When she was just seventeen, Cassandra Shaw lost her parents in an automobile accident. She was in the car and suffered extensive injuries which saw her in hospital for three months. Immediately after the crash, a handsome man named David Ashcroft came to her aid. While she was in hospital he visited often and they became close. It was to David’s luxurious home that Cassandra was released from hospital and where she lived for the following decade. Now though, upon learning of David’s infidelities and his unwillingness to have children, Cassie answers an advert in a magazine and moves from Sussex to Cornwall to begin a new life.

She is now working for the Kinsman family who own a farm and an old Cornish house called Foxcombe Manor. She loves her work there. She is needed, and that is a feeling she has never before experienced. She gets to work with horses and children, her two favourite things…Cassie meets a neighbour of the Kinsmans. Hunter Harcourt is a writer – a married writer. Despite her best efforts she is strongly attracted to him. But then she hears from David. It seems he wants her to return to him in Sussex. Cassie has a dilemma…If you want to be transported to a magical place, then “Beneath Cornish Skies” just might be the book you need.

The Cornish setting stole the show here, in my opinion. The beautiful rural locale added greatly to my enjoyment of the book and, if truth be told, was the reason I chose to read it.

The romance was fairly predictable, but then anyone choosing to read a romance will likely accept that likelihood going in. The characters were well drawn, and I enjoyed getting to meet Cassie, the Kinsman family, and their neighbour Hunter Harcourt (aka Luke).

David Ashcroft was a shifty character whom I immediately disliked – as I’m sure was the author’s intention.

The only real negative opinion I have about the book is that Cassie seemed too enraptured in Luke’s teachings. She was almost fawning, which I disliked. She had little self esteem and seemed in awe of his great mind. I found that grating.

The paranormal elements were deftly incorporated in the narrative. Cornwall is the perfect locale for a ghost or two…

Anyone wanting a comfort read in the form of an enchanting romance will surely love this novel.This review was written voluntarily and my rating was in no way influenced by the fact that I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel from Aria Fiction via NetGalley.

Publication date: January 7, 2021     Publisher: Aria Fiction

ISBN: 9781800243811    ASIN: ‎ B08HDDD3XK    368 pages

Kate Ryder writes timeslip and romantic suspense in a ‘true to life’ narrative. On leaving school she studied drama but soon discovered her preference for writing rather than performing. Since then, she has worked in the publishing, tour operating and property industries, and has travelled widely.

Kate is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and The Society of Authors.

Originally from the South East of England, today Kate lives on the Cornish side of the beautiful Tamar Valley with her husband and a collection of animals.

Follow Kate Ryder on Twitter @KateRyder_Books OR, on Instagram @kateryder_author