Three and a half star rating.
In need of a gentle, heartwarming story? Then you can’t go far wrong by choosing this book. Lots of mainly nice characters in a beautiful Cornish setting, some who are already living there, others finding their way “home”. A few dilemmas, a few problems to sort out. A nice relaxing read for anyone who doesn’t want too much drama or over excitement! Marcia Willett is the queen of this particular genre.

I haven't read any of Marcia Willett's previous novels, but I really enjoyed this one and will be looking at other books written by her.

A gentle, comforting read with interesting characters and a beautiful Cornish setting. I enjoyed the storyline and found all of the characters easy to relate to. I hope their will be a sequel so that I can find out what happened next.

An ideal book for a sunny afternoon in the garden or a holiday read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Easy to read and relate to. She always writes book that are about every day lives... The characters in the book are those you root to have a happy ending. iT IS SO TRUE RO LIFE AND I LOVED IT.

Its a predictable story of people's lives in the west country with no real action to it. Everything comes together, people bumping into others when oh surprise they are in the same town on the off chance.

EXCERPT: This house, belonging to Ned’s parents, was a refuge: a place to which they all travelled to spend leaves, school holidays, to lodge between married quarters. It was home.

ABOUT THIS BOOK: At the end of the row of fishermen’s cottages by the harbour’s edge, stands an old granite house.

First it belonged to Ned’s parents; then Ned dropped anchor here after a life at sea and called it home. His nephew Hugo moved in too, swapping London for the small Cornish fishing village where he’d spent so many happy holidays.

It’s a refuge – and now other friends and relations are being drawn to the the house by the sea.
Among them is Dossie, who’s lonely after her parents died and her son remarried. And cousin Jamie, who’s coming home after more than a year, since his career as an RAF pilot was abruptly cut short. Both have to adjust to a new way of life.

As newcomers arrive and old friends reunite, secrets are uncovered, relationships are forged and tested, and romance is kindled.

For those who come here find that the house by the harbour wall offers a warm welcome, and – despite its situation at the very end of the village – a new beginning...

MY THOUGHTS: I discovered this author quite by accident, many years ago. I was having one of those days at the library where, despite there being thousands of books on the shelves, I could not find one that I wanted to read. I had started at the As and had meandered through the alphabet to the Ws when the name Marcia caught my eye. I have a cousin Marcia, somewhat older than me, of whom I am rather fond and whom I don't often get to see. It was on the strength of this relationship that I picked up my first ever Marcia Willett novel, never expecting to still be reading her all these years later.

Homecomings is a lovely read. Willett's writing is peaceful. She has a deep knowledge and understanding of many things, including people, nature and music. She makes me feel like I belong in the families she writes about, with Ned and Hugo and Jamie, Dossie and Adam, Prune, even Janna and the Sisters at the convent. Her writing is filled with gentle emotions; grief, anger, love, despair and joy.

If you like soap operas, and plenty of action, then this book is not for you. If, on the other hand, you want a book that will warm your heart and leave you with the feeling that you have just made some new friends, I can definitely recommend Homecomings.

Thank you to Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, Bantam Press via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Homecomings by Marcia Willett for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

Please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the 'about' page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com for an explanation of my rating system.

This review and others are also published on my blog sandysbookaday.wordpress.com https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...

I suspect that once more Marcia Willet has written a book that readers will read not once, but twice and perhaps once more again, just because it's such a warm hug of a book.
Yes, there is sadness and loss, it would not be a Willett book without both. Who could not feel deepest sympathy for each of the characters on some level, from the obvious loss of career and health, for Jamie, the brooding lonelieness of Hugo, to the more subtle regret and sadness surrounding Ned for the life he thought he led and now it is too late to put things right. For all of that, this book is an uplifting and lovely read. It is a book of homecomings and although the title leads us where we know we want to go, we are never quite sure until that final page, if things are going to turn out as we hope.

For me, the best way to describe what lies ahead for readers...
Take a measure of Pilchers' landscapes, mix well with Trollops savvy subtlety and add a binding of Maeve Binchey's story telling magic and if you mix all with the right amount of magic you have the recipe for Marcia Willetts' books.

Fair to say, I really enjoyed this one! Thanks to the publishers and author for the advance copy.

Faith Hogan
Author of The Girl I Used To Know
aria fiction / head of zeus.

Very enjoyable easy read just what I needed on a cold winter's day by the fire. Loved how the stories intertwined.

How wonderful it feels to be welcomed back into the warm embrace of a Marcia Willett novel.
Even more delightful to find old friends amongst the new characters.
This is a book one wants to keep on reading....without ever coming to the end.
An ideal book to read on the computer, making it easy to find the various pieces of music mentioned
& listen to them on YouTube whilst reading.
Oh - I so loved this book : although my heart nearly stopped near the end ! The writer really has the
knack of creating characters we care about, it is hard to believe they are not 'real'... I am already
looking forward to a further volume : )

Marcia Willett writes lovely gossipy books which are all about everyday lives. Her real skill lies with the characters that she creates who are so alive on the pages.
In this book Hugo is happily trotting along in life living with his elderly Uncle Ned. They have several friends including cleaning lady, Rose, Dossie who delivers frozen ready meals & their lodger Prune. Dossie needs to think about how to finance her beautiful home inherited from her parents & how to build her relationship with her brother Adam. Hugo's cousin Jamie come down for a visit and his life is changed by a chance encounter from the past. Prune is a young lady just starting out in life who is enjoying the company of the young lad at the pub, Ben.
I love Marcia Willett books. There is a plot - not a twisty all gripping plot but the events of life. I find herr work relaxing to read and I get very involved with the characters. This book is no exception with well written three dimensional personalities and interesting everyday events.
I shall be more than happy to read more of Marcia Willett's books as they are published.
I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley

This is the first book that I have read by Marcia Willett and a big thank you to Net Galley for introducing me to this author. The only problem that I faced in reading it was that I could not put it down and so I read it late into the night and could not resist returning to the story when ever I woke up whether in the middle of the night or in the early morning! When I had finished it I visited Amazon and downloaded four more books by this author which were available on a cheap deal. This says everything!!!!

The story is as featured in the notes that are featured with the book. It is about family life through several generations and gives insights into the problems faced by each of the generations and illustrates how generations support each other as they face the difficulties that life throws at them , supported by dogs and friends that they share. The descriptions of Cornwall make you want to visit again to experience the sea and the communities of North Cornwall. One feature of the book that is special and interesting is the link with Music and how it has affected people's lives. It would be good if the final published edition contains an appendix that en-enables the reader to source recordings of this music to enhance their reading experience.
The only downside was the fact that the book needs a detailed proof reading and some attention to the kindle software before it is released to paying readers.