Heidi Swain does it again! Thank you Simon and Schuster UK, NetGalley and @heidi_swain for letting me into this world with The Winter Garden. I discovered Heidi Swain during lockdown. After the first book, I was hooked and the biggest pleasure was knowing I had some fantastic reading to catch up on.
The Winter Garden delivers in every way - sparkling storyline, interesting characters, fabulous locations and some festive romance. Set in Norwich, The Winter Garden tells the story of Freya, a gardener who is invited to restore a beautiful winter garden. Heidi Swain introduces you to a community and invites you in. There are threads between her books which allow you to check in with characters from previous books and find out how they are getting on. Having said that, the books all stand alone so there is no need to read in any particular order - but I urge you to join @heidi_swain's world soon!

This is the 1st Book that I have read by the author and this book is book 3 of a series but you don’t need to read the other two to read this story as its a easy story to pick up.

This Book tells the story of an amazing christmas garden and I loved the story of what happens round this garden

With thanks to Netgalley & Simonandschuster for the ARC of this book in exchange for my review

When Freya is forced to leave her home and job on a beautiful Suffolk estate behind, she has no idea where she will go. But a moment of chance soon sees her moving to the quietly charming Nightingale Square and creating a winter garden in time for a Christmas opening.

After the rural isolation of Suffolk, Freya enjoys being enveloped in the community feeling the square offers. There is just one exception to the warm welcome, local artist Finn. No matter how hard they try, they just don’t seem to be able to get along.

Can Freya and Finn learn to put their differences aside to work together and get the garden ready for Christmas?

This is the third book set at Nightingale Square, and whilst it works well as a standalone, I really think the series should be enjoyed to fully appreciate the wonderful characters Swain creates.

As some of you will know I am a huge fan of Heidi Swain, a fully-fledged Swainette, and this book did not disappoint. It was full of all the usual warmth, sense of community and charming characters I have come to expect. Returning to Nightingale Square, or any of the enchanting places Swain has created, is like returning home to family and friends.

This is the perfect read for the festive season, especially this year when these are likely to be the only Christmas markets and treats we’ll be experiencing.

Thank you to Heidi Swain for the advanced review copy of The Winter Garden. This tale of Freya Fuller’s new start in a fresh new city with the friendliest community spirit in the lead up to Christmas is just what the doctor ordered! I absolutely flew through this book and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. Would recommend for a light hearted Christmassy read!

Heidi Swains Norfolk based Nightingale Square series just gets better with each title.
Each individual story brings together past characters and catches up with residents of the Norwich community.
This beautiful Christmas story starts with Freya Fuller, living in Suffolk on the broad meadows estate where she was employed by her dear friend Eloise as head Gardner. Unfortunately Eloise has died and the estate has been inherited by her loathsome Nephew Jackson whose intent on making Freya’s life a misery.
So with her trusty companion Nell the dog
and some spiritually guiding signs from Eloise - Freya finds herself accepting a new job offer to restore the winter gardens in Norwich. Here she teams up with the local gardening community, characters such as Luke and Kate, Poppy,Graham, Chloe,Lisa and a host of others from past stories.
But it’s Tall, Viking sized sculptura Finn that captures her interest and heart from the moment they meet.
Not of to a great start after Finn scares Freya’s dog, the pair seem to be at constant loggerheads but they have more in common than they think and when they join a series of winter themed events set up by the residents to beat the winter blues, the pair are drawn together.
This is a lovely wintery story and any fan of Christmas romance, gardening or who just loves Heidis other books won’t be disappointed..
Personally I live in Norfolk so I loved all the Norwich references and could just picture the scenes. Would most defiantly recommend.

The Winter Garden - Heidi Swain

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review thanks to Simon and Schuster UK and Netgalley.

This is book three in the Nightingale Square series. I have not read any of the previous books in the seres, but this don’t not stop me from loving the book!

Freya Fuller is an unqualified gardener at Broad Meadows, where she lives and works. After the death of her previous employer, Eloise, Freya continues working at the estate for Eloise’s nephew Jasper. When Jasper breaks the news to Freya that he is planning on selling the estate, Freya takes this opportunity to move onto a new position working in the Winter Garden at Prosperous Place. Freya settles into her new life in Nightingale Square and receives a warm welcome from all but one of the local residents.

