When a book has the word 'allotment' in the title, it's hard for me to resist. From the charming, brightly covered cover, I knew that this novel was going to be light and uplifting. My assumptions were not wrong.

This is the story of three women, each from a different generation but who have loneliness, loss and sadness in common. At the heart of their connection is the village allotment, which ultimately turns into their life line with a sense of purpose, community and the future. It doesn't feature as much as I would have liked but probably any more would only appeal to full-on gardeners, and this isn't really the aim of the book. There is, however, lots of cake eating, tears, winking and gallons of tea.

The story is told from the perspectives of the three women and each chapter has a mix of their thoughts and activities. At the beginning, their sections were distinct within each chapter, but as their relationships merge, so does the viewpoints so there is a fair bit of head hopping. It's easy enough to follow but sometimes I had to re-read to make sure whose head I was in.

A few things are predictable, such as the drop-dead gorgeous, perfectly caring son who happens to be around the same age as one of the women and the perfectly quaint cottage on the edge of the allotment - but there is a comfort in that. The octogenarian is eccentric and the younger woman needs a good shake be the elbows, it's all good though.

Written in a bright and breezy style, this is a very pleasant read where you get exactly what's on the cover. Recommended for those who enjoy feel-good stories about friendship and hope.

A brilliant read and one I really enjoyed. The characters are loveable and varied, the plot is one that is engaging and medium paced. I found myself completely drawn into the story and enjoyed the writing style.

We are back in the lovely village of Little Bramble which I have 'visited' before I just wish it was for real as I would want to move in!.

Liz had a perfect life or so she thought. Her soon to be husband cheated on her, she had an argument with the head of the school where she worked. She takes leave from work and goes to stay with her sister and family. Here she meets 82 year old Zelda and Widow Mia. After a time Liz begins to settle into village life and begins to enjoy herself again. Liz meets a son of Mia when she takes ill in the street, He is a paramedic. We learn all about the lives of the three women who gel well.

It is a lovely read and can recommend it, I have no hesitation in giving 5*

A celebration of life, friendship and community. A magic story that brought me a place where there's hope and lovely people.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This is fast becoming a favourite series, I couldn't get enough of this book. From the first few pages, and especially once we were in Little Bramble, I felt right at home.

There is something about this community that I really feel at home in, and I loved meeting out three new heroines - Zelda, Mia and Liz.

Well technically it took a couple of chapters to get used to the fact that the character focus and viewpoint would change multiple times in a chapter, but once I got my head around that, and more importantly started to identify and remember the three characters, it was a joy.

Three generations of women, who find each other when they are at their lowest ebbs, and form an instant friendship. It was beautiful to see, and I loved getting to know all of them. Especially Zelda, our octogenarian, who is full of life, but clearly has secrets in her past.

Also loved Liz, well once she stopped pining over her ex fiancee, and started trying to get involved in life in Little Bramble. I also enjoyed seeing how she reconnected with her sister and nieces.

This has such a gentle feel to the book, but it suits the content. It's a relaxing sort of a book to read, and it's incredibly enjoyable. I loved my time spent between these pages, and I just hope there will be more to this series which is getting even better with each book.

Thank you to Zaffre and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

The Country Village Allotment by Cathy Lake

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Zaffre and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Blurb

At eighty-two years old Zelda Grey is tired. Tired of how much slower she is physically and mentally. Tired of technology. Tired of being alone since her beloved cat, Flint, died just before Christmas. And tired of life. The only thing that brings Zelda joy these days is her allotment in the gorgeous village of Little Bramble, where she has lived her whole life, and her three cranky goats.

Widow Mia Holmes always loved visiting Little Bramble Allotment with her husband, Gideon. But since his death she can't motivate herself. Despite putting on a brave face for her three sons and four grandchildren, she's reached breaking point, and isn't sure she can carry on.

And history teacher Liz Carter thought she had it all. The perfect job, perfect boyfriend in Rhodri and the perfect wedding to plan. Until she found Rhodri in bed with the neighbour. Holed up in her sister's box room she wonders how it all went so wrong. As she wallows in her misery, her sister takes her in hand and drags her to Little Bramble Allotment and suddenly she discovers the wonders of planting, growing and getting her hands dirty.

In an increasingly lonely world, these three women strike up an unlikely friendship and find that community, female friendship and the wonders of nature can truly be powerful healers.

My Opinion

When I started my blog, this was one of the first series that I started reviewing so it has been lovely to return to the village if Little Bramble, but it is possible to read this book as a standalone. This is a beautiful, uplifting read about friendship and community - it also shows how just talking to people can help to ease their loneliness.

