The Honeycote Collection by Veronica Henry - Escape to the Cotswolds with Veronica!

I have just binged on the three books in Veronica Henry's series, The Honeycote Collection, and I wish there were more to read! These were originally published as separate titles in the 2000s as Honeycote, Making Hay, and Just a Family Affair and, in 2017 to 2018, were repackaged as A Country Christmas, A Country Life and A Country Wedding, finally becoming The Honeycote Collection in 2020. They are all based on the ficticious, picturesque Cotswold village of Honeycote, and its brewery, Honeycote Ales, run by Mickey Liddiard and his family.

A Country Christmas sets the scene with the brewery in financial trouble and shows the ups and downs of the Liddiard family: Mickey, Lucy and their children, Patrick, Sophie and Georgina, and the people who get involved with them like Keith Sherwyn, a Solihull businessman, his wife, Sandra, and their daughter, Mandy, who have quite an impact on the future of the brewery and the family itself. It's all a bit like Dallas, in a way, with wheeling and dealing, and hot affairs! But it is so well written that you can't help getting really involved with the story, and being sorry when it's finished. However, it's not too Christmassy so you could read it at any time of the year.

A Country Life, although the Liddiards are there in the background, this book is about Suzanna and Barney Blake who are taken on to refurbish and run The Honeycote Arms, the brewery's flagship pub. They have been unsuccessfully trying for a baby and feel that this challenge will give them a new focus in life. Other new characters are Ginny, freshly divorced and making a new start with her twin teenage daughters, Kitty and Sasha, and Damien, also escaping to the country and trying to live down his dodgy past, but who also has eyes on taking over the pub.

Lastly, A Country Wedding, Patrick, Mickey and Lucy's son, and Mandy, Keith's daughter, are to be married, but her father is acting strangely, and Mayday, Patrick's platonic friend, finds that she would perhaps like him for herself. All in all, these three novels are a wonderfully engrossing read, so sit back and escape to the Cotswolds with Veronica Henry!

A Wedding at the Beach Hut by Veronica Henry - Feel-good, Warm, and Delightful

Things are looking up this week, but even if you can't get away to the seaside yet, A Wedding at the Beach Hut by Veronica Henry is the perfect book to enjoy on your own favourite sun lounger at home. If only it would stop raining!
Robyn and Jake are landscape gardeners;
business partners who fell in love, and their wedding party, a small affair with their favourite people, is to be held in the Shedquarters, the beach hut that belongs to Jake's family on Everdene Sands.
On her eighteenth birthday, Robyn's mother, Sylvia, gave her a special box from her birth mother, Emily. Robyn knew she'd been adopted, but couldn't bring herself to open it until now, when she is pregnant herself, and getting married in just one month's time. However, she worries about upsetting her parents if she gets in touch with Emily. They have been wonderful, bringing her up on the beautiful Hawksworthy Farm in Devon, giving her the life that she may never have had. But now the farm is losing money and Sheila and Mick must decide whether not to sell it.
Jake's parents, Rocky and Tina, have split up. Rocky, a builder, moved them all to Devon to have a simple family life, but it was too quiet for her, so she moved back to Enfield to run her hairdressing business, leaving him to earn a living and look after their two boys, Jake and Ethan. Now Jake's getting married and Ethan's off to uni, he's feeling lonely and wondering what his future will be. However, the Shedquarters has been his lifeline and the centre of family beach life for him and the boys and, with a lick of paint, will be the perfect wedding venue.
When she opens the box, Robyn discovers that Emily, has written her a letter about giving her up  thirty years ago. This breaks Robyn's heart, but she also worries about getting in touch with her as her family may not know about the existence of a baby at all. Meanwhile, Emily has never stopped thinking about the little baby girl she relinquished all those years ago.
This is a warm and delightful novel with real characters you care about, their stories expertly woven together, set in around the beautiful Devon coast, with that all important feel-good ending.
Piano playing does come into it and I challenge you to resist finding that piece by Ravel on YouTube!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Travelling by Book this Summer! Part One

Even if we may not be able to travel on an aeroplane or a cruise ship this summer, we can always travel by book!
2020 is a great year for new paperbacks by my favourite authors, so these are the books that I'm going to read and these are the places I'm going to travel to from the comfort of my own home.

