It’s such a pleasure today to share my publication day review of Into a Cornish Wind, the latest book from the wonderful Kate Ryder: published today (28th September) by Embla Books, it’s now available as an ebook, in paperback, and as an audiobook. My thanks to the publishers for my advance reading e-copy, provided via netgalley.
I’ve waxed lyrical about Kate’s lovely books quite a few times before – never more so than in February this year, when I ran a feature on the authors shortlisted for the 2022 Romantic Novel Awards, and just had to share my delight that Beneath Cornish Skies was included in the Fantasy Romantic Novel Award category (you can read the whole feature again here, including my review). Kate’s very much a personal favourite, and has been for quite some time – you’ll find links to all my reviews within that feature, or by putting her name into my search bar – and I’m over the moon that her books are now reaching (and thrilling) so many readers. Her new book was one I was particularly looking forward to…
Kat Maddox has had her fair share of terrible relationships. And after discovering that her latest boyfriend has been hiding an entire other life from her, it’s time for a fresh start.
Accepting a job on the Cornish coast, Kat begins a new chapter in Fowey. She is immediately drawn to the beautiful Cornish landscapes and swiftly an old feeling begins to emerge. Ever since she was young, Kat’s had a ‘gift’ – when her paintbrush touches canvas, she’s able to see the history of her subject as if by magic.
Consumed with trying to discover what this could mean, she crosses paths with local sailor, Mac. Though this isn’t the first, or the last time, they’re destined to meet. As Mac and Kat grow closer, she begins to wonder whether she should open her heart to love one more time…
A brand new Cornish romance from Kate Ryder, author of Beneath Cornish Skies and Secrets of the Mist.
Although I always enjoy a book set in glorious Cornwall, it’s not a location I’ve chosen to visit myself in the last few decades – its popularity as a tourist destination has always rather put me off, the thought of all those hordes of visitors and the clogged roads. It’s a tribute to the author’s writing – her descriptions in this book are really exceptional – that I’ve spent a few evenings now looking for a suitable Airbnb in Fowey for a visit next year (although I might make it out-of-season!).
The book starts though in London, where Kat works as an illustrator, and where she spots a man who makes her heart beat a little faster passing by outside her office window. She runs into him again at the Tate – where he has a female companion, so she concludes he’d be out of her reach – and again (with yet another female companion) when on a break in Devon with her closest friend Tara and her family. Kat’s life in London has rather disintegrated – her current boyfriend has treated her particularly badly – so, having discovered a love for the South West, she applies for a sabbatical for an extended stay in Fowey, having been commissioned to illustrate a book on the local historic houses, with the historian’s house made available for her use.
And there, once more, she runs into the man she originally glimpsed on the London street – his name’s Mac, he seems to be well liked by the locals, and he lives on a distinctive yacht called Windsong in the harbour which he charters to tourists. As they get to know each other, she’s increasingly attracted to him – but finds it difficult to trust him when he seems to be accompanied by a succession of attractive women. But he has a nicely complex back story, and things aren’t quite what they appear – and romance might just be a possibility after all…
A fairly conventional love story so far – and perhaps a fairly predictable outcome? I have to say that I found the developing romance particularly well-handled, one I believed in with a really satisfying emotional depth – both Kat and Mac are extremely likeable, and I became totally invested in the possibility of them finding happiness together. Another element to the story that I enjoyed was the friendships – Tara’s always reliably there in the background as a support and sounding board for Kat, but she also slowly builds a lovely network of local friends through chance encounters in the street, at the museum and estate agents’, with neighbours, and at the tapas bar over the road.
But there’s another distinctive element to the story that I thought lifted it into a different league from the usual romance in a holiday location – Kat doesn’t simply draw the historic houses she researches and visits, but she has a gift whereby she’s able to experience them in their former glory and capture that in her illustrations. It’s not at all overplayed – the way it happens isn’t something she often shares with others, and the way it works is a mystery to her too – but that little supernatural edge was something I found immensely intriguing, and even more so when it seems she can also sometimes experience visions of the future. I’ve noticed the author calls it “a twist of otherworldliness”, and that’s the perfect description – nothing too unsettling or that will give anyone sleepless nights, just something that feels quite natural while adding a rather different frisson to the story.
I very much enjoyed this book on a number of levels – as a particularly well told story, as a convincing and very engaging romance, for the most wonderful in-depth introduction to an unfamiliar location, and for that rather special supernatural touch. Very much recommended.
About the author
Kate Ryder is an international best-selling author of timeslip/magic realism and romantic suspense in a true-to-life narrative. Represented by the Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency, she is published by Embla Books and Aria Fiction. Kate is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and the Society of Authors.
Summer in a Cornish Cove, a contemporary romantic suspense set on the Lizard Peninsula, gained her a nomination for the RNA’s 2018 Joan Hessayon award, while its standalone sequel, Cottage on a Cornish Cliff, reached the heady heights of #2 in Kindle Literary Sagas.
Secrets of the Mist, a mysterious timeslip romance, not only achieved #1 Kindle best seller flags in the UK, Canada and Australia, but also reached #49 in Amazon UK Paid Kindle. In the original, self-published version (The Forgotten Promise) it was awarded the first Chill with a Book “Book of the Month”.
Beneath Cornish Skies – a beautiful romance with a shimmer of ghostliness – achieved #1 eBook in the Amazon Australia Kindle Store, peaked at #83 in the Amazon UK Kindle Store and was shortlisted for the RNA Romantic Novel Awards 2022.
Originally from the South East of England, today Kate lives on the ‘jam-first’ Cornish side of the beautiful Tamar Valley with her husband and a rehomed Bengal-cross cat. When not writing she gravitates towards the coast, theatre, music and art, although the latter always makes her yearn to pick up a paintbrush. But – as there are only so many hours in a day – instead, she paints pictures with words!
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Once again, thank you, Anne, for being such a great supporter and always ‘getting’ my writing. I’m delighted that you are the first of the reviewers for Into a Cornish Wind! I love Cornwall (as you’ve probably gathered by now) but as many more people have discovered its delights, I would definitely suggest an ‘out of season’ visit for the more discerning visitor!
The review was an absolute pleasure – and the reading even more so! I really loved this one xx