Member Reviews

Beautiful and romantic timeslip novel set in Cornwall.

Recovering from a trauma, Elinor finds solace in the ruins of an ancient cottage. Slipping between present day and the War of the Roses in the 15th Century, Elinor finds herself transported to a world that she does not recognise and a man she feels an intense connection with.

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what a brilliant book to read nice to be taken into your own little world and enjoy the thrills of having the same husband in a different era a lovely love story with an easy read once started you have to keep going to finish it quickly

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This was an interesting premise for a book- Elinor experiences trauma in her work as an air stewardess, and retreats to Cornwall to recover.

Once there she discovers that she can time travel to the past where she meets a ravishing hero.

Whilst the concept was good, I found this book quite hard to get into. Some of the characters were very two dimensional and I found the dialogue quite stilted.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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I couldn't tear into it. It was kind of a chore to read. The story was ok, characters were good but it kind of felt like I was carrying around the pain the victim endured. That wasn't fun. I want more of a relaxing read.

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Elinor settles in Cornwall and seems to be able to transport back in time. I found the book hard to get into but worth persevering.

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Echoes on a Cornish River by Kate Ryder

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Embla Books and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Blurb

Ellinor lived for adventure, always travelling from one place to the next - until tragedy struck and turned her world upside down. Needing to escape, she accepts an invitation to stay with relatives at their remote Cornish farmhouse.

As Ellinor settles on the outskirts of Calstock, it's not long before the land and its history have her itching to explore once more. Her search takes her far and wide when an unexpected encounter with an enigmatic, handsome stranger stops her in her tracks.

From the moment they meet, Ellinor knows deep in her soul they share a connection like no other. It's as if they've known each other forever. But no one else has heard of William... Is he all that he claims to be?

Could their love story be written in the stars? Or will past secrets threaten to alter the very future Ellinor has begun to let herself hope for?

My Opinion

Even having read the blurb for this, this was not what I expected. This was my first book by Kate Ryder but I am sure that I will be back for more. This was such an enchanting read and the timeslips were surprisingly easy to follow. This would make for a lovely holiday read especially if you are a fan of historical fiction.

Rating 4/5

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A brilliant read and one I really enjoyed. The characters are loveable and varied, the plot is one that is engaging and medium paced. I found myself completely drawn into the story and enjoyed the writing style.

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Thanks to netgalley for the chance to read this book.

When tragedy strikes and turns Ellinor’s world upside down she decides to take up the invitation to stay with her relatives in a remote Cornish farmhouse on the outskirts of Calstock.

She starts to explore the history of the land and her search takes her fat and wide. A stranger called William stops her in her tracks and from the moment they meet she knows they share a e. But no one else has heard of William - who is he and why has no one heard of him?

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Thanks to Embla Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in return for my honest review.

As a lover and regular visitor of Cornwall, I was really drawn to the blurb of this story and the book didn't disappoint.

The author, Kate Ryder, has woven an enchanting, mystical story. The descriptions of locations and the characterisations had me hooked from the very start and kept me going until the end.

Really enjoyed reading this magical summer read and would recommend if you want to read a book featuring Cornwall that is different to many others out there.

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Following a traumatic experience while working as an air hostess, Ellinor is struggling to recover her equilibrium. She accepts an invitation from her cousin to stay in East Cornwall where she experiences time slip moments and encounters that eventually aid her recovery, as well as awakening a desire to explore the history of the area. An interesting read.

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This was a weird story. I cant quite wrap my head around it at all. What is it supposed to be? Womens fiction/romance etc thats how its advertised, but there is also scifi in terms of time travel, and medieval fantasy.

For me it was just too disjointed and it made me uncomfortable knowing how easily she was cheating on her husband and not caring about it in any way, whilst he was supporting her and giving her space to recover from a traumatic event. If it were the other way around this would be a very different and i dont think it would have been written. For me it was dressing up adultery and betrayal in some sort of twisted outlander style romance and it just doesnt work.

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Wow what a book! This was the first book by this author that I've read and I cannot wait to read more.
I loved the timeslip in this book and really got my brain thinking, everything is possible after all!
Mind blowing, I loved it!

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A very well written and researched novel dealing with dual timelines, being present day and going back many years. I would recommend this book to all and I am giving it 5 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for this ARC


.

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This is a really good time slip novel and a really great read.
Its historical facts are well researched and having visited Cotehele on many occasions I could really imagine my self there.
A beautifully written love story which lasted through the centuries with a beautiful ending
.Great holiday read
Can’t recommend it enough

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A dual timeline story , present day and the later part of the 15th century. Full of history the book had been well researched.
It was a well written story which flowed well between the two timelines . Descriptions were stunning and the characters were interesting to the reader.
A very enjoyable book which I would recommend.
Thank you to Netgalley, Embla Books and Kate Ryder for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review

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The story begins with a violent event that shocks the reader. Six months later, mental health problems and emotional damage plague Ellinor, affecting her daily life and relationships. Her husband is a lovely, loving, understanding character, trying to find ways for his wife to regain her vivre for life. The chance to visit family in Cornwall is the starting point for her recovery and an unusual supernatural experience. Believably created timeslip with well-researched historical detail brings the setting and time to vibrant life. It's an emotional, immersive story with lyrical writing and powerful sensory imagery. The gentle love story and connection with the present keep the reader engaged in this escapist read. I enjoyed the complex characterisation, the supernatural ethos and the epic romance.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

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Echoes on a Cornish River is another great time-slip novel by Kate Ryder. I have enjoyed her other books but this one is my favorite after Secrets of the Mist.

