Count the Shells
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- USD 4.99
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- USD 4.99
Publisher Description
All Porthkennack novels stand alone.
Michael Gray returned from World War One injured, but at least he returned. Others were not so fortunate, including his first and greatest love, Thomas Carter-Clemence, with whom Michael had parted bitterly before the conflict began.
Broch, the Carter-Clemence home in Porthkennack, was an integral part of pre-war holidays for the Grays, the two families drawn together in the wake of their sons’ friendship. Returning to the once-beloved Cornish coast for a break with his sister and her family, Michael has to find the courage to face old memories . . . and dare new relationships.
When Thomas’s brother Harry makes an unexpected appearance, Michael is surprised to find himself deeply attracted to Harry for his own sake. But as their relationship heats up, it unearths startling revelations and bitter truths. Michael must decide whether Harry is the answer to his prayers or the last straw to break an old soldier’s back.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Cochrane's gratifying romance, her second in a multiauthored series set on the Cornish coast, centers on forbidden longing and the scars of wartime losses. Michael Gray's first visit to his family's summer home since World War I ended awakens traumatic memories but also provides the distraction of doting on his exceptionally precocious nephew (who sounds closer to 30 than his stated age of nine). Though all of Michael's killed-in-action lovers haunt him, the countryside holds particular recollections of his first and greatest love, Thomas Carter-Clemence, a resident of another nearby summer home. Michael's survivor's guilt and trepidation over stumbling into memories twist him into awkward bleakness. A chance encounter with Thomas's younger brother, Harry, whose charming and warm personality is an antidote to Michael's dark moods, opens him up, and soon the two men tentatively express their mutual desire. This happiness is short-circuited by revelations about Thomas's affair with Michael's sister. Prim British mores frustrate open discussions, though the eventual resolution is a tad tidy. Cochrane's ear for historical idioms and sensitivity to the secrecy of gay life in early-20th-century Britain create a powerful impression of accuracy. This deeply felt work is sure to please fans of historical romance. Correction: An earlier version of this review misstated the sequence of this book in the series.
