The Secrets of Life and Death (2013) was a runner up in the 2011 novel writing competition with Mslexia and an agent and book deal for three books ensued. As someone who struggles with C-PTSD daily, I really enjoyed this deep dive into the psyches of people who’ve gone through trauma. This book has everything I love for a morning read in a comfy chair with a cup of tea……charming characters, beautiful descriptions of the island scenery, a family history mystery to solve, several romances, no graphic sex, no graphic violence, and no cliffhanger endings.

The Cottage of Secrets by Roger Tapley | Waterstones

I warmed to both characters from the start and I had to find out if they were going to find their ‘happy ever after’ endings that they so both deserved.Uplifting, thought-provoking and far too good to miss, A Cottage Full of Secrets is another fabulous tale from Yorkshire’s answer to Marian Keyes: Jane Lovering. I think this gave it something from the off for me, we start with Stella putting her plan in place to escape from her abusive husband and straight away I wanted to know if she managed to succeed, I have to say at first I thought the next chapter was her arriving at her new life but it was soon clear that this wasn’t the case. Despite this, the writing is funny and familiar and I enjoyed the humour as well as the heartwarming way Tamzin looks after the fox, Brack. Stella’s story is the most prominent one, since a huge chunk of the novel revolves around Tamzin’s attempts to discover more about the woman in the pictures she finds stashed around the house. The heroine, however, is not prepared to meet a strange hermit of a painter who is her next-door neighbor.

A Cottage Full of Secrets: Escape to the country for the

For example, once again, we get a heroine who starts over by moving into a secluded country cottage.Ellie, shocked to find herself as Patience’s heir, travels to the home left to her and realizes that the cottage and the island are not as foreign to her as expected.

Cottage Full of Secrets: Escape to the country for the A Cottage Full of Secrets: Escape to the country for the

It’ll be interesting to see whether they exist in these two books only or are a staple of Lovering’s work. The two storylines alternate giving the reader a glimpse of two very different times, but also very similar situations. This is a thoroughly enjoyable novel which shows that bravery does not have to be displayed in bold but can be an intrinsic part of a much quieter way of life. Here you are invited to delve into the secrets that began during a world war and soared into the future.

This glorious part of the Yorkshire Dales comes alive with brief glimpses of the wildlife who make the place their home but running alongside descriptions of the glorious landscape is a sensitive and compassionate story about people who have been so hurt by life that they are having to start all over again.

The secrets of the cottage garden - Country Life The secrets of the cottage garden - Country Life

Her isolated upbringing on one of the small Scilly Isles off the coast of England was a reflection of the women who came before her. I also like that I loved that Euan was so different as a hero - very gentle, very damaged, a kind and often covered in mud and twigs. The hardest thing is to apply the right amount of water: too much is wasteful and too little will cause the roots to come to the surface. For starters, Patience is a grandmother every kid would love to have around and as a teacher probably the world’s best.I entirely adored this book – everything I love about Jane Lovering’s writing with its laugh-out-loud moments coupled with poignancy and emotion, and a pair of stories wrapped around each other and laced with some particularly serious issues very sensitively handled. There is also a very important member of Tamzin's family, Brack the fox, and his story is so touching. Just a simple two up, two down, the cottage holds the promise of a new start for two very different women, but it is also full of secrets. At one point the pages were turning that quickly that it was almost as if they were themselves and the page numbers became a blur. This first chapter is heartbreaking as he has messed with her mind so thoroughly that she’s convinced she is useless and to blame for everything.