I really enjoyed this book! This story is more than about romance, it is also about loss, grieving, forgiveness, and starting again. I can relate to the main character , I am also a family-oriented person that's why I understand her priorities and love for her family. This is my first time reading Amanda Prowse's work, and I was not aware that I should prepare tissues with me!

I have read and loved every one of Amanda’s books and this was no exception. Very heartwarming in places but also loss and betrayal made for an amazing read. I loved the characters who I could really relate to and Amanda’s description of the setting in Cornwall was the icing on the cake. I’m sad to finish this book and can’t wait for the next one. Hope we don’t have to wait too long!!

Another former by the talented Amanda Prowse. I devoured this book as it is a lovely tale with lovely characters that drew me in. The Cornish setting is just perfect for this story of love, betrayals, loss and most of all families.

Love comes in different disguises. Amanda has written a lovely story that deals with love, loss and loyalty.
The main story crux of the story is Merrin and her family in a small Cornish fishing village.
The story takes us through heartbreak, rediscovery and the hidden past.
A great feel good which I'm sure everyone will be able to identify with one character.

Merrin loves her life, her town, her fiancé, her family and the future she is planning. That is until she is left at the alter. Wanting not to be around for the gossip mongers, she leaves her hometown and tries to start over.

This book is about love, loss , family, forgiveness and starting over. Written as only this author can beautifully write. I did enjoy this book. I loved Merrin she was as her dad said “ as much glass as steel”. Strong and fragile at the same time !

Another 5 star book
I don't know how Amanda Prowse manages to keep writing such amazing books
This was another emotional read and was a tear jerker in a few places, (tissues may be needed)
I loved the real community feel that reading this book gives, the description of the place and the people there make you almost feel a part of it.
Thank you Amanda for still writing such incredible books.
Thank you netgalley

Another fantastic book by Amanda Prowse. She never fails to write great stories that we can all relate to. Warning: do not read on the train, like I did!

Well what can I say, Amanda has smashed it again,A beautiful heartwarming story with great charecters that were very easy to get to know and love, I'm always gutted when finishing one of my favourite authors books

Another amazing read from Amanda Prowse. A real page turner and beautifully written story. I loved all the characters and loved Merrin's story. It was so sad she felt she had to leave the place she loved to get away from a humiliation that was not of her making. It was a real tear jearker at times with lovely stories of true love. The tragic loss of her Father and his letter to his daughters was heartbreaking.

Amanda Prowse, To Love and Be Loved, Amazon Publishing UK, Lake Union Publishing, 2022.

Thank you NetGalley, for proving me with this uncorrected proof in exchange for a review.

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.
A romance between Merrin Kellow and Digby Mortimer begins the novel – with the attitudes of the couple, their families and the village presenting a conflict with descriptions of Merrin in her jeans, T shirts and trainers. At times I felt as though I was reading an historical novel rather than one set in modern times. Perhaps this disconnect arises because of what I felt was the over emphasis on love of the village, the small community that appears so closed to change, a lack of ambition beyond the possibilities offered by the village, and the belief that people cannot love and marry outside their social circle.

The potential conflict between Merrin’s and Digby’s families, provides a background to the narrative. However, at the forefront is a largely unexplained tension between Merrin and her sister, Ruby. At the same time Merrin, Ruby and Bella form a strong friendship group. Similarly, Lorretta Mortimer and Heather Kellow have a relationship, formally as mistress and staff, but as the novel proceeds, shown to be a little more complex. This complexity is also apparent in the various love affairs conducted by the three young women as the main feature of the novel, but also as part of the background to each of the main families.

To Love and Be Loved deals with love in its various manifestations – long term married love, past and present love between couples which is thwarted through family disapproval and interference, a short-term affair that produces a pregnancy, and a love that upon maturity changes its attention from one person to another. Each of these threads work well together. The images of Cornwall were entrancing, and the descriptions of village traditions and personalities were enlightening in their recognition of a world that appears to have moved slowly, with appreciation of past work and lifestyles.

This is not a novel that I warmed to, perhaps because I was unable to feel for the characters whose lives seemed so enclosed. For me many of the ideas were of the past rather than present. However, my limited knowledge of Cornwall has possibly impacted on my understanding of a lifetime in this special part of the English coast. I found this an easy read, with some illuminating perspectives on the impact of shock and rejection on individuals and families, and an introduction to yet another aspect of English community, practice and location.

Amanda Prowse is my go-to author when I need romance, complicated emotions, intense yet subtle drama, and a keen understanding of human relationships. To Love and Be Loved is her latest release due out in January 2022, but I received an early copy through NetGalley. I've read at least ten of her books thus far, and there are at least another ten from the last decade that I must still get to. Trust me, I will... I already purchased three and plan to read one a month until I'm fully caught up by the end of 2022.

Merry is from a small coastal town in England. She lives with her sister, two parents, and grandmother. She and Digby, late teens/early twenties, are madly in love. He proposes, and when the wedding day arrives, something unexpected happens. Years later, Merry has left her hometown and started fresh in a bigger city. Her career grows, and she meets someone new, but it's not the same. She misses her family and friends, yet they also weigh her down, as does the stigma of what happened on her almost-wedding day. How can a beautiful, kind, generous, and wonderful young woman ever recover?

This is not a suspense or quick-moving novel. Prowse alternates a bit of time periods, stopping right when you really want to know what's about to happen, tho. It builds your interest without giving you scary palpitations... because you will love Merry and her view on life. She comes out of a tragedy with a positive mindset, despite the pain. And she accepts all the drama thrown at her, finding a way to heal. We can all learn from her. Of course, she makes mistakes too. But this is where Prowse excels; she builds truly realistic characters and dangles them out there for you to connect with. I might not live in England, be a jilted lover, come from a poor background, or have wandered out all on my own, but I identify with how Merry feels.