The Strawberry Thief by Joanne Harris out already on Kindle, the paperback will be available on April 15th 2021 - Destination, France
As with probably everyone else, my first novel by Joanne Harris was Chocolat, the beautifully magical story thought to be set in Aquitaine. This eagerly awaited fourth book in the series finds Vianne back in Lasquenet-sous-Tannes running her chocolate shop with Rosette, but when Narcisse, the florist dies and leaves Rosestte some land, and a written confession to Reynaud, the priest, the cat is put amongst the pigeons.

The Secret Hours by Santa Montefiore out on July 9th - Destination, Ireland
The first novel I read by Santa Montefiore was The Swallow and The Hummingbird, the haunting love story of Rita and George, set in Devon and Argentina, and from that one I was hooked and I have read probably most of her nineteen books! This novel is set in Ballinakelly and sheds more light on the family who appeared in The Deverill Chronicles which told their story from 1910 to the 1960s.
This stand-alone story starts around 1885 and is about Bertie and Rupert's younger sister, Arethusa.
I really loved the Deverill trilogy and I'm looking forward to finding out more about this turbulent family.

The Giver of Stars by  Jojo Moyes out on May 14th - Destination, Kentucky
The first book I read by Jojo Moyes was The Ship of Brides, set after the Second World War when the Australian brides of British servicemen were brought back to England to be reunited with their husbands, and I was so captivated by the stories of the different girls and their relationships with each other and the crew, that I've read it several times.
This new book is also about a group of women who set out on a journey together, this time to spread the wonder of reading to the poor and lost. Based on a true story, it follows English girl, Alice, who has fallen into a controlling and loveless marriage to wealthy American, Bennett Van Cleve; and Margery O'Hare, a troublesome woman, and daughter of the local felon, who gathers a band of like-minded women together to trek through open skies and mountain forests and to discover freedom and friendship. I can't wait!

A Wedding at the Beach Hut by Veronica Henry out on May 28th - Destination, Good old British Seaside!
Looking back, the very first book I read by Veronica Henry was  . . . The Beach Hut! I have read several more since then because she is so good at weaving people's stories together. This is the fourth in her series about the beach huts at Everdene Sands. Robyn and Jake are planning their wedding, a small affair on the beach with their favourite people, but Robyn's thinking about her birth mother who gave her up for adoption and the box she left with her. Her adoptive parents are thinking about a new life for themselves and far away, Emily is thinking about the daughter she relinquished thirty years ago.
As always, I'm sure that their stories will be expertly woven together and I'm looking forward to losing myself on the beach in this one!

An Almost Perfect Holiday by  Lucy Diamond Also out on May 28th - Destination, Cornwall
This is the third book I've read by Lucy Diamond. She is excellent about writing about families, and relationships and I'm looking forward to being warmed by the Cornish sunshine as I read this one.
Lorna's holiday cottages are ready for new set of arrivals but will it be the perfect holiday they all yearn for?  Em is worried about how she will get on with George's seven-year-old daughter; Maggie wants to get on better with her daughter, Amelia, but then her ex turns up and she wonders if she can trust him again; Olivia has escaped the domestic grind, but what will happen when her past catches up with her?  With romance, trust, courage, wild teenagers and love in the air, the scene is set for an almost perfect holiday!

These are the first five novels I've chosen for my 'travel by book' summer.  I hope that I've inspired you to buy them and maybe try some of the other books by these wonderful writers.
Look out for the rest of my list, coming shortly!

A Home from Home by Veronica Henry - An Amazing Novel That Would Make a Fabulous TV Series!

If you are already missing Poldark, then this modern day story, A Home from Home by Veronica Henry, about two Somerset families and their two houses split by a disaster that has kept them apart for over a hundred years, might fill the gap in your heart.

The Melchiors have lived at Dragonfly Farm ever since Great-great-grandfather Joseph won it in a game of cards from Casper Culbone. And Casper stole Eleanor, the love of Joseph's life, in revenge.

When Gum, Great Uncle Matthew Melchior, dies after a road accident, his will has great ramifications for Tabitha and her cousin, Georgia, his great nieces, especially when they find that Gabriel Culbone has also been included as a beneficiary, and Dragonfly Farm will be split three ways. How can Tabitha continue to live there and what about her plans to produce a sparkling apple wine from the orchards in honour of her late great aunt, Joy?
Gabriel, too, is shocked to find he's been left a share of the farm that he's never heard of. How can he uproot his partner, Lola, and their daughter, Plum? Does he even want to? He's never heard of these Culbones and he's got enough business problems, as it is.

