Troubled by grief and discontent, 16 year old Tamsyn is desperate to fill a void. Beset by an acute sense of longing only heightened by the death of her father and the prospect of her mother moving on with a man Tamsyn loathes, she leaps at the chance to align herself with the illustrious Davenports.

Escapism has presented itself in the form of Edie and her parents, their allure made doubly enchanting by their holiday home and its attendant familial associations.

Amanda Jennings’ masterful storytelling, which sees her expertly ratchet up the tension, makes for a truly compelling novel. I couldn’t stop thinking about ‘The Cliff House’ for days after I’d read it- Jennings deserves that this compelling and evocative book brings her an even wider audience. A triumph.

I nearly gave up on this book, the beginning was very slow and written in the present tense, which I found irritating. I was so glad I stuck with it; it quickly developed into a beautiful story, largely about a teenage girl's obsession with the cliff house and the family who live there, but also about how a young family deal with the sudden death of the father. It is very well written, characters are realistic, and the descriptions of Cornwall make you feel like you are walking along the cliff path.

A thoroughly good read very intense relationships between all the main characters a very disfunctional family who in theory had it all seen through the eyes of a very troubled young girl who was grieving the loss of her father she was drawn to the cliff house and that is were all the story evolves and it certainly draws you in excellent novel

I still have chills down my spine. Tamsyn is obsessed with Cliff House and the family whose holiday home it is. She watches them from a distance with binoculars. One summer changes everybody's lives. The question that is going to haunt me is how much did Tamsyn influence what happened. Was she totally innocent and had no influence or did she manipulate events? This book is really well written and the characters are well developed and believable.

'The Cliff House' is great exploration of envy and jealousy and the impact of those emotions on people's actions.

Tamsyn adores the Cliff House and sees it as utter perfection. Meanwhile the family who live there take it for granted and don't deserve it in Tamsyn's eyes.

The narrative flits between Tamsyn's point of view and that of other characters, alongside an occasional glimpse of present day, which is a mystery which unravels skilfully throughout the novel until everything is explained in the last chapter.

Thank you for supplying me a copy of The Cliff House to review. Unfortunately this was a Did Not Finish for me. The writing style was heavy and I couldn't connect with the book at all. I was hoping due to the setting of the book and timeline I would enjoy this, but feel it just wasn't for me at all.
As This book was the read in its entirety I will not be including the review else where.

The story is about two girls, Tamsyn and Edie who make friends during the summer of 1986. Tamsyn loves the big white house on the cliff where Edie is spending the summer, she used to go there with her dad before he died and it’s where she feels closest to him. To Edie the house feels like a prison and all she wants is to escape from it.
Tamsyn’s family are struggling to survive, while Edie’s family are wealthy. Tamsyn wants what Edie has but doesn’t realise that things are not what they seem. The story follows the ups and downs of the girls and their families as the summer progresses.
A good book about obsession and envy which causes problems for both families with an unexpected ending. Looking forward to the next book from this author.

This story is about obsession, obsession with wealth and privilege and a more focussed obsession with a house. A local girl thinks that she really wants the trappings that come with a privileged life style and befriends the daughter of the house. The unfolding story describes how the friendship progresses and then falls apart which is quite predictable. The main character is prepared to do anything to achieve her goal. There is a twist at the end which I felt demonstrates the shallowness of the girl's approach to wealth. I quite enjoyed the story but felt it fits into the "holiday reading" category. For me it lacked depth and felt rather one dimensional with only a few characters.

I really wanted to enjoy this book but finished it feeling that there could have been more to it. It did feel slow at times but an OK read overall.

I wanted to read this as I don’t read many YA books and I thought this sounded interesting.
Easy to read and well written. It was a little too slow paced for me but enjoyable.

Wow, what a book. Set mostly in the summer of 86 in Dorset. This is the s tory of Tamsyn, a girl from a working class family and Edie, rich girl who lives in Cliff House. This story is about friendship, envy, jealousy between the girls and involving both Edie's parents, Eleanor and Max and Tamsyn's mother, grandfather and brother. The ending is tumultuous, I don't want to add .spoilers, but a slight shocking ending. Preserve the slow beginning and the book will draw you in. Well written, so full marks to Amanda Jennings.

This book was a page turner, the story had me entranced from the start. I liked the way it unfolds. Highly recommended

Many thanks to Netgalley and Amanda Jennings for the copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.

The author intended the house to be a character in its own right - it didn't work, it was only a holiday home! The "us and them" theme was very dated for the 1980s (granfer- really?). The crazy thoughts of Tamsyn in between the action were tedious and skippable. Dated and melodramatic.

Slow paced and very atmospheric. Felt Cornish, good story and strong characters. But left me wondering a bit at the end. Well worth the read though.

Cliff House is twisty and dark, and keeps you reading. Its poetic descriptions and characterisation grab the reader straight away and draw them in. Very readable, kept me coming back.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book about a teenage girl grieving the loss of her father in.a small Cornish village and being fascinated by the house on the cliff he loved, and its new occupants. She gets drawn into their lives with unexpected outcomes for everyone. Well written, great characters

Mixed feelings on this one - I think it's one of those books that some people will love and will leave others cold.
I quite enjoyed it but found the pace rather slow, and a few of the characters felt like caricatures (IMHO).

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC.

Really couldn't get into this book, no matter how hard I tried. Not for me sadly.

It didn't take long for this story to suck me in. I enjoyed reading it and found myself intrigued by all aspects. The descriptions are beautiful and this is such a well written story, you can picture everything. Tense and emotional at times. I didn't love the ending which was a shame, but it did work.

This is the first book I have read by this Author. It is a beautifully written story which draws you in very slowly and before you know it you are captivated. A story of friendship, love and obsession.
Tamysn is lonely, her dad died years ago and she watches the Cliff House with binoculars imaging the luxurious life of the people who live there. One day she goes for a swim in the Cliff House thinking it is empty and she meets Edie and they become friends. Soon Tamsyn wants to be there all the time but Edie’s family are not as successful and nice as she thinks they are.

I really enjoyed reading this book, the stunning writing was captivating and just draws you into the book. Many thanks to Amanda Jennings and Netgalley for a copy of this book for my honest review.