Ellinor is a flight attendant who is injured during an attempted high-jacking on one of her flights. The incident causes extreme PTSD.. Her relationship with her husband Simon suffers and she feels that she will never get her old life back. To help her recover, Ellinor and Simon visit her cousin Ian and his wife Pippa at their apple farm in Cornwall, a farm that used to be part of the Cotehele estate, While staying with her cousin Ellinor stumbles upon a dilapidated cottage that seems eerily familiar. Ian asks Simon to help him with marketing the farm, and their apple cider business and so Simon and Ellinor decide to purchase the cottage and renovate it as a holiday home. Then Ellinor finds herself drawn into another time. She meets William who looks exactly like Simon. At first Ellinor thinks that the visions are a manifestations of her trauma and PTSD, but slowly she realizes that she is stumbling through time to 1483 and Buckingham’s rebellion against Richard III. As she slips back and forth in time she keeps meeting William and falls in love with him, but how can their love be? They live in different time periods and she is married to and loves Simon very much. As she tries to warn William of Buckingham’s rebellion and the tragic fate of the rebels of which William will be one, she tries to find out what happened to him in her future,

I enjoyed the history and time-slip element of this book. The PTSD was handled well and I felt the ending was a satisfying way to tie up the story. I highly recommend for fans of Barbara Erskine and Susanna Kearsley.

Thanks to Netgalley, Embla publishing and the author for the chance to read and review this book

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I have loved all of Kate Ryder's books so far, but Echoes on a Cornish River is in my opinion her best work yet. It is a wonderful time slip romance, a lesson in Cornish history, a travel guide and a nature trek through Cornwall and so much more.

Elli is a flight attendant who is the victim of a terrifying incident in mid flight which leaves her with PTSD. She has become a person she no longer recognises, no longer able to relate to her husband and terrified of strangers.

When Elli and her husband go on a weekend trip to visit her cousin in Cornwall the story becomes atmospheric and creepy especially when the raven she has seen at home appears in Cornwall. The descriptions of the timeslip incidents are so realistic that some had the hairs on the back of my neck standing up and I could really picture what Elli was seeing.

As more and more elements from the past are brought to the present and the story of Henry VII's fight for the throne and how it involved people from Cornwall is fascinating especially as Elli knows the truth but cannot reveal it except to William.

It is apparent early on in the story that Elli has been drawn to Cornwall for a reason, and Kate has done an exceptional job to weave an intricate and beautiful story of a woman who is a person lost in the present and becomes a person able to find herself in the past, especially through her love for William. I was on the edge of my seat wondering how the story would end, would Elli try and make it in the present with Simon or would she want to stay in the past with William. Kate gave us an absolutely perfect ending which I have to say I was not expecting.

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Echoes on a Cornish River is my third outing with Kate Ryder and, I have to say, my favourite so far.
I love timeslips and this one draws you in with the benefits of a beautiful backdrop and a haunting love affair.
I quickly settled into the story of Ellinor, who experienced a traumatic event while on a flight to Dubai. She has been off sick ever since, away from the job of flight attendant that she loved, and receiving regular counselling sessions. When her cousin Ian and his wife Pippa invite her and husband Simon for a weekend break at his farm in Cornwall, Ellinor is keen to go. The counselling is not working and her relationship with Simon is suffering. Maybe a change of scenery will help.
Gradually Ellinor learns to relax, but returning to the ruins of a cottage she saw while out walking with Pippa, something unexpected happens.
This is a wonderful story. It’s well written, and for me, the reader, it conjured up everything I remember about the lush green Cornish countryside. It was also a book which involved two stories; present day and 15th century England at the time of the War of the Roses. Ellinor’s movements from present day to past and back were well handled, as was the historic detail. There’s magic and romance – although the latter isn’t central to the story. It’s more about healing and the way Ellinor’s experiences took her in a different direction with different choices. Ian and Pippa were not only farmers, they were business people. They saw opportunities and capitalised on them. Neither were under any illusions that their new lifestyle was an easy one, but they were both committed to their new way of life. It was something that soon had Ellinor reassessing her own life plan.
There is a lot of detail in this book which clearly took a lot of hard work and research. The end result is a magical summer read. Highly recommended.
My thanks to Kate Ryder, Embla Books and Netgalley for an ARC of Echoes on a Cornish River in exchange for an honest review.

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Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this new book from Kate Ryder!

Ellinor works as a flight attendant, but something when a traumatic happens which makes her unable to carry on living the life she was. After the incident, it’s hard to get back to normal, and she’s not sure how long it’ll take.

Her cousin asks her and Simon, her husband to spend a weekend in. Cornwall, at their farmhouse. Whilst Ellinor is there, she finds new hope and helps put everything that’s happened into perspective.

The story is written over two timelines, now and the later part of the fifteenth century in Cornwall. I loved the history. It’s very well-written, full of hope and love.

I highly recommend this book.

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