Coming Home to the Windmill by the Sea is the third book in the Anglesey series. However, any of these books can be read as a stand alone. I had previously read Secrets by the Cottage by the Sea, and really looked forward to reading this book.

Beth and Megan had been best friends since childhood, growing up in Anglesey, up in North Wales. In their senior year, something happens and the friendship seems to be over. Beth goes to Oxford, then marries Hugo and becomes very successful in her field in London. They also have a son. Lewis. Beth rarely comes back to the island. Meanwhile, Megan has become almost a shut in, living in a little cottage having never married. Her brother Ioan, recently separated from his wife, and his 2 children are the only people she interacts with on a regular basis.

One night Beth gets a call from her mother that her father has passed away. She is struggling with her job, and decides to go home and help her mother, and her brother Ziggy who has stayed and helps his parents and others around the island. She is nervous to go back, but also hopeful that she can reconnect with Megan and Ioan. We learn that Beth's parents had an interesting marriage, they loved each other but were very different. Her father was a musician and singer, and her mother was very proper. Beth and her brother Ziggy know very little about their parents pasts. This comes into play in the rest of the novel. There are secrets to be discovered about her mother's past, as they soon discover that she has Alzheimers, and keeps talking about a place that they know nothing about.

Caroline Young writes stories that are propelled forward through a deep exploration and development of characters and relationships. We see all the characters strengths and flaws that have caused tension, and this is what carries the story and makes it so relatable. Through the friendship, innocence and confusion of the two girls in their youth, to the heartache, anxiety, loneliness, and even hope in their present lives of the experiences they have had as older women, the author writes a book that is thought provoking and engaging. It is through each characters exploration of their own preconceptions and experiences that drive the story.

The author also does an amazing job of describing Anglesey and the tone of the story wraps tightly around the setting. I love it when authors craft their book and the setting is an important part of the story- a visceral, physical element that adds to the tone and atmosphere.

This is not an quick read rom-com where everything is light. This is a very honest portrayal of more mature characters coming together and working as a community to encourage, support, love and heal with each other. It is not dark, but it is honest.

My only problem, thus the 4 star rating, is that there were quite a few plotlines. They were tied together and in the end, worked well. However, I felt that in this story everything wrapped up perfectly. After what we went through with the characters, it was almost too tidy. however, I still loved it. I was invested in these people's lives, and was rooting for them all the way. I eagerly look forward to reading the author's next book!

If you like well thought out books, with great insight into mature characters and seeing them grow, and a magical setting that takes center stage, and a book filled with love, forgiveness and hope, then this is the book for you!!

Thank you NetGalle and Storm Publishing. This is my honest and voluntary review!

This is the first book I've read by Caroline Young and I absolutely adored it. I will certainly be adding her other books to my tbr list.

The characters Caroline has created are so believable, as are their stories.
I love how real they are. Beth and Megan, best friends since childhood, driven apart by jealousy over a boy. How they find their way back to each other, learning to forgive both each other and themselves.

I laughed and cried along with them and their families and friends as they experienced life's ups and downs.

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the digital ARC. All opinions are my own.

after the death of her father Beth goes back to the island of Anglesey to be with her mother, she meets up with her former best friend, Megan, they haven't spoken in years. will they get their friendship back?

Many thanks to NetGalley and to Storm Publishing for letting me see an advance copy of COMING HOME TO THE WINDMILL BY THE SEA by Caroline Young.

This is Book 3 in the WELCOME TO ANGLESEY series, but it was my first literary trip to the island.

Beth and Megan were best friends once. Soul mates, even. Then Beth betrayed her friend and ran away to England, where she remained for the next 20+ years. When she finally returned home, the prodigal daughter she was not. Could she build bridges, repair deep wounds, or, more importantly, get her friend back? Only time and circumstances would tell.

This was a BIG story. A very big story. And one I felt was not given adequate space in which to unfold. There's a lot of narrative, a LOT, and it reads more like an overview, or a precis, an outline, than an actual novel, and I was chomping at the bit for more.

