Published By: Aria
Pages: 416
Released On: 05/06/2025
Three women, all with secrets waiting to be uncovered.
Constance Macken, in her ninth decade, is looking back on a life filled with laughter and loss, tragedy and triumph, but knows it is time to right the wrongs from her past that have always haunted her.
Heather Banks arrives on the island to bury her mother. Already adrift with her business sold and her divorce finalised, time on the island may be the perfect opportunity to change the course of her future.
Ros Stokes has managed to slip into the perfect job, the perfect cottage and friends that feel like family. However, when the stitches of her life begin to unravel, she must find a way to hold onto the things that have become most dear to her and let go of what holds her back.
In a faded art deco house by the sea these women must come together to save the house they love and each other, because they might have run from their troubles but only time will tell if they can overcome their past.
*****
Thanks to NetGalley and Aria for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
I can’t quite believe it but I think this is my first of Faith’s books. I’ve definitely been missing out so I’ll be looking out for her others.
I really enjoy multi viewpoint books, but they can be difficult to get on with unless managed well. And I was worried I might get lost within the various stories, but it all felt very natural. They’ve all got such distinctive voices that it would be hard to get them mixed up, which isn’t an easy thing to achieve.
The story is good, the pacing is good, the characters are good, and I very much enjoyed it. But what really stood out for me, and forgive me if this is a little corny, but is Faith’s writing, her use of language, her ability to form sentences that explore everything from mundane things like the weather to the extremities of loneliness and grief.
We get to know four women. Dotty (but we only get to know her as a child and young woman), her daughter Heather, Dotty’s childhood best friend Constance, and her island neighbour Ros. They’re all gorgeous women and I was so sad to leave them by the end of the story, it’s like they had become my own friends. There are other characters, male and female, but for me, this story belonged to those women.
There are elements in the story that aren’t pleasant at all, and really quite hard to read about but they don’t feel sensationalised in this. They’re hard to read, but unfortunately they are very real, and so you can’t ignore them. But, in a way, it also helps make the happier moments shine more.
Yes there are difficult parts, bit that are emotional, some happier and sadder bits, some anger and grief. But my overriding feeling of it was a feeling of hope. There’s old and new friends, lost friends, reconnected friends, love lost and found. It’s just full of joy, love, hope, friendship, relationships, new love, the restorative power of nature, forgiveness, passions, dreams.
I can almost guarantee this will end up on my “favourite books of the year” list. It’s simply perfection.
Books By Your Bedside 