Very Charming

Coming Home To Bellbird Bay by Maggie Christensen is the most charming second book in the Bellbird Bay series which is heartwarming and welcoming.

The book can be read as a stand-alone. I am always delighted to meet up with familiar characters and locations.

The story is about second chances and new beginnings. Both lead characters have lost their partners. One has coped for years as a single parent. The other has nursed her husband through dementia. The man he was, died piece by piece. The memory of him remains. “Russ will always be with me, wherever I am.”

A well-meaning sister tries her hand at match-making. The attempt is obvious but the couple prove to be perfectly capable of making their own alliances.

The leading characters are in their sixties, still with plenty of life to live. Some of the grown-up children cannot believe that their mother could actually have a life outside of their needs. “Don’t let our kids stand in your way. It’s your decision, not theirs.” We will always want to help our children but we do not want them to dictate our pathways.

Home is not found in bricks. Home is found in people. “Home is where she [Mum] is.” A mother is the lynchpin of the family. A mother will always be there for her children but she has to live her life, and let them live theirs. “We can’t protect them from themselves. They’re both old enough to make their own decisions. All we can do is be there when they need us – if they’ll let us.”

It is delightful to watch new romances blossoming in the different generations.

All the characters were well drawn and believable. The setting of Bellbird Bay is welcoming with its’ friendly residents, peace and tranquillity. I am looking forward to returning to Bellbird Bay again and again.

JULIA WILSON