This was a brilliant read. As soon as I started reading this book I just knew I was going to love it. Highly recommended

"The Holiday Cottage by the Sea" is the start of another series by Holly Martin and I was looking forward to reading it because the books by the author usually have a wonderful setting.

The setting definitely is absolutely wonderful and I loved the little town in the Sandcastle Bay. All the names already sound the homely and make the characters as well as the reader very welcome. The community is also very heart-warming and special.

Tori Graham is arriving in Sandcastle Bay to recover from a exhausting time in her job as an animator for films and is visiting her two best friend in the small village at the sea.
The story is very heart-warming as well a entertaining. There were some really funny moments, especially with the animals Beast and Dobby. But also Aidans aunt Agatha is one of a kind and the famous matchmaker of the town.

I also enjoyed the lovestory which was really cute and romantic. I also liked that there wasn't too much drama between Tori and Aidan and they were able to talk to each other.

I am looking forward to reading the other two books in the series as I enjoyed all the other characters.

A great summer read for vacationing or a long weekend by the pool. I enjoyed the storyline and characters.

I loved this Holly Martin book. I've read all of her's and this one doesn't disappoint. I really enjoyed the story and the closeness of the villagers. It took me a while to remember who was who as there are a lot of characters but I enjoyed reading about all of them. I hope this turns into a series and we hear about Isla and Melody's story too, keeping up with how Tori and Aiden get on as I'd love to read when he proposes to her, because, lets face it, it will happen!
Thank you for accepting my request for this book, I hope there's another one in this series and if there is I can't wait to read it!

I really enjoy Holly Martin's trilogy and after reading the first book in this one, I am looking forward to reading more about the friends living in Sandcastle Bay. I loved the story, feeling like I was part of this story, spending time with the group of friends as they moved through their lives and relationships.

Tori Graham, needs a break from her bustling life in London. After the end to a relationship, she sets off to Sandcastle Bay to visit her best friend Melody and her sister. She plans to stay for a few weeks, helping with a fruit harvest in exchange for living in a small cottage. On her first day there, she is told by an eccentric lady that she will find her soulmate in Aiden, a local man, and get married. Tori thinks she is a little crazy, but decides that it may be cool to have a little fun. What she doesn't expect is to meet the mysterious Aidan and find him to be smart, handsome and charming. She also finds out that the crazy woman is his aunt. He is also not looking for a relationship as he has not yet gotten over his fiancee leaving him at the alter. We never know what might happen when that one person walks into your life. Will Aunt Agatha's prediction of happily ever after come true or will Tori and Aiden simply have a little fun before she has to go back to London?

The Holiday Cottage by the Sea is exactly what I expect when I read a Holly Martin book. It's sweet, fun, laugh out loud at times, yet emotional. I love the gorgeous setting, wonderful characters, witty banter and great relationships. If you enjoy a great "chick-lit" novel with some dramatic moments such as trying to finish the harvest before the storm, fun moments such as a homemade boat race, laughable moments such as being chased by a turkey who thinks he's a dog, and sweet moments such as those when we meet young Elliot, then you will want to pick up this book and go on a Holiday by the Sea.

Holly Martin has never failed to leave me anything sort of ecstatic after reading her books. Having recently taken a bit of a step back from reading and reviewing I have found myself choosing what to read at leisure and in some cases going back over older books. I came across this on my Kindle and assumed I had read it, until I checked and to my horror realised there were in fact two books by Holly Martin I hadn’t read. Now I do recall reading Coming Home to Maple Cottage which is set in the same place (maybe the cause for my confusion). However, as soon as I realised I hadn’t read this I got stick straight in….and I’m so glad I did.

February is traditionally a rubbish month as the weather is normally gloomy so to immerse myself in a fictional world such as this was just what the Doctor ordered. Sandcastle Bay is a great place (I now this as I read the other book) and I actually knew who Tori was which was a bonus. However for the newcomer that makes no difference as we see Tori visit her friends who are sisters Melody and Isla. Tori’s plan is just to spend a couple of weeks there and as part of the package she gets to stay at Blossom Cottage in return from some Berry picking. Sounds simple!

