her past?

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What a great and intriguing start to a new series by Bella Osbourne! After reading Willow Cottage, I was so eager to read more of her work so when I saw this pop up on Netgalley I quickly requested it.  The cover caught my eye straight away, there's so many different beautiful pastel colours that it just looks stunning. Even though you can tell the old train station is in need of repair, it still looks utterly adorable, with the pretty clock standing outside and the sea in the background. If I got left this in someones will then I would be very grateful indeed!

So it starts off with main character Daisy heading back to Ottercombe Bay for her great uncles funeral. Daisy intends to leave straight after the service but her aunt tells her she has to stay because she has been left something in Reg's will. Daisy believes its something small, so was gobsmacked to say the least when she finds out what it really is (although, to be fair, I think we'd all be gobsmacked)! Now, at first, I wasn't sure what to think of Daisy. She seemed quite ungrateful towards her great aunt and all her friends from her old hometown. However, as the story got underway I started to understand Daisy's actions a lot more and why she acted the way she did.

I started to feel terribly sorry for her when I read how her mother died, something like that much be so awful (I got a bit teary reading about it, so beware and be prepared!) so after this I definitely warmed up to her character a lot more. One thing I loved about this book was the events that took place, the carnival, the summer fete, it all sounded wonderful and once more I wished I could live somewhere just like this. The characters were all lovely as well, I loved Tamsyn - she seemed so down to earth and friendly! And felt a bit sorry for police officer Jason but overall I thought they were all really nice and it was lovely to get to know them in this first instalment.

Overall, a really enjoyable first novella. I really can't wait for the next one to be released! If you're looking for a novel to pass an afternoon with, then I would recommend this one. Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for a chance to read this novel, which I have reviewed honestly.