Sunrise by the Sea by Jenny Colgan
This novel, set on an island in Cornwall, is both a romance and a story of personal growth for the female character, commonly known as women's fiction. It is the fourth book in the Little Beach Street Bakery series, but the first one I've read in the series.
This one focuses on a young woman, Marisa Rossi, who works as a registrar. Both of her parents were Italians who moved to England, and she spent many summers in Italy with her maternal grandparents, connecting strongly with her grandfather. He has recently died, and she isn't taking it well, retreating into herself, working from home as much as possible, and even avoiding her very social roommate.
When he decides to move in with friends, he makes arrangements for her to rent a guest cabin on a nearby island, Mount Polbearne. His uncle owns them, but with no paved road and a cool summer, the cabins haven't been renting.
With some assistance, Marisa manages the move, and finds that the Russian-born school piano teacher lives in the adjoining cabin, and does all the lessons at home. He also plays aggressive sounding music late into the night. She wears noise-cancelling headphones as she works, but finds the late night playing disturbing enough to put a note under his door.
As she follows her therapist's guidance to move gradually out of the depressive situation, she also attempts to be more friendly with her neighbour and finds herself making both unexpected local friends with the bakery owner, and forging a new close relationship with a distant relative.
This is a book about feelings and community, about coping with things in life that are difficult, and about healing in our own individual ways. It's also about being open to new experiences, and shows the way that smaller communities have a strength that shows under strain.
A very enjoyable read.
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