In The Sweep of The Bay – review (ad)

22nd November 2020 1 By Rachael Stray

I was kindly given an electronic copy of In The Sweep of The Bay in exchange for an honest review*.

Book blurb for In The Sweep of The Bay

This lyrical, warm-hearted tale explores marriage, love, and longing, set against the majestic backdrop of Morecambe Bay, the Lakeland Fells, and the faded splendour of the Midland Hotel.

Ted Marshall meets Rene in the dancehalls of Morecambe and they marry during the frail optimism of the 1950s. They adopt the roles expected of man and wife at the time: he the breadwinner at the family ceramics firm, and she the loyal housewife, but as the years go by, they both find themselves wishing for more…

After Ted survives a heart attack, both see it as a new beginning… but can a faded love like theirs ever be rekindled?

My overall thoughts on In The Sweep of The Bay

This is a really short but sweet read. The characters are very likeable and very believable.

I enjoyed the writing style and that different characters take on the narrative voice, sometimes recalling the same incident/moment in time so the reader is able to see it from different points of view.

This book is a mini social history following the characters over the decades and I loved how the author weaved together home life, work life and the events of the times so eloquently.

It’s a very honest, unromanticised view of marriage in the second half of the 20th Century. There’s lots of “make do and mend” sentiments that is a reflection of the times.

I found this to be both a heart-warming and heart-breaking story in the end.

About the author Cath Barton:

Cath Barton lives in Abergavenny. She won the New Welsh Writing AmeriCymru Prize for the Novella in 2017 for The Plankton Collector, which was published in September 2018 by New Welsh Review under their Rarebyte imprint.

She also writes short stories and flash fiction and, with her critical writing, is a regular contributor to Wales Arts Review. In the Sweep of the Bay is her second novella.

Social Media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CathBarton1

Website: https://cathbarton.com/

Louise Walters Books: https://www.louisewaltersbooks.co.uk/cath-barton

Purchase Links:

Louise Walters Books: https://www.louisewaltersbooks.co.uk/shop-1

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3ez3EwP

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3k7aVF6

Foyles: https://bit.ly/2U0o3Bs

Book Depository: https://bit.ly/3ka6d9Hhttps://bit.ly/3ka6d9H

Kobo: https://bit.ly/2U5Nm5c

Publishing Information:

Published in paperback and digital formats on 23rd November 2020 by Louise Walters Books

Pin this 👇🏻

*Disclaimer

This review has been written with 100% honesty.

I was not financially compensated for this post. I was given an advance copy of this book for review purposes. The opinions expressed in this post are completely my own based on my own experience.

If you would like your company/service featured on rachaelstray.com either in the form of review, sponsored post or an advertising slot, please feel free to contact me at rachaelstray@gmail.com

Please visit my contact/work with me page for more information.

Keep up to date

You can also find me on Twitter @rachael_stray

Or follow my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/rachaelstrayblog/

You can see my random pictures on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/rachys2011/

And see what I’m pinning on Pinterest https://www.pinterest.co.uk/rachaelstray/

CategoryBook review Reading Recommendations review

Tagsbook book review Cath Barton In the Sweep of the Bay read Reading recommendation review

In The Sweep of The Bay – review (ad)

Book blurb for In The Sweep of The Bay

My overall thoughts on In The Sweep of The Bay