I liked how the ending doesn't wrap things up, instead offering opportunities to consider. I enjoyed the drama within a set of relatives, where there is anger and love, sadness and happiness, reality and unforced exaggeration - things that exist in every family. I wouldn't start with this novel, if you haven't read Prowse before... but definitely slot this one in somewhere early on. It's a fantastic character study, and I definitely see it as 4.5 stars.

Amanda Prowse is one of my favourite authors and I always can't wait to start one of her books, as they are always a treat.

This one was no exception. I was immediately drawn into the story of Merrin. I loved her character and felt heartbroken for her. I loved the family relationships in the story - Merrin and her sister remind me of my relationship with my sister. As with most of Amanda's books, tissues were needed. I could clearly picture the Cornish location and this makes me want a Cornish holiday again soon.

I couldn't put this down and finished it over the weekend. I can't recommend this and all of Amanda's other books highly enough. Perfect for a cosy afternoon on the sofa with a cuppa and cake.

Fabulous - I can't wait for the next one!

This is a book about love, romance, and disappointment. The main character leaves home when a romance fails miserably…the story centers around her new life and that of her family back home…the angst she endures over what happened to her remains for a long time…until finally it does not…her parents love and adore her and her sister…a sweet read…this book was sent to me for review electronically by Netgalley.

A really lovely read again from Amanda Prowse. Set in Cornwall a fabulous location it's the story of the Kellow family and sisters Merrin and Ruby they have a great family life with their parents Ben a fisherman and Heather .When the worst thing happens to Merrin on what was supposed to be her wedding day she leaves home and tries to start a new life for herself as it's too painful for her to stay . This is a story of family, friendships and relationships and at the heart of the story is love that shines throughout the story,.Its got that great humour that I love about this writer but also emotion and feelings that draw you into the characters lives. The Kellow girls finally know what it's like to love and be loved. A 5 🌟read

Oh, Amanda Prowse, you've done it again!
I was hooked on the story of Merrin from the moment I started reading. She was born and has lived in the same Cornish Fishing village of Port Charles, her whole life, and intends to spend the rest of it, there, too.
On the cusp of beginning the next chapter of her life, Merrin is convinced her life is headed in exactly the right direction.
Until the one thing she never expected to happen, happens. Filled with humiliation, Merrin flees her beloved hometown to forget her sorrows, but with a huge sense of regret at leaving her family behind.
Nothing can convince her to come back, not even the death of her grandma... Nothing, until her sister gets married.
Where do I start? Merrin is a beautiful character, full of hope, romance and life. It broke my heart to read how she crumbled, along with all her dreams, on that fateful day.
And feeling that she was never going to find anything close to the love she had felt at the time, the story grows, showing how she hardens her heart to feelings too intense, pushing away so many people who love her, romantically, and otherwise.
However, life does move in mysterious ways, and despite losses, she finds her perfect ending.
I loved Merrin's best friend, Bella, a lot. What I wouldn't give to have a Bella by my side!
A consuming read which I finished in a day.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

After a humiliating experience and hating to be the village gossip, Merrin leaves her beloved family and the fishing village of Port Charles in Cornwall behind her. But thoughts of what she left behind are always at the forefront of her mind. Can she overcome the humiliation and return to the loving arms of her family.
As with all of Amanda's books I really enjoyed Merrins story, although I did question some of her decisions, I loved the friendship she had with Bella and the close family ties. Amanda writes with such feeling and compassion and I cried tears of laughter and sorrow. Tissues needed.
Many thanks to Netgalley and publishers for the opportunity to read this advanced copy, I am under no obligation to write this review

Merrin loves a beautiful life surrounded by her family. She’s about to marry the love of her love, but on her wedding day events most definitely do not go as planned. Heartbroken, Merrin moves away from her beloved family to make a new life for herself, returning only when events mean she absolutely has to. This is beautiful story of love and loss.

This book follows Merrin Kellow, but also focuses on her family. Merrin wants to love and be loved. She ends up leaving her family and hometown after a humiliating experience to start anew. In her new location, she works on healing her heart (and psyche). A number of years later she returns home and discovers that while things are difficult, maybe they're bearable with the love of your family, yourself, and time.

I'm hoping that my impression about this book is in the minority. I wanted to like this book a lot more than I did. I don't know if I expected more, for lack of a better word, action (or maybe oomph?), but this book while constantly moving forward in the story, at times took its sweet slow time. This is a really sweet story about a sweet family (including a few amusing sibling rivalry scenes) and a number of great side characters (Bella - I'd like to have a coffee with you and just listen to you talk). I would read another book by this author, but this book, sadly, just missed the mark for me. Oh, another huge plus - a non-graphic romance story ... and a pretty happy ending for all involved that is believable. 3.5 stars.

When I think of literary fiction, I think of books just like this one, that gives all the feels and can satisfies just about every reader's heart. This is a perfect books to snuggle up with on any day. I loved it.

To Love and Be Loved by Amanda Prowse


Young and desperately in love, Merrin had the whole world ahead of her. But just as her new life was about to start, the ground beneath her feet was cruelly swept away. Devastated by the humiliation, she ran far away from the beloved fishing village she had always called home to lick her wounds and escape her gossiping friends and neighbours.

It hasn’t been easy, but six years later Merrin has forged a new life for herself far from the sea, burying the impulsive girl she once was. But when tragedy strikes, she has no choice but to return to the village she swore she’d never set foot in again.
To Love and Be loved. Isn't that what we as humans strive for ? That and our health.
Once again the author has captured what being alive is all about. We follow Merrin , who as a young girl and in love ,but flees from her village and makes a new life.
Although Merrin exasperated me at times , I really enjoyed reading her story.