To Love and Be Loved

Product Information

I find the character development so well done. This is one of those stories that would make the reader think about their lives and make them want to leave the toxic things, including toxic people and relationship, out of their lives and start living again amidst heartbreak and fears.

There possibly could not have been a better name for this one. We may, at times, take for granted the love we are surrounded with without realising that … "It is surely the best gift you can bestow upon one another: to love and be loved." I liked the author's writing style, the story wasn't super fast paced, quite a gradual build up to where it ended, but easy to follow and enough to keep me entertained. I will say I found it hard to picture this story taking place over 6 years. If it wasn't for the casual mentions of how long it had been since Merrin and Digby's non-wedding and other characters having children, I probably would've thought this book took place over a year or two. Sure characters changed and some died, but they never felt more mature or more worldly. Amanda Prowse sets this novel in a fishing village in Cornwall, and a market town close to Bristol. The fishing families are close knit, with the novel concentrating on two of these families, the Kellows and the Cardys who live in fishing cottages, and the Mortimers who are a wealthy biscuit factory family who live in a Palladian Clifton home. With its size, gardens, employment of staff and education of the son of the house, the Mortimers are established as different from the village people who are largely fishers, and shopkeepers. The author has penned it in an extensively descriptive style.. it takes you virtually on that small island & the entire read is so atmospheric that I felt I held my heart in my hand literally..This was an easy afternoon read that I would recommend for all those that like your happily ever after mixed with a nice dose of drama.

Merrin Mercy Kellow is the main character in this book, but there are some fab other characters too. Merrin’s sister Ruby, her best friend Bella, her first boyfriend Jarvis and also her parents. They live in Cornwall and having spent a lot of lovely holidays there I really enjoyed the setting. Amanda is so descriptive that you can imagine looking out to sea and feeling the sand between your toes. Reading the book from when she moved to Bristol (my home town) and worked at a castle, in my head I pictured a local castle hotel near me called Thornbury Castle (where I have treated myself to a birthday afternoon tea), imagine my surprise when I was right!! I was so pleased Merry met Miguel and found someone to love her again. I love all of Amanda's books, and she is an author, I auto-buy. I jumped at the chance to read and review this book, and I was not disappointed!

Merrin was madly in love, with her whole life mapped out with the man she adored, much to the envy of her older sister Ruby. However when he leaves her standing at the alter in her beautiful dress, and runs off, live in her gorgeous fishing village will never be the same. She can't cope with being the girl that everyone gossips about, so she leaves her beloved village and goes to work, and live, in a hotel several hours away. Her parents and Ruby are devastated, as is her best friend, although they do understand why she had to leave and make a life for herself elsewhere. I enjoyed the fact that there were multiple view points telling the story but that the main character, Merrin was the predominant narrator. I have loved every book I have read by Amanda Prowse. She writes with so much passion that I can't help becoming a part of her stories. She is my go-to author when it comes to contemporary fiction, family drama, and emotional portrayal. When I saw that this wonderful author had written To Love and Be Loved I just had to read her book. Wow, she did not disappoint! Mother Teresa was one of the most admired women of the 20th century, and her memory continues to inspire charitable work around the world. She believed the greatest need of a human being is to love and be loved. In 1948, she founded the Missionaries of Charity to work directly with the very poorest of Calcutta. From the efforts of one woman entering the slums of Entally, the Missionaries of Charity grew into an organization operating soup kitchens, health clinics, hospices, and shelters in 139 countries, at no cost to any government or to those who served. In 2016, she became Saint Teresa of Calcutta.