The Wisteria Tree Cottage - Holly Martin

 

Get swept away to the sparkling Welsh coast this summer, where the sea glitters in the sunshine and love is in the air. From the bestselling author of The Blossom Tree of Dreams, this is the perfect romantic treat to escape with this summer

Meadow has only ever loved one man – the very gorgeous Bear Brookfield. Ever since they were children she’s dreamed of marrying him under the green canopy of Wishing Wood. But when a teenage kiss that held such promise was followed by a series of misunderstandings, Meadow lost all hope of a future with Bear. Years later, Meadow and Bear remain best friends, despite Meadow marrying and divorcing Bear’s brother Heath. Yet she’s sure there’s no chance they’ll be anything more.

What Meadow doesn’t know is that Bear has only ever loved one woman too. He was heartbroken when Meadow married Heath, certain she chose his brother over him. But there’s more to Meadow and Heath’s marriage than anyone knows...

With both Meadow and Bear convinced they can only ever be friends they set one another a dating challenge – will they meet their perfect match online, as Bear thinks, or in person at a dating event, like Meadow believes? Or will they finally discover that their soul mate has been right there in front of them, secretly loving them, all along?

Once you’ve arrived in Wishing Wood you’ll never want to leave! Treat yourself to a summer of love with this feel-good, heartwarming and deliciously romantic tale. Perfect for fans of Sarah Morgan, Jill Mansell and Sue Moorcroft

To purchase - click HERE

My Review:

I will always abandon my TBR mountain to read a Holly Martin book first. Never failing to provide us with fantastic characters, brilliant locations and storylines that warm the heart and soul. You may tell I am a big fan of hers, every ‘series’ seems to top the last in which will be my favourite (it’s genuinely hard to pick though!) and ‘The Wisteria Tree Cottage’ is firmly up there with the greats.

Bear and Meadow are characters we came to know and love in ‘ The Blossom Tree of Dreams.’  Although you can read this book as a standalone, I do recommend reading the first – just because it is a lovely story!

We already know these two characters have feelings for each other but for various reasons don’t feel they can act upon them so it was great to see how Holly would actually create their story and allow us to see if they’d get together.

I wasn’t expecting it to be smooth sailing, and it isn’t at all – cue misunderstandings, drama, online dates and connections. There are some very sweet moments, coupled with comedy – I couldn’t stop chuckling at some of the antics and thought Meadow was great for giving things a go.

It was nice to hear more from Meadows daughter Star, who is intent on catching the antics of the wildlife nearby, especially when a wolf may be on the prowl!

I loved catching up with this great group of characters, and I am really looking forward to the next visit. The setting couldn’t be more dreamy if Holly tried; I wish I could take a trip.

A perfect read, especially if you will be relaxing by the pool or on the beach. I cannot recommend this enough.

Thank you to Holly for the opportunity to read and review.  

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

The Cottage of Curiosities - Celia Anderson

 

 

Return to 59 Memory Lane with a new novel from the Kindle Top Ten bestselling author Celia Anderson!

’A brilliantly original and enchanting tale’ Sun ‘Wonderful characters make this a great read’ Good Housekeeping ‘Truly unique…unforgettable’ Woman’s Weekly

Grace Clarke is shocked to learn at the age of fifty-six that she’s adopted – it feels as though her whole life has been a lie. But it also explains a lot of things for Grace too. Including the gift that has plagued Grace since childhood – the ability to feel other people’s memories.

Could this gift be something she shared with the woman who abandoned her – the mysterious May Rosevere?

And as Grace travels to the small coastal village of Pengelly to find the answers she craves, she feels her gift growing stronger. As though May is somehow calling her long-lost daughter home…

My Review:

Having read and adored 59 Memory Lane I could not wait for this return to Pengally. I do think if you haven’t read 59 Memory Lane you should read it first (a) because its wonderful and b) it will give some clarity to this story. 

Celia Anderson is brilliant; her writing is gorgeous and the way she tells these stories, brings her characters to life is wonderful. I feel so involved with these stories it takes me days to be able to move on with another book. Ultimate book hangover!

With ‘The Cottage of Curiosities’ we have a lovely tale of self discovery, love, hope and acceptance. Friendships and relationships play such important roles within this story.
We meet Grace who is searching for information on her biological parents, and finds herself heading to the coastal village of Pengelly. Here she effortlessly fits into the community, making friends as she uncovers the truth about where she came from. All of that on top of managing and utilising an extremely special, maybe magical, skill to help those she gets close to. 

An absolutely heart-warming and uplifting book, a real curl up, get cosy kind of read. I cannot recommend this enough. One of my favourites of the year. 

PURCHASE HERE

Coming Home to Cuckoo Cottage - Heidi Swain

Click here to view on Amazon 

The story begins with Lottie inheriting her her lovely new home, Cuckoo Cottage.
Lottie loves the cottage but Matt, a local builder, points out a whole host of problems that seem to keep cropping up. Lottie suspects Matt is not all that he seems and Will, Lottie’s neighbour and sparring partner, seems to agree.In a village where gossips won't leave her alone, Lottie plans to set up her own business renovating vintage caravans. With two men desperate for her attention too, will Lottie find love as well as success? 

I’ve never had the pleasure of reading any of Heidi Swains previous books -I shall be rectifying that sharpish - so I borrowed a copy from my local library. The book is part of their Reading Chain, you have an extended loan period and you have to leave a review on the bookmark. The existing reviews were good but Coming Home to Cuckoo Cottage was a pleasant surprise.  At first, I was unaware that all of Heidi’s novels are connected, set in the town of Wynbridge, but I don't think you really need to read them in order (although usually, for me, I would try to) but I guess that is the chance you take when taking out books from the library.  I instantly connected with Lottie and was rooting for her against all the gossips. She was definitely the kind of character I could imagine being friends with, she seems fun and really interesting. I loved how she was written and that she was the automatic heroine who I felt protective over. Written with warmth and humour, I enjoyed  the feeling of community (people looking out for Lottie) and  the friendships that were built with the use of pre-established characters, I wanted to know their stories (luckily I know I can seek them out in more of Heidi's books!). For an avid reader like myself, you spot typical cliches - the argumentative yet handsome neighbour I knew our heroine should (and probably would) fall in love with, the annoying, yet trying to be helpful, builder pandering for Lottie's' attention (who I personally wanted to get lost and leave her alone). It was fairly easy to spot the villain of the piece, annoyingly Lottie didn't as soon as she should - she seems a smart young lady so I'm not sure she would have really let him get away with so much for so long. I loved Heidi's writing style, it was very easy to read, it flowed nicely and was so descriptive you could imagine yourself there too. It was definitely a good, quick read but I do feel like I want to know more about Lottie and her friends, I would love to see how it all goes for her both professionally and personally. Hopefully in the future, in another story we get a glimpse of how well Lottie is getting on. Couldn’t put it down... I read fast anyway but this was “a cup of tea and slice of cake, don’t put it down” kind of book. Perfect chick-lit, feel good story. Comfy Rating: 👍👍👍👍👍