For thirty years the Culbones' home, Rushbrook House, has been empty, but Dash Culbone has decided to leave his job in the City and carry out some ambitious plans. Unfortunately, he is the one who has to tell Tabitha about Gum's accident because Gum had pulled out in front of him. She becomes attracted to him, but how can she be when he is a Culbone?

Secrets abound in this amazing book with fantastic characters you can really believe in, and several intriguing stories woven together to make a gripping novel. I think it would make a fabulous television series!

A Last Chance to Spend Christmas at the Beach Hut with Veronica Henry!

There is still time before the decorations have to come down to spend Christmas at the Beach Hut with Veronica Henry.
I've read so many of her books over the years, including the two other ones about the beach huts at fictional Everdene Sands in Devon, and I loved this one too.
This time, three different people, all with problems that mean they cannot spend Christmas at home, escape to Everdene.
Firstly, Lizzy Kingham, who has just been made redundant, is asked to have her mother-in-law, Cynthia, for Christmas by his ex-wife, Amanda, who is swanning off to the Alps skiing instead of taking her turn. Lizzy is so cross that she walks out of the department store where she bumped into Amanda with the dress she has tried on over her arm, and gets stopped by Security and taken to the manager's office. Then when she gets home, her husband, Simon and eighteen-year-old twins, Hattie and Luke, do not turn up to decorate the Christmas tree because they are too busy at work or seeing their friends. This is the final straw. It makes Lizzy feel that she is being taken for granted and, without all her hard work, there would be no Christmas for them to enjoy. So she leaves them a copy of her Ocado online grocery order and Delia Smith's Christmas for them to do it themselves, and heads off to her friend's beach hut where she and Caroline spent wonderful teenage summers.
Next, along the coast, Harley's mother has moved in with her new boyfriend, Tony, who is threatening Harley, and goading him to fight back so he can prove what waster he is. But he isn't, he's just looking out for his mum and little brother, River, so he too, heads to Everdene where he acts as a caretaker for several of the owners. Caroline is one of these, but has told him that he may stay in her hut if he wants to as, although he's got it ready for their Christmas visit, they won't be coming this year after all.
Lastly, Jack and his young son, Nat, have escaped their families, unable to bear another Christmas without Fran, Nat's mum, who died last December from an embolism, to spend it in the fresh sea air, as far away from the traditional Christmas as they could get in the beach hut next door which has been lent to him by a client.
Lizzy's family are horrified that she's gone and do all they can to find her again so that they can spend Christmas together. Meanwhile, she is spinning her Christmas magic at Everdene and helping Harley and Jack solve their problems.
As always, Veronica Henry gets right into each character, making them really believable, and in reading the book, you find yourself squeezing into the beach hut and sharing a glass of mulled wine with the three runaways as the sea murmurs softly on the sand outside. Fantastic!

A Family Recipe by Veronica Henry is indeed 'An Utter Delight'

The Weir below Pulteney Bridge, Bath

On the cover of A Family Recipe by Veronica Henry, Jill Mansell says it's 'an utter delight', and she's right.
Set in the beautiful city of Bath, it follows Laura whose world has fallen apart because her daughters have now both left for university, and her property developer husband, Dom, is having an affair with his conveyancing lawyer, Antonia.
To make a better life for herself and create an income, Laura decides to rent out two empty bedrooms in the attic on Airbnb and use a box of family recipes, handed down from her grandmother to make some jams and chutneys to sell at the local market.
This is the same box of recipes that Jilly used during the Second World War to feed the family she had taken in because they had lost their home in the Bath Blitz. We find out that Jilly is Laura's grandmother whom, as a child, she named Kanga, and whose name has stuck. Now aged ninety-three, Kanga lives in a cottage at the bottom of the garden of Number 11, having given over the house she inherited from her parents during the war to Laura and her family. The story is also told of her best friend, Ivy, who has supported her through thick and thin throughout their lives.
Veronica Henry cleverly draws parallels and differences between Laura's and Kanga's stories, told seventy-five years apart, and it is a novel of love, loss, happiness and heartbreak which is indeed 'an utter delight'!