I loved reading about the residents of Nightingale Square and would love to get to know them better by reading the first two books in the series.

This is a heartwarming winter read, set in the run up to Christmas.

Rating: 5/5

I think that I may have found one of my favourite authors in Heidi and will highly recommend her books to my friends

Just right to chase away the winter blues, get into the Christmas spirit and learn a bit about plants and gardening.

After the death of her friend Eloise, Freya loses her job, her home and her best friend. Luckily she is offered a job creating and maintaining a Winter Garden , together with a home in Nightingale Square, Norwich.

Throwing herself into the project, Freya has no plans for romance; until she meets Finn.

With Christmas workshops for food and drink, wreathmaking and planters this story made me look out for local craft makers and making to attend in my area. it would have been extra special o have the recipes at the end of the book to kick start the Christmas preparations.

A lovely seasonal read.

I loved this. I felt I was wrapped up in a warm Christmas hug.
I’m quite new to Heidi Swain and I didn’t realise this was part of a series, however it didn’t really matter as it can be read as a stand-alone as the main characters, Finn and Freya are the main focus.
I loved the descriptions of Finn and him being compared to Thor, then his brother Zak appears and I can’t help compare him to Loki 😂 as they work on their newly respected friendship and Zak helps Finn out with his work shop I pictured them as Thor and Loki arguing over doing ‘get help’ which really tickled me ( but I admit I’m just odd!! 😂)

The descriptions of the garden were beautiful, especially as it was winter and you mainly only envision dead to dying plants and frozen soil, but I’m totally inspired to try and bring some life to my garden this winter now I know there are plants that are meant to flourish in winter. Finns sculptures were stunning and really wish I had that set of Hares hiding in my lawn. Finns heart was beautiful and I loved all the help he gave people, his thoughtfulness was touching.
Luke and Kate were amazing and I loved reading about them and seeing how Luke cared for everyone and tried to ensure everyone was happy, I really can’t wait to read other books in this series and learn more of his story.
The whole book was a joy to read and flowed seamlessly from start to finish, with such vivid and amazing descriptions of the town, market and garden. The perfect story to read on a winters day wrapped up with a hot chocolate.

This book captures the essence of the build up to the winter months and Christmas and follows the story of a gardener and sculpture artist who did not start off on the best terms but who grow to accept and respect each other. It is an enjoyable book though probably could have been shorter in a couple places as it did drag slightly toward the end.

The Winter Garden definitely put a positive shinen on my mind. The characters were familiar, relatable and the mental health theme in the story was done superbly. A must read for the dark, bleak weather days.

A wonderfully uplifting winter read which will lift the spirits in the run up to Christmas. Cosy, without being cloying, the story follows Freya, after a rather abrupt upheaval from her old job and accommodation she finds herself amidst a delightful group of people in Norwich. The characters throughout, both human and animal, are totally identifiable with many quirks amongst them, making for a truly great read. There is romance aplenty with the usual ups and downs and, with Heidi's enjoyable style, the story flows along just perfectly to give the reader a warm glow throughout the darkest months which many of us find so hard.

Thank you to the publisher for a digital review copy - my thoughts are my own and not influenced by the gift.

Not sure why it took me so long, but I only discovered Heidi Swain's books earlier this year (when I read and enjoyed The Secret Seaside Escape).

Therefore I haven't read the first two books in the Nightingale Square Series (but hope to do so soon). However I was still able to read and enjoy this book, so please don't be put off by the fact there is a series of stories set in the area.

Heidi Swain has created a great cast of characters, the majority of whom were lovely and then there is Jackson. Freya leaves her home of three years behind, after Jackson inherits the property from his aunt Eloise, and she heads to Nightingale Square to help Luke establish The Winter Garden. She meets a fabulous community of people and the new local sculptor, Finn - who in my head, looked like Thor / Chris Hemsworth.