Tori’s journey into the village sets the tone and had me laughing at the way she is chased into a cafe by a turkey. The second best thing about this book was Agatha who had me laughing from the very beginning. So we meet Tori and her friends Isla and Melody both of whom already live in Sandcastle Bay. We also meet other villagers (some of whom readers of the other two books may recognise). Aidan is the person who Tori is renting the cottage from and when she sees how attractive he is, she wonders whether she has bitten off more than she can chew.

Come may say stories like these are predictable, and maybe in some respects they are right. BUT….I would loathe a book like this to throw me a curve ball. I read these sorts of books as a pick me up and to cheer my day. Holly Martin NEVER fails to do that and this book is a prime example of that. Romance, humour, a real feel-good book and one that I thoroughly enjoyed. I now intend to scour through my books and ensure I am not missing any more of these hidden gems.

A quick and easy tale of loss and love this book will make you feel hopefulness and an intense desire to operate your own farm by the sea.

Not so much a novel of surprises but I still found myself engrossed in the story and particularly the complicated nature of Tori and her best friend Melody's friendship. Their relationship was deep rooted and I loved their loyalty towards each other. The addition of Aiden didn't hurt as he seemed to be a little bit perfect and certainly not someone to dismiss.


This book was charm personified and a good holiday read but I wish it had been longer and had a chance to delve deeper and follow them a bit longer. The characters have so much potential so I'm glad that this appears to be the first book in a series for this cast- I hope we follow these particular people up again!


Thank you to Bookouture for our review copy. All opinions are our own.

Another comical and heartwarming read from Holly Martin, I'm sure this is the first of a set as there just has to be books for the siblings and friends of this books couple.
Follows Tori and Aiden through relationship mayhem as a meddling aunt predicts they are soul mates while Tori is in town visiting friends Isla and Melody (who have stories of their own being set up through this one) loved the comedy these two found themselves thrown into from tattoos to turkey troubles, beastly chaos and boating troubles...laughed out loud loads
Looking forward to re visiting these characters at a later date

Holly is back with a cracker of a book with The Holiday by the Sea - filled with amazing countryside, swoonsome moments and hilarious scenes this is one book that you do not want to miss out on.

While you know where this story is going, I loved being taken on the journey with Tori and Aidan. They both have some hilarious banter that will cause you to giggle. Out loud.

I love reading a Holly Martin book - its like the start of summer is finally real. They are always a joy to read. They make me laugh, cry and swoon over every page.

This was a fab start to this series, and I cannot wait to meet everyone again.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. Perfect holiday read. love books that create such a wonderfully vivid setting that you want to move to Sandcastle Bay to meet your new friends

Having started off the year zipping through books, I seemed to have hit a bit of a slump recently and those books I have read recently I felt there was something missing. And then along comes Holly Martin and ‘The Holiday Cottage By The Sea’ - what a fabulous book!!! I laughed out loud on more than one occasion and want to be part of the Sandcastle Bay Community feel the sun on my face and see those stunning views for myself!!!

And so to the story: Tori works hard as an animator and comes to Sandcastle Bay on a two week working holiday to see her friend Melody. She had been badly let down by men before and is dead set on never letting a man get close to her again. She doesn’t bargain on an old woman predicting she will marry within the year or that the man she will marry is her boss from the farm. He too has been badly let down. Can they put their past behind them and take a risk?

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an Advance Read Copy in exchange for an honest unbiased review.

I found this book to be an easy read, perfect for the beach or, in my case, the backyard deck! I laughed, cried and felt all the emotions of the characters in the book. My favorite character is Beast. What a great dog! The humans were great as well. Tori's story is both sad and heartwarming. I kept hoping she would make good decisions (no spoiler here!).

This is a wonderful novel for summer. It's one of those that are light yet have real emotions in it. I completely enjoyed reading it.

Thank you to NetGalley Bookouture for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review.

How many couples can say a turkey, an eccentric Aunt, and a field of heartberries brought them together? Holiday Cottage by the Sea captures the quirky characters of a small seaside village in telling the romantic tale of Aidan and Tori as they fight to overcome their fears of committment.

I am a massive fan of this author's works, I haven't been disappointed yet and eagerly await the next release so I was delighted when I saw that this book was out now!!

