Cottage on Oceanview Lane

Emerald Cove, Book 1

By: Lilly Mirren

Narrated by: Coralie Bywater

Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's Summary

When a renowned book editor returns to her roots, she rediscovers her strength and her passion in this heartwarming novel from the author of The Waratah Inn.  

Sarah Flannigan is moving home to the small, beachside hamlet of Emerald Cove. After years in the city building a career as an editor at one of the top publishing houses in the country, she’s uprooting her life to help her mother run the family cafe after the divorce. 

Cindy Flannigan never thought she’d find herself single and alone in her sixties, but when her husband runs off with a younger woman, she uncovers secret debts he’s accumulated that will leave her in dire financial straits for the first time in her life. She calls on her eldest child to help and is delightfully surprised when her daughter moves home to the Cove. But concerns for her daughter's future happiness soon mar the reunion. 

Take a trip to Emerald Cove, where no one's a stranger, in this heartwarming and uplifting tale for fans of Debbie Macomber, Danielle Steele, and Sheila Roberts.  

Please note: This is the first book in a continuing story.

©2020 Black Lab Press (P)2020 Black Lab Press

Lilly keeps it flowing

Ms Lilly has done it again. What a wonderful storyline and your hooked from the very beginning, I sure hope this isn't a stand alone, the characters are developed very nicely from the beginning. Keep it coming ma'am.

Small Town Literary Fiction you shouldn't miss!

This book follows the lives of four women who all live in Emerald Cove. Sometimes their lives intersect with each other, often times they don't. As the story moved between each person I found myself rooting for each person as they grow and faced adversity. Throughout the book the ladies deal with dishonest employees and the potential loss of their business, dark pasts, loveless relationships and the paralysis of a spouse. The story of this community pulled me in and I can't wait for the next book in the series.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Cute

Cute stories. The book was well written, but I wish each of the story lines was a little bit more developed. The narrator was great.

Confusing loose ends and disjointed storylines

I understand that this is the first book in a series, but I found it to be very disjointed and confusing. There were multiple storylines, one of which didn't even connect with the rest of the stories until the penultimate chapter.

While the description makes it sound like this focuses on Sarah and Cindy's stories, those two are just the start. The book starts with Meg's story, which draws in Vicky a bit as well (whose story is left hanging at the end of the book). There is also a female cop's story (I forget her name because I was having a hard time keeping all the characters straight).

There are way too many things left unexplained or addressed at the end of the book for this to be a standalone story. As a matter of fact, the story seemed to end abruptly. I was very surprised when I heard the closing credits play. So, if you do opt to listen to it, know that you're committing to more than one book in the series. Book 1 by itself doesn't leave much of anything resolved, with more questions than answers.

I have to admit, after listening to the books in The Waratah Inn series, I much preferred that to this one.

There was also a technical error (around chapter 12 or 13, if I remember correctly) where two soundtracks played simultaneously for a few seconds. It's not a huge issue, but enough to knock off a star in the performance rating.

This story keeps you captivated.

Lots of great characters in this series. This series has romance, conflict, friendship, family and mystery. I really enjoy these Australian coastal community stories!

Delightful

Cottage on Oceanview Lane is a delightful story of a beachside community with plenty of romance and drama to keep the story moving. The opening chapters are unique as the reader is introduced to each sub story individually. The storyline then emerges and comes together beautifully. The characters are interesting and relatable and the narrator gave a wonderful performance. Looking forward to the next book.

A Hodgepodge of Lives

Perfectly narrated by Coralie Bywater, this is a group of stories happening in parallel among friends and family, including a newlywed and her surfing-star husband, a career woman returning home, her mother whose family enterprises are falling down around her ears (after her husband walked out on their marriage after mortgaging the house and the business), and hints of a few others who are working on issues. Well, I guess that is what life is all about!

Another hit!

Loved the book, I struggled just a bit with this narrator. I much prefer the narrator in the Waratah Inn series.

Heartwarming Listen!

Lilly Mirren pulled me in with Cottage on Oceanview Lane. I loved how the author developed the characters and had vibrant imagery. I could envision so many details. Sarah, Cindy and Meg are the main characters in this book. The author was fantastic weaving their lives with heartbreak, hope and happiness. She gave them extraordinary strength and depth. Coralie Bywater was awesome with her Austrialian accent. She really brought the characters to life and gave them personality. I loved this first book of Emerald Cove and will definitely listen to more by this author and narrator.

Beautiful Story!

This is the first book in the Emerald Cove Series, a small town romance. This was my first Lilly Mirren's book. The story is beautifully written, emotional, and heartwarming. In this story, we follow Sarah, Cindy and Meg, three beautiful and smart women, in their journey to happiness. My heart broke for Meg and Brad, her husband. The writing is definitely original, interesting, and captivating, filled with drama, heartbreaking, and heartwarming scenes. I loved it! The supporting characters are great and interesting. Looking forward to listen to the next book in the Series, Seaside Manor Bed and Breakfast. Coralie Bywater did an outstanding job with the narration. She has a beautiful voice, very pleasant to listen to. If you like women's fiction, you will love this one.