This book includes romance, friendship, new beginnings, festive fun and a gorgeous dog called Nell. We also have a trip back to Wynbridge (featured in the Secret Seaside Escape). I needed an uplifting escape book and this was the perfect choice. A fabulous festive read for Christmas 2020 - a virtual hug in a book.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read an e-ARC of the winter garden by Heidi Swain. This was the kind of book I needed at the moment.
It was such a cozy read, such a warm kind of book without mentioning the pandemic this world is going through. The last thing I want is to read about this pandemic. The best thing about this book was the absence of this stressful topic.
The book beautifully explained things related to gardening and nature. It had the message for the readers that one can be healed by getting close to and also by understanding the nature. It explained a way to cope with the gloomy days of winters by getting involved with the gardening activities. It stirred my desire to learn more about gardening and start getting close to the nature. It also had the touch of parents/children relationship struggle and the progress was worth it.
Freya was such a sincere character, close to the nature and well wisher of everyone. I like everything about her. It was good to know that her ex boss didn't completely shatter her confidence. I was so happy when she got offer for a new job and when she asked for the sign from Eloise. It was like I was having the experience first hand.
Finn was a good person too but he was difficult to understand and always throwing his tantrums. I didn't like this thing about him. To be honest, I was really annoyed with him, especially after his encounter with Jackson. (Sorry Finn).
All characters, Luke, Kate, Carole, Chloe etc. were so good. They were like family by heart. I loved their bonding. The only character that was my least favorite, was Jackson. He was such a self obsessed person. Finn did good job in teaching him a little lesson.
I was scared throughout the story that something bad would happen but, all is well that ends well so no harm done.
As I stated before, this was the book that I needed to read, so thanks a lot to the author for writing such a sweet and beautiful story. I would recommend it to everyone as the world needs positivity and this book serves this purpose.

#TheWinterGarden  #NetGalley   

So as I write this review, I must confess that I am a huge fan of Heidi Swain’s  books. I love her stories and I especially love how people and places pop up is akin to trying on a new pair of shoes from a range with which you are very familiar; you just know that they are going to fit, they will be insanely comfortable, and that you will enjoy wearing them. I do hope that I am not disappointed!

Heidi has a gift for drawing you into her novels in a way that makes you truly care about what happens to the characters, which she seems to bring  to life.

I was not disappointed on the cross-pollination front, when in the very first chapter, the gardens in Nightingale Square were mentioned. This tie-in with Heidi Swain’s ‘Sunshine and Sweet Peas in Nightingale Square’ instantly made me feel comfortable, as though among trusted friends.

This story is self contained as a novel, but little tie-ins with previous works seem like a special treat for those who have read the author’s previous novels. Freya is a warm, thoroughly believable and likeable character and she blends in perfectly with the Nightingale Square characters. Jackson is vile, and I hope we don’t see much more of him in the book - leave me to my feel good folks!

The story does not disappoint on any front and I struggled to put the book down, when I should have been doing other things! Thanks again Heidi!

Thank you Simon and Schuster UK and NetGalley for approving me for this book in exchange for an honest book review.

This has to be the book that everyone should read in these crazy times. It well make you feel better even if you are already feeling ok. :) It is going to make your day and it will definitely put a smile on your face. Reading this book was delightful and charming and making me fall in love with Heidi Swain's writing over and over again.

This is the third book in the series 'Nightingale Square' and it was such a joy connecting with all the characters from the first two books and seeing how Freya, the main character in this book, is going to form her new life here.

Freya, a gardener without a university diploma has to leave an estate in Suffolk, after the passing of her boss and friend Eloise. The nephew of Eloise wants to sell everything and Freya is jobless. As fate would have it or maybe some Eloise's magic from the other world Freya finds herself a job and a home and maybe a new romance in this installment of the series.

I loved the fact that we learn so much about gardening through Freya and you can see Heidi's love for flowers and nature right through Freya - yes, I sometimes stalk Heidi on Insta (:D) and I know this haha.

Her job is to put together the Winter Garden before Christmas in order to help all the people living there to have some place to spend during long, dark winter, especially those suffering from SAD- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) that a type of depression that comes and goes with the seasons, typically starting in the late fall and early winter. It is very nice that mental issues. such as this one, are discussed in a healthy manner in this book.

The other aspect, of Heidi's books that always gets to me is the community and togetherness. It feels so engaging and alluring to read about a tight-knit community where you have some beautiful human souls that help each other. Heidi makes me want to pack my back and travel through East England and find a place like this for me.

Yes, I know it September and it's a horrible year, but this book is going to make you forget about it I promise. And it will most surely put you in a pre-holiday mood where you will so luck forward to the holidays. Most of the book is happening weeks before Christmas so I would advice you start reading it middle October. :)

The aspect of self-sustainable living and taking care of Mother Earth is emphasized more and more in every of Heidi's books and for me, an eco-.head, it's so cool seeing things like this mentioned in books.