This is such a gorgeous book to read - I loved the cover, the story, the characters and the end - in fact there was nothing or about the book I did not enjoy!!

Holly writes books set in the most delightful locations and I would love to visit them - another five star read - I loved it and it is very highly recommended!!

This book introduces a new place with three women and three men as our leads, with Tori being the first that we are to focus on in this tale.

Tori is a London girl with a deplorable social life and has finally gotten around to visiting her (only) friends in Sandcastle Bay. She brings with her some unmentioned things of the past and not much in the way of expectations for this working holiday. She is to be working picking heartberries for the local farm. The friendship between the three women ( more fodder for the future books) is nice to read about and the relationship that Tori literally falls into seemed a little quick to me,but was good for a light read.

This may not rank amongst my more favourite reads of this genre ( I cannot put my finger on the exact reason) but it is a well written story with endearing characters.

I have been reading every single new release from Holly Martin these past 4 years and lately I have been a bit disappointed by her stories and unfortunately I have been disappointed once again. To be fair, I really enjoyed the first half of the book, but then, I started to find the story a bit too long. Nothing really new happens in the book. The same thing goes over and over during the entire book and it's a bit boring in my opinion. I would have preferred to have more events going on. Also I found this book a little too childish in my opinion. But I liked the setting, the characters and the cover is really lovely!

Holly Martin did it again! I was even contemplating if The Holiday Cottage by the Sea was my new favorite book by her hand, but nothing will ever chance my undying love for Libby and George. So a very close second without a doubt!

Although I absolutely love the main characters Tori and Aidan, I just have to admit the side characters were what made the story such a hit for me! My crush of the month was without a doubt Dobby. I actually hope to see more of that crazy turkey in the next installment of the series. And Agatha... how I laughed my head off with her. Please let there be more of her and her purse full of sexy toys in the next part of the story. I am really dying to know if she will have one hot night with the man from the Italian place. It makes me wonder... will that wacky, old bird get her own book of the series? Because I would definitely read it!

Holly's stories are always uplifting, heartwarming, cute, funny and full of emotions. They are the perfect medicine for a bad day. I have been raving about her books for a long time now to my friends and I always describe them as a "long, hot bath after a very long day at work". But the Holiday Cottage by the Sea doesn't fit into that description. No, the Holiday Cottage by the Sea is more of an ice cream sundae on a very hot day, topped with lots of chocolate sauce, whipped cream and a delicious red cherry on top.

I have been enjoying Holly's stories for many years now and I dare to see that you see her growing as a writer with every book she publishes. Her stories are more sassy then in the beginning and definitely more sexy. And I love that. I love how her very romantic, but passionate scenes just add something more to the story. They make it more real, more intense and they certainly add more butterflies to my stomach. Like I said earlier, it’s the red cherry on top that leaves you completely satisfied.

I fell in love with Sandcastle Bay and it's residents and I can't wait for my next visit to the village. Ever since I read the last page I have been missing all the characters and the little town. The release date of The Cottage on Sunshine bay has been marked on my calendar.

Full review will be posted on my blog on 23/05/2018.

Holly Martin’s ‘The Holiday Cottage by the Sea’ is about Tori Graham, who moves from the hustle and bustle of London to a sleepy little village by the sea called Sandcastle Bay. As you would often expect from a book of the chick lit genre, Tori has a lot of hang-ups about finding love, and is simply heading away for a holiday, with no intention of finding love. Alas, she meets Aidan and feelings develop, and love blossoms. It’s a lovely easy read with a feel good plot and happy ending, so is great as a stand-alone book. However, if you’ve read any of Holly Martin’s previous books then I would sincerely suggest not to bother. Each of Holly’s books have interchangeable names and places, but otherwise the plots are pretty much identical, in such a way that if you’ve read one of her books then you’ve read them all.

Tori Graham needs a holiday after losing herself in her work for far too long, she misses her best friend, Melody Rosewood who is now living in Sandcastle Bay helping to care for her nephew with her family after the loss of her brother. Aidan Jackson is a fruit farmer who owns her holiday cottage who is guarding his heart but is considering something frivolous with his new tenant. Fun read.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Enjoyable. For those who love the sea side and holiday romance. Lovely to escape to the beach with them.