Echoes On A Cornish River by Kate Ryder

 

Echoes on a Cornish River by Kate Ryder.

Published 8th August by Embla Books.

From the cover of the book:

Can a love like theirs stand the test of time?

Ellinor lived for adventure, always travelling from one place to the next - until tragedy struck and turned her world upside down. Needing to escape, she accepts an invitation to stay with relatives at their remote Cornish farmhouse.

As Ellinor settles on the outskirts of Calstock, it's not long before the land and its history have her itching to explore once more. Her search takes her far and wide when an unexpected encounter with an enigmatic, handsome stranger stops her in her tracks.

From the moment they meet, Ellinor knows deep in her soul they share a connection like no other. It's as if they've known each other forever. But no one else has heard of William... Is he all that he claims to be?

Could their love story be written in the stars? Or will past secrets threaten to alter the very future Ellinor has begun to let herself hope for?

A gorgeously heart-warming and romantic timeslip novel that will sweep you off your feet from bestselling author of Into a Cornish Wind. Perfect for fans of Diana Gabaldon, Susanna Kearsley and Nicola Cornick.

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Ellinor used to love her job as a flight attendant, always ready for a new adventure as she travelled the world, but then a traumatic incident in the air shattered her confidence. Six months after her last flight, she is still plagued with nightmares and unable to bear the thought of anyone coming close to her, even her husband Simon.

Desperate to pull herself out of the dark place she is in, she accepts an invitation to stay with her cousin and his wife at their Cornish farmhouse on the banks of the river Tamar. Almost as soon as she and Simon arrive, Ellinor feels the pull of the beautiful landscape and its history, and she cannot escape the feeling that she has been here before. As she begins to dig into the history of the area, the past and the present begin to blur. Ellinor finds herself drawn to a love that echoes through the years, but what does this mean for her own happiness in the present?

Echoes on a Cornish River is an enchanting timeslip novel that blends present day Cornwall with the era of politcal unrest during the Wars of the Roses, linking the two through nicely wrought themes of fate, magic, and romance -with lovely Outlander vibes.

At its heart this is all about the romance that develops between Ellinor and William, a man who lived hundreds of years ago, and who looks remarkably like her husband. As Ellinor moves back and forth between past and present, the power of her connection with William drives the story, and ultimately leads her towards hope and healing. 

At the same time, Ryder does a great job of bringing the past alive, connecting present day Cornwall to the wealth of history tied to the Tamar area. By weaving together fact and fiction she covers a lot of history in a really engaging way, filling out the broad strokes of what the history books tell us about the time when Henry Tudor and his supporters were plotting to overthrow Richard III. I particularly enjoyed the way she  incorporates bags of social history too.

As well as being a compelling historical tale, this book is a love story to Cornwall that celebrates the area around the Tamar, rather that the sights and sounds of further west that normally appear in stories set in this beautiful county. It has made me want to revisit Cotehele House in Saltash, which features prominently in this story, and look at it with fresh eyes too - I highly recommend a visit if you have never been.

This is perfect summer reading for those of you who like to be swept away by a historical romance, especially one that cleverly blends contemporary themes with an atmospheric love story!

Echoes on a Cornish River is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Embla Books for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review, and to Compulsive Readers Tours for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Kate Ryder is an international bestselling author of romantic suspense and timeslip/magic realism. She is represented by the Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency and published by Embla Books and Aria Fiction. She is also a member of the RNA and the SoA.

INTO A CORNISH WIND - a contemporary romance with a twist of otherworldliness - published 28 September, and by the end of the day it had bestseller flags on Amazon UK and Australia.

BENEATH CORNISH SKIES - a beautiful romance with a shimmer of ghostliness - achieved #1 eBook in the Amazon Australia Kindle Store, peaked at #83 in the Amazon UK Kindle Store and was shortlisted for the RNA Romantic Novel Awards 2022.

SECRETS OF THE MIST - a mysterious timeslip romance set in Dorset - not only reached #49 in Amazon UK Kindle Store but also achieved bestseller flags in the UK, Canada and Australia. In its original, self-published version as 'The Forgotten Promise' it was awarded the very first Chill with a Book "Book of the Month".

SUMMER IN A CORNISH COVE - a contemporary romantic suspense set on the wild and rugged Lizard Peninsula - was nominated for the RNA’s 2018 Joan Hessayon award. Readers begged for a sequel and Kate duly obliged with (standalone) COTTAGE ON A CORNISH CLIFF, which peaked at #1 in Kindle categories in the UK.