I've definitely slowed down with my reading since the summer - my only book this month was Swimming To Lundy by Amanda Prowse. This was one of the choices from the online book club run by Leslie.
The main character in this book is Tawrie Gunn who is feeling that life is passing her by. Still living in the same house in the same seaside town where she was born but tethered to the family home following the tragedy of her father being lost at sea when she was small. Her mother's grief has resulted in her becoming an alcoholic and Tawrie feels that she has to stay home to help her grandmother to look after her.
As time moves on she feels that there has to be more to life than working in her cousin's cafe, and Tawrie dreams of training to becoming a nurse and then midwife which would be more fulfilling. Feeling desperate for some kind of change, no matter how small, Tawrie joins the Peacock Swimmers who take a daily swim in the sea. Unbeknown to Tawrie, there are only two other swimmers but nonetheless she joins the group, swimming in the sea which separates the coastline from Lundy Island which is where her dad drowned. Being in that area of sea makes Tawrie feel closer to her dad and she finds comfort in talking to him whilst in the water which took his life.
An unexpected encounter with a man named Ed who is visiting the area leads to romance. Little does Tawrie know that this was not the first time that they met and they aren't the strangers she thought they were. Furthermore, Ed has a past which he is not in a hurry to reveal.
This is a book which is a bit of a slow burner! I did enjoy it but it seemed to take a long time to come together. I felt that Tawrie really needed to have a bit more 'get up and go' but it was clever how the stories of Tawrie and Harriet are intertwined and I enjoyed the description of the location of the story which brought back happy memories of holidays on that part of the English coastline. If you are looking for an easy read this is a good book to try!