Summer Secrets at Streamside Cottage by Samantha Tonge

 

A new start can come from the most unexpected places...

It's been years since Lizzie Lockhart spoke to her parents. But she was safe in the knowledge she knew everything about them. Once upon a time, they were as close as could be. Until they weren't.

After receiving the earth-shattering news of their passing, Lizzie decides it's time to unearth some family secrets and find out just who her parents really were... starting with Streamside Cottage. A cottage Lizzie never knew existed, in a place she's never heard of: the beautiful English village of Leafton.

Leaving behind London, and the tattoo parlour she called home, Lizzie finds herself moving to the countryside. Faced with a tight-lipped community, who have secrets of their own, Lizzie is at a loss for what to do, until her rather handsome neighbour, Ben, steps in to help.

As Lizzie finally begins to piece together the puzzle of her family history she realises she has to confront the truth of the past in order to face her future.

My Review:

Brilliant! Easily my favourite from this author. I love that we have a really unique main character, and not your standard run-of-the-mill rom com heroine, Lizzie is fabulous and amazingly creative. The book is full of intrigue, sentiment and memories, this story is one to tug on the old heart strings! Lizzie searches for answers, not knowing what or who she may find; this book brings everything you need in – mystery, romance, friendship, and a sense of community. We see the brilliant Lizzie evolve and connect with her past, in more ways than one! I took great pleasure in losing myself in this book for a few hours. I was caught up in what was happening and just wanted the see how things would work out. Let me tell you, everything I expected, or thought didn’t quite work out as I imagined, which I love, I do enjoy being pleasantly surprised. I often say how much I enjoy books set in rural, countryside, smaller communities with fun, locals and this book is exactly the type. Reading them makes me want to up sticks to a village somewhere everyone knows each other and welcomes you with open arms! Pure escapism, what a happy couple of hours reading this book. I highly recommend. Buy links: Amazon: https://amzn.to/31Uuyd2 Kobo: https://bit.ly/3msO5KM Google Play: https://bit.ly/3dCuQdU Bookshop.org: https://bit.ly/3fPAzjm About the author Samantha Tonge lives in Manchester UK with her husband and children. She studied German and French at university and has worked abroad, including a stint at Disneyland Paris. She has travelled widely. When not writing she passes her days cycling, baking and drinking coffee. Samantha has sold many dozens of short stories to women's magazines. She is represented by the Darley Anderson literary agency. In 2013, she landed a publishing deal for romantic comedy fiction with HQDigital at HarperCollins and in 2014, her bestselling debut, Doubting Abbey, was shortlisted for the Festival of Romantic Fiction best Ebook award. In 2015 her summer novel, Game of Scones, hit #5 in the UK Kindle chart and won the Love Stories Awards Best Romantic Ebook category. In 2018 Forgive Me Not heralded a new direction into darker women's fiction with publisher Canelo. In 2019 she was shortlisted for the Romantic Novelists' Association romantic comedy award. Follow Samantha: Facebook: @SamanthaTongeAuthor Twitter: @SamTongeWriter Instagram: @samanthatongeauthor

BLOGTOUR: The Place We Call Home - Faith Hogan

About the book:
 

Welcome to Ballycove, the home of Corrigan Mills...

 

Set against the backdrop of the beautiful Irish countryside the famed mills have created the finest wool in all of Ireland. Run by the seemingly perfect Corrigan family, but every family has its secrets, and how the mills came to be the Corrigan's is one of them...

Miranda and her husband were never meant to own the mills, until one fateful day catapults them into a life they never thought they'd lead.

Ada has forever lived her life in her sister's shadow. Wanting only to please her mother and take her place as the new leader of the mill, Ada might just have to take a look at what her heart really wants.

Callie has a flourishing international career as a top designer and a man who loves her dearly, she appears to have it all. When a secret is revealed and she's unceremoniously turfed out of the design world, Callie might just get what's she's been yearning for. The chance to go home.

Simon has always wanted more. More money, more fame, more notoriety. The problem child. Simon has made more enemies than friends over the years, and when one of his latest schemes falls foul he'll have to return to the people who always believe in him.

Ballycove isn't just a town in the Irish countryside. It isn't just the base of the famous mills. It's a place to call home.

My Review:

I’m a fan of Hogan’s work and jumped at the opportunity to get stuck into ‘The Place We Call Home.’ She is an amazing storyteller – whisking us to beautiful locations and giving us a fantastic array of characters, some you love the bones of but some you simply can’t stand, just how we do in life I think.

With this book, we have themes of family, friendships and deep-seated secrets and desires, as well as feeling like we belong. We are taken on quite the journey and are given some great characters; they are funny and successful, full of love and heart and of course have that Irish charm that can land them in a whole heap of trouble. Typically, they are all searching for their own happiness but are they going to find it back in Ballycove, back home.  

It is a nicely paced story, so well written especially moving between past and present. This gorgeous saga kept me engrossed for hours. I simply didn’t want to put it down once I’d started – so prepare, give yourself a whole afternoon and get cosy!

Buy links

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2reRKDx

Kobo: https://bit.ly/2JZqjEn
Google Play: https://bit.ly/2X1zd9T

iBooks: https://apple.co/33oLQhm

About the author 

Faith lives in the west of Ireland with her husband, four children and two very fussy cats. She has an Hons Degree in English Literature and Psychology, has worked as a fashion model and in the intellectual disability and mental health sector.

Follow Faith:   

Twitter: @GerHogan

Facebook: @faithhoganauthor