A Spirited Girl on Cornish Shores

(A Little Hotel in Cornwall Book 2)

by Laura Briggs

 

 

It looks like a perfect Cornish autumn, with aspiring novelist Maisie Clark still finding inspiration as a maid at the historic Penmarrow Hotel. Between the staff of quirky co-workers, glamorous and unusual guests, and her growing friendship with the charming but mysterious Sidney Daniels, Maisie is living out adventures instead of just penning them in the pages of her would-be novel’s growing number of chapters.

And then there’s the slight problem of keeping the balance between friendship and ‘something more’ with Sidney, who’s helping introduce her to the village’s version of a Cornish Halloween, and has recently taken an interest in Maisie’s secret that may change things between them. But even Maisie’s imagination can’t conjure the unusual event this Halloween brings to the Penmarrow. An eccentric earl has chosen this site to host his lavish birthday celebration that includes a pretty (and perceptive) young psychic whose predictions seem to have everyone on edge — and, to Maisie’s delight, the elusive novelist Alistair Davies is rumored to be part of the guest list! But with the earl’s bickering relatives and illustrious friends on hand— and more than one ghost of the past waiting to be revealed — it’s anyone’s guess what the festivities will bring before the party is over.

Will the psychic foretell doom for the earl’s gathering—and is her ‘gift’ as genuine as it seems? Will Maisie finally meet her favorite author face to face? And, more importantly, what about the romantic sparks that fly between Maisie and Sidney?

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

He’s got a bit of crazy in his eyes, like all the ex-officers with one too many parades in their past. Guess being rich wasn’t exciting enough, so he went off to war a few times. Probably to cool his homicidal tendencies.

 

But it’s his smile that possesses the magic, not his sense of fashion. Sidney Daniels has an irresistible smile, and he bestowed it on me today as we met. Those hazel brown eyes with sparks of green and gold were alight with unquestionable good humor and playfulness … maybe a little mystery also, if you looked closely…

I was going to grow hot, and flustered, and desperately happy if I wasn’t very careful.

 

 My Review:

 

Maisie’s story is advancing ever so slowly while she is living and working under an alias as her duplicity has yet to be revealed to all, although she is constantly concerned with exposure. Her friendships seem to be progressing with her co-workers while her relationship with Sidney appears to be growing more dear and sweet. Riley’s flirting has landed him in a prickly mess with possible dire consequences from a trigger-happy and eccentric village resident.

 

An interesting and well-heeled family booked the entire hotel for an elaborate one-hundredth-year-birthday celebration of an ancient earl who brought his own medium along as part of his entourage. The wealthy old man’s toady family members appear to be a useless pack of jackals who are as worthless and corrupt as they are skeptical. However, a few revelations left them shaken, was it real or a parlor trick? Everyone has secrets to sweat, lazy sycophants most of all.