The love story is gorgeous as well as Finn ; imagine Chris Hemsworth, with grey eyes, looong hair and an artistic soul and flare. Freya and everyone else is falling for him and he is just the perfect fit for her. They have their ups and downs and some small twists that make them even more interesting.

Mentioning the people from her other series is so lovely and if/when you start reading this book you will want to read all of her books!

I have to be frank and say that I am so jealous of Heidi's publisher because they have such a wonderful job promoting this heartwarming book!

Wow, what a gloriously gorgeous read!
Heidi Swain created another book that makes you want to curl up and devour it quickly but you also don't want it to end.
I do adore a Christmas book and have enjoyed every moment of reading The Winter Garden. I wanted to be in Nightingale Square and the garden at Prosperous Place.
The characters were all brilliant, funny and lovable....special mention goes out to Finn and Nell, of course!! I love how there are recurring characters and we get a glimpse into their post story lives!
The Winter Garden follows Freya on her journey to find her ideal place in life and reinforces how important nature is for our happiness and well-being (something I've learnt myself over the past few years!)
A delightful pick me up read, thank you Heidi Swain.

The Winter Garden by Heidi Swain

I love a Christmassy read! Freya is a gardener for her friend Eloise’s estate, living in a little cosy cottage on the grounds. When Eloise passes away, the estate is inherited by her American relative who decides to sell up the property. Freya and the new owner do not get along, so when the opportunity for a fresh start in Nightingale square arises, Freya takes it. She find she enjoys the close-knit community and enjoys the challenge of creating a winter garden for her new boss.

This book is the perfect Christmassy read, with some romance, Christmas markets and community spirit, you won’t be disappointed! 🎄

I have read a few other Heidi Swain books before and this is just as wonderful and is currently available for preorder on Amazon! So if you are starting to plan your Christmas reads, this is a must!

Recommend ✅

4/5 ⭐️

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I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It was an easy read. Heidi really does grasp the attention of the reader. At this present time I mostly enjoy reading books which are a perfect form of escapism and that’s exactly how I found this book.

September Read

The Winter Garden – Heidi Swain



I know it’s a bit early for a Christmas book (actually is it ever too early for anything Christmas related??!) but I was lucky enough to get a copy of the latest @heidi_swain book from @netgalley and @simonschusterUK so I HAD to read it right away!



I stumbled across Heidi Swain a few years back and I have now read all her books in both her series. They are all lovely cosy romantic reads and whilst some people look down on this genre, I think its great to mix it up now and again.



This story is based in Nightingale Square, the 3rd book in this series although it could be read as a standalone story. Gardener Freya visits the Square grieving her friend, trying to escape the pressure of her parents and a failed engagement. The residents of the square soon take her under their wing, and she even catches the eye of the handsome artist Finn. Thus ensues a cat and mouse chase where Freya and Finn keep misunderstanding each other and never quite managing to get together. All this happens whilst Freya is creating a Winter Garden for land owner Luke and Christmas is fast approaching.



For the first half of the book there was very little Christmas content and I was worried that the book would not itch my festive scratch, however as the story progressed the festivities intensified and the cosy Christmas feels were all there. Whilst it may have been predictable that girl would meet boy and they would fall in & out of love there were enough twists and turns and side stories to keep me guessing. This was actually the 4th Heidi Swain book I had read this year and whilst it may not have been my favourite, it certainly was still a great read and a great book to start my festive obsession off for 2020.

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I had this book on pre-order when I was offered the opportunity to read an advance copy from the publisher through Netgalley although this did not influence my review of the book.
This time the story is centred around Freya, a gardener who has moved to Nightingale Square to create a Winter Wonderland at Prosperous Place, and Finn, a builder turned sculptor.. This get off to a bad start, but things change as the book progresses.
It isn't essential to read the series in order as each book is a standalone but I love how Heidi's books have continuity of characters but a fresh story each time. There is warmth, a sense of community spirit and a wealth of characters that all pull together to create a story that enfolds you as it goes along. I could move to Nightingale Square or Wynbridge in a flash from the picture that Heidi creates in her books. Definitely highly recommended and I'm really looking forward to the next book whenever it comes out.