High Tide by Veronica Henry - An Uplifting Autumn Read

Now that Hallowe'en and Bonfire Night are over and Christmas is sparkling on the horizon, You might like this relaxing autumn read by Veronica Henry. High Tide will definitely help you unwind away from the lists, the shopping, and the cooking!
It's set in the fictional Devon seaside town of Penfleet, and begins with two funerals, and afterwards follows the two characters who are left behind and whose life must go on.
Kate, a New York events organiser, returns to her home town for her mother, Joy's, funeral and has only a few days to attend that and empty her old home ready for selling, before Carlos, her boss, wants her back.
Vanessa lives in Penfleet House, the wealthy second wife of Spencer, who has to cope with his first wife's histrionics and the indifference of his children.
Veronica Henry soon works her magic that can only come from being a scriptwriter on Holby City and The Archers, to weave a story about Kate and Vanessa and how they cope.
She introduces two male characters: Sam, a single dad, who has escaped to Penfleet with his children for a more meaningful life; and Nathan, who lives with his grandfather and apart from sailing the boat that they've restored, works for the local undertaker. . .
This results in an uplifting story to enjoy by an open fire with a mug of hot chocolate, or maybe a glass of red wine!
Which is your favourite Veronica Henry novel?

My Summer Reads 2015

Here is Norman the Gnome guarding my summer reads for 2015. He looks very happy, doesn't he?
I'm happy too because I've already enjoyed books by all these authors, and I'm looking forward to reading some more of their work.

So, here we go!
The Olive Branch by Jo Thomas
I really enjoyed The Oyster Catcher (see my review here) so I was pleased to find her new book already on sale. This one is about Ruthie Collins who buys an Italian farmhouse on the internet.  Italy is one of my favourite holiday destinations and the blurb says that 'olives and romance might just flourish in the warmth of the Mediterranean sun'.
Sounds just my sort of read!

A Single Breath by Lucy Clarke
I was blown away by Lucy's debut novel The Sea Sisters last year: here is my review, so I'm looking forward to reading her new one. Eva witnesses her husband, Jackson, drowning and travels to Tasmania to meet his estranged family, only to find out that the truth about him was all a lie. I'm hoping to immerse(!) myself in the watery imagery which Lucy does so well, all over again!

Love on the Rocks by Veronica Henry.
Late last summer I read The Beach Hut and The Beach Hut Next Door (review here). Unlike Jo Thomas and Lucy Clarke, Veronica has written many novels and I was surprised that I hadn't come across them before. She is brilliant at bringing all sorts of different characters to life having been a script writer on Holby City, The Archers and Heartbeat, and she must have an encyclopaedic knowledge of every  job you can think of to make them realistic. This book is about Lisa and George who throw in their day jobs to buy a rundown seaside hotel, but I'm sure that it won't be all smooth sailing!

Bay of Secrets, Return to Mandalay and The Saffron Trail by Rosanna Ley
Ok, I've gone a bit mad here! I recently read Rosanna's first book The Villa, (review) and liked it so much, I decided to read all her others! These are set respectively in Spain, Burma and Morocco. In Writing Magazine (June 2015) she says that in Germany, her kind of writing is called 'love and landscape' where place and story are inescapably intertwined, and that's just what I adore. Exotic location, romance and multi-stranded narrative means a perfect summer read for me.

I hope you enjoy your summer reading and that I've given you some ideas for books to take on your holidays!

Catch the Last Rays of Sunshine with The Beach Hut and The Beach Hut Next Door by Veronica Henry

With summer virtually over, it's great to recapture some of that endless sunshine we've had this year with two books by Veronica Henry.
The Beach Hut and The Beach Hut Next Door are two sets of stories all linked together by the row of beach huts at Everdene Sands in Devon.
In the first book, the stories are linked by the Milton family who are having their last season here before their hut is sold after fifty years of idyllic summers, and in the second it is the story of Elodie who grew up at The Grey House on the cliffs that runs through the book.
Both books marry the past with the present, telling the story of Jane Milton's first summer at their beach hut and the way it changed her life forever, and Elodie's last summer there before she left to make a new life for herself.
Veronica Henry writes like Maeve Binchy in, for example, The Italian Class: seeing the same thing from a different point of view and really getting under the skin of the characters. She also good at making you feel the sands of Everdene between your toes!
So drag your deck chair out of the shed, find a patch of sunshine in your garden and settle down with these two great reads.
I've enjoyed them so much that I'm going to get A Night on the Orient Express next!
Have you read any Veronica Henry books?