For example, I didn't want to be TOLD that Ioan (pronounced Yo-Wan, I think) took his 'small watercolour palette and...sketchpad' out with them to paint 'whatever was laid out before them...' I wanted to SEE him do it, experience it with him, be SHOWN the colours he used or how he applied paint to paper.

The sights and sounds of the island were so beautifully described, but I wanted to experience it all with the characters that peopled the book.

There was too much telling and not enough showing for me, and I do feel that if the story had been given the time and space it deserved, then it might have made 4 to 6 lovely books and one gorgeous omnibus rather than one 6-part book. It deserved more, so much more.

I found the constant Welsh language interruptions just that – interruptions, that got so tedious I ended up skipping them. And I felt the book relied a bit too heavily on the classic poetry and literature quoted throughout. The amount quoted would have been disguised a lot more in a bigger book, but this book was too short for the percentage actually quoted.

There was some sloppy editing too, and some repetition in places, all of which could have been tidied up in a thorough proof-read. 

Saying that, it was an intriguing story that spanned around 18 months, it is very well written, and the setting truly was beautiful. A lot of work clearly went into the writing of the story. I just think the book should have been longer, a lot longer, with more action and more detailed scenes rather than the solid narrative I also ended up skipping.

Four stars.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Coming Home to the Windmill by the Sea was written by Caroline Young and I’m giving it a 4.⭐️. This was my first read by the author and the story was centered around two women that lost their friendship over a boy. It’s fifteen years later Beth has to come home for her father’s funeral and this and many other things will bring Megan and her family full circle.
It was a coming of age sort of book and had in some ways the feel of Amanda Prowse. I did enjoy it.
Thanks Storm Publishing via NetGalley.

Delightful
A grand gentle read about life, finding yourself back where you once thought you couldn't wait to get away from and the liberating feeling of leaving secrets behind

Two young ladies who were once friends find themselves back together again in this fabulous book by Caroline Young.

Thank you for allowing me to review this book. I enjoyed reading this book and found the story quite interesting. It is an easy read, with lovely descriptions of the countryside and weather in Anglesey. It would make a good read for those who enjoy romance and gentle fiction.

Beth and Megan had grown up together in a small village on Anglesey but after an incident she deeply regretted, Beth left to find a place for herself as far away as she could get. When her father dies, she returns home, and knows she has to face her friends, family and the villagers, who are never slow to show what they think of her actions.

This is part of a series but easily a standalone read. It’s about family, regrets, acceptance, and the realisation that nobody’s perfect. We all make mistakes, and that the best way forward is to own up to your mistakes and get on with your life. It’s easy to think that people are talking about you, know what you’ve done and how you’ve behaved. But really most people are just trying to get through their own lives

The characters felt real, as did the problems that came up, the sense of community was good and I liked the use of Welsh with its translations too. There were several storylines, again as there are in real life, and the epilogue rounded things off nicely, while still leaving an opening for another in this series. A really good read, dealing with some dark themes but with a sense of fun too, I loved Ziggy and would be interested in what happens to him next. Recommended.

4⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for an advanced copy of Coming Home To The Windmill By The Sea.

Beth and Megan have been friends since they were little girls but now Beth is heading away to college and Megan is staying with the boy she loves to write poetry. Fast forward twenty years and Beth is newly divorced with a son heading to college and Megan is a recluse living in a dilapidated home in their hometown and they have not spoken to each other in many years. But when Beth’s father passes away she returns to her hometown to take care of her mother. She also wants to make amends with Megan for betraying her all those years ago and ruining their friendship. But the longer Beth stays in town the more she wonders if this is where she belongs.

This is the third book in the series and I enjoyed the book. The characters were easy to identify with and the story had my attention from the beginning.

Thank you netgalley and publishers for an advanced copy of this book for my honest opinion. Set on the beautiful island of Anglesey, this book tells the story of two friends, who had once been very close, brought back together after 15 years of no contact. As the story unfolds,we meet each of the women's families, some interesting local community members and more importantly, the reason why the woman lost contact with each other. Love,loss and making amends make this an emotional but also an uplifting story. I particularly liked the Welsh worded aspects within the story especially as I was reading this whilst staying in Wales.

