Not sure what it is, but I just can’t seem to get into this Swallowtail Bay series. I’m all for chick lit, in fact I really enjoy it, so I know it’s not exactly fast paced and thrilling, but I just find these really slow. I have read other books by this author that I’ve enjoyed, just unfortunately not this one.

I really loved this story. It was so heart warming and wonderful. The sense of community and the challenge of creating the festival really brought the book to life and gave it a unique feel. I loved seeing the relationship between John and Hetty blossom, but I was left wondering: would she be tempted to stick to what she knows and go back to Ben? The book had a completely satisfying and beautiful ending. I love Katie Ginger and can't wait to read more!

Unfortunately I went on a requesting spree during lockdown and my tastes have since changed.

As the book has been on my shelf since 2020 or 2021 I believe I need a cull as I am highly unlikely to ever read it.

To be fair to the author I have star reviewed based on the average.

Nice feel good book to read. It grips you right from the beginning. Lovely book. Lovely plot and a mix of characters

This was a brilliant read and is being featured on my blog for my quick star reviews feature, which I have created on my blog so I can catch up with all the books I have read and therefore review.
See www.chellsandbooks.wordpress.com.

This is a part of a series but I didn;t feel like I had missed anything from not reading the first.

A beautiful feel good book with a gorgeous setting that will really transport you to the seaside.

This is a delightful and uplifting read, with a gorgeous setting, lovable characters, and a sense of family and community. The story is well-written and has a good pace that will keep the reader engaged and turning pages

This was such a sweet book, and I absolutely adored it! This book is packed with such delightful characters. I loved watching Hetty and John’s relationship bloom, it was so sweet. I also loved the aspect of the strawberry festival. This is the perfect book to read for the summertime. I highly recommend checking it out!

Summer Strawberries at Swallowtail Bay by Katie Ginger

This story is about Hetty an events manager, who volunteered to arrange the towns annual strawberry festival but her biggest problem is where to stage the festival. She decides to force John Thornhill to let her rent his land although he has refused in the past giving the Thornhill has a bad reputation locally. As John now needs the funds to save the family manor Hetty manages to persuade him, with her sassy, well organised plans they manage to arrange the food festival in three weeks.

Another fabulous story by Katie Ginger .
Her books always have a great wealth of character, this one does not disappoint, with many interesting twist and turns along the way and in some ways it shows everything is not always what it seems .

Great summer read leaving you wanting to hear more from Swallowtail Bay.

Please note that this book is not for me - I have read the book, However I had to DNF and because i do not like to give negative reviews I will not review this book fully - there is no specific reason for not liking this book. I found it a struggle to read and did not enjoy trying to force myself to read this book.

Apologies for any inconvenience caused and thank you for the opportunity to read this book

A really great story, another wonderful book from this author who transports you to her dreamy settings!

A lovely escapist read far from the pandemic!!

Summer Strawberries at Swallowtail Bay was another fab read by Katie Ginger. I loved the whole Swallowtail Bay series and this book was no exception. A lovely feel good book that hooked me in from the first few pages.

I loved every page of this book. Katie Ginger creates believable characters and beautiful settings along with a captivating story line.
Hetty is an events planner and jumps at the chance to reinstate the Strawberry festival and make it a huge success. Her biggest challenge is trying to persuade the local landowners to let them use their fields. She manages to break down the reserve and you can feel the exciting build up unfolding before you.
I love the sound of a strawberry festival and felt part of this one. A lovely summery read.

Summer is in full swing and the locals are getting excited for the launch of the Swallowtail Bay strawberry food festival. But will all run smoothly when festival organiser Hetty’s heart is torn between lord of the manor John Thornhill and successful bakery owner Ben?

DNF I tried multiple times to get through this book.

**************I received an ARC for my honest opinion.***********************

So good to be back in Swallowtail Bay again. I really enjoyed the first book in the series & was thrilled to find a second had been written (can I hope for a third??). It was great that the main character from that book, Stella, her dog & her shop all got a mention in this one, reminding me how much I had enjoyed their story. However, it was also good to begin a new story with new characters and see where their journey took them, and me.
Really well written, fully formed and believable characters, no caricatures or overly unbelievable storylines (although I’m pretty certain a food festival of such proportions would take more than 4 weeks to organise from scratch).
Hetty, the formidable main character was full of confidence but not in a know-it-all way that alienates the reader, but from self confidence and belief from strength of character. And boy does she need it when taking on the organising of a huge food festival with the aid of her assistant Macie and ‘lord of the manor’ John Thornhill, of local stately pile Thornill Manor. And pile is an apt description as it’s crumbling so much that it may well be a pile of rubble if there isn’t a much needed injection of cash into the money pit that is the Thornhill family’s home.
I warmed to John straight away, not because of the descriptions of his physicality (far from it - he had a beard, yuck!) but because of his nature and his attempts to help his family despite his older brother, Felix, leaping without looking and perpetuating the financial mess the misguided financial decisions of the brothers’ father.
A really enjoyable feel-good read, full of food, mixed fortunes, food, misunderstandings, food and love. Oh, and did I mention food? It had me salivating from the first strawberry to the last square of chocolate.
I have my fingers crossed for a third journey to Swallowtail Bay in the future.

Sweet summer read. Thanks netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.
Thought this is the second in a series I enjoyed it as an alone book. I will probably go back the read the first one just because I love series. The cover is just adorable.

Hetty is an event manager.
She is sassy, determined, fearless, clever and independent.

She doesn’t stop till she gets her own way.
Qualities to be admired in a woman of today.
Definitely worth a read.
Has a good story with maybe some love in there too?

I would recommend

Thank you netgalley for an early copy of this! I loved returning to Swallowtail Bay. This was a fun, sweet story and I highly recommend it!

Had a very hard time getting into this book - felt like I was parachuted in right in the middle of a movie that had already explained the who's who and what's what of the location and I was still expected to know who was who and keep up with everything happening. The start also failed to capture my attention as it just went on and on and I wanted something to happen but it didn't. Turned out to be the pace and 'story' of the whole book, pretty much, and I'm afraid I just couldn't follow. While I'm aware this is Book2 of a series, it still would've been nice if new readers would've been made to feel welcome (or even for readers of Book1 to have their memories refreshed - wouldn't have hurt, I suppose)