This book had me with goosebumps from the blurb. It's is just the type of book I love to come across. And straight away I was hooked.
It's shows how decisions are met by each of us in such different ways.Depending on how we are in ourselves, what the other communicates and then where our paths lead us. And after Beth decides to leave her young best friend for a busier life the two girls handle this and life very differently. But what also happened was a loss. A loss of a friendship and therefore so much time with so much left unsaid.
It's such a successful writing of emotions. It's hard but delicate and it's breakable but strong. Similar reflecting the characters. Meghans story in particular was so sensitive and touching it did have me a little emotional.
And the parts written about Beth's son was very well done. And shows how even as parents or for thosee we love we don't always get it right. But it's how we tread from realising that. And Beth's effort were brilliant.
Coming home Beth takes a chance to do the work to make things right. I loved finding out if and how this could be done.

What an amazing, heart warming story of two friends. Friendship lost only to be regained. And love, that while it took awhile, was finally found. From the author's description, I would love Anglesey!

Thank to the publisher and NetGallery for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

Beth and Megan lived on a small island in Northern Wales. They were the best of friends - until a boy got between them. Beth went on to college and had a great career. When her mother called her back, when Megan's father died, Megan rediscovers what she had left behind. She also begins to learn deeply held secrets - and that some of her secrets were no secret in this tiny town.

Circumstances cause Megan to decide to stay. There, she begins to spread her wings and grow her roots by reconnecting.

This is a great story of rebirth, regenerating a friendship, finding yourself and your family.

It's a wonderful read. Anytime a Welsh term is used, the English translation immediately follows.

A lovely and atmospheric summer read, would be perfect as on location read! Really enjoyed it, kept be interested throughout , good characters.

Beth returns to her childhood home on the island of Anglesey after her father’s unexpected death to care for her mother. Leaving behind her successful London life, she faces her strained relationships with her childhood best friend Megan, and Megan's brother Ioan, with whom she has a complicated past. Amid family struggles and personal challenges, Beth seeks forgiveness and healing while reconnecting with her roots. Set in a beautiful coastal community, this touching, heartfelt story explores themes of friendship, reconciliation, and personal growth, blending trials, triumphs, and the passage of time in a deeply emotional and realistic narrative.

This is an excellent read. It takes in what happens when life hits hard. Megan and Beth were childhood bestie and only really had each other. One silly teenage mistake later and they are mid forties, haven’t spoken since their a level summer and are totally different people. The island they live on has preserved so many parts of what made them friends but also holds harmful secrets which still hurts them as mature women, The abscesses that they are their families have are slowly looked at and the healing of beach life, stormy life and village life takes ahold and starts to heal them both,
There are some lovely quotes from female writes of classic literature, perhaps a few too many peppered through the book, but it is none the poorer for them.

A remarkable story of love, loss, friendship and relationships. Caroline Young truly captures the emotions of her characters along with the wilds and beauty of the setting for the book in Anglesey.
Beth Macintosh hasnt been back to her childhood home in many years, she has a high flying career and a prestigious home and lifestyle shared with her husband, she doesn't to spend time with her family on the Island, her mother and fathers lifestyle and that of her brother are far from Beth's idea of how a family should be. And there's also the secrets left very much in the past.
When Beth's fathers death coincides with unexpected redundancy, she returns home. The tight knit community appear to have not forgot Beth's past either especially how she treated her teenage best friend Megan and how she's left her brother to care for her family without a second thought.
With time for reflection on her life and the alarming reality of her past colliding with her present, Beth starts to try and gain the trust of the villagers and more importantly that of old friendships.
A beautiful and emotional story of second chances and reflection.

Thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was book three in this series set in Anglesey, Beth left years ago, it has come home after her father has died. Beth’s son follows soon after dropping out of University. Beth crosses paths with friends that she’s not seen since she’s been eighteen.

This book offers a beautiful exploration of friendship, relationships, and the mixed nature of family. With its relatable characters and emotional richness, it is a compelling read that leaves a lasting impression. An emotional 5 star read.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy.

Another feel good story. The ups and downs of life, mistakes made in younger days and finding peace at last. The story is based on life on the island of Angelsey. Lots of community spirit and family interactions, bright ideas and every thing comes right in the end.