Zelda, Mia and Liz are all very different characters but they complimented each other making for a fantastic read.

Rating 4/5

What a truly stunning summer read this book is and Cathy never fails to disappoint. Heart warming and beautifully written.

Feel good romance. As a plant mom love the allottment. Everyone loves a village setting. Romances is my favourite genre and this did mot disappoint

This was a sweet read and although it was part of a series it read as a stand alone book. Very enjoyable and a quick read. I read it in an afternoon. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Oh my goodness, what a fabulous read. I loved this book from the moment i started reading it. The self discovery of Liz was beautifully written, finding out that instagram and real life are very different. I really liked Zelda and and Mia. Their journeys of grief together was heart warming as was the friendship that grew. I loved that they all supported one another and in time shared secrets. I really wanted to go to the tai chi sessions in the village hall and ached to live in Little Bramble myself, This is a lovely read for any weekend where you can curl up and escape. I will definitely be buying the other books in this series. Thank you Netgalley.

A lovely book with themes of grief and loss in different forms without being sentimental. Intergenerational friendships demonstrate universal experiences. I enjoyed and highly recommend this book.

Such a lovely book filled with some really great characters who come together and share their own experiences with grief. On their own they are struggling, but fate brings them together and this helps each of them with their issues, and their blossoming friendship helps them overcome their heartaches and gives them something positive to focus on.
I do enjoy books with multi aged characters, I love seeing situations from the different age groups, and it was particularly heartwarming to see the strength of friendship developing.
I was intrigued with all the characters, and was keen to read on to find out what they were doing and how things were panning out for them.
A fantastic setting made this an enjoyable experience and I will definitely read more from this charming series.

What a lovely little heart warming read! I had such a lovely time getting relaxed and reading this and it inspired me to keep going with my own gardening! The character selection was brilliant and the storyline was love and engaging yet nice and easy to follow. Would definitely recommend to those who love a feel good book that will put a smile on your face. Thank you to the author and publisher for letting me read and review this book. I really do appreciate it.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

I was hooked from the beginning in this fabulous book.

It had a mix of new and old characters, set in a place you wish that you was living in.

The new characters Zelda, Liz and Mia, readers will relate to, they were so supportive of each other, proving that age really is just a number.

I highly recommend this book.

Lovely story about the power of friendship, interesting group of characters of all generations. Brought together in a sweet village setting. A real feel good book

Sadly I found this lacked something for me and I found myself skim reading a lot of it. I didn’t really connect with Liz as I found I really wanted to shake her. I did like the idea of the three women from different generations and different grief coming together to become friends but there wasn’t enough plot line to keep me hooked. It was nice enough story but a bit flat for me.

It was a real treat to return to Little Bramble and have a brief catch-up with some much-loved characters. Kyle is still hosting the Tai Chi classes and Marcellus still delivers the post, with a smile and a kind word.
The book opens as history teacher, Liz Carter is becoming overwhelmed by the impact of discovering her fiancés’ indiscretion with their neighbour. A meltdown sees her move into the spare room of her sister’s house in Little Bramble. She was both devastated and positive that this it was just a glitch.
Zelda’s only regular visitor is postman, Marcellus. She looks forward to their daily chats but is feeling cut off from society. Even her trips to the village shop aren’t enough to raise her falling spirits. Thankfully, recently widowed Mia decides to visit and present her with a homemade cake. Mia hasn’t got the strength to break her habit of baking, even though she no longer has anyone to bake for.
From the gorgeous cover artwork to the final pages, this book was a real treat. I simply couldn’t put it down and kept reading until it finished. The message of friendship and support is simply wonderful, and I was totally absorbed.
I loved all three women but had a particular soft spot for Zelda. She reminded me of my Nana with her sage advice and memories from her youth. As her story gradually became clear, it was difficult not to feel anything but compassion for her.
The dynamic between the three women was beautifully imagined and their story arcs were simply perfect. The characters were as alike as they were different, each bringing a particular strength to the story. I particularly enjoyed the part where Leopold Biggins learned exactly how amazing Mia and Zelda could be in a crisis.
The Country Village Allotment is a perfect addition to this series, and I loved every moment of my visit to Little Bramble.

A wonderfully uplifting tale about the healing power of friendship. Cathy Lake is my go-to for feelgood romantic fiction.

This book left me feeling all the better for reading it. Wonderful characters of different ages and backgrounds come together in a village I want to go and live in! A real joy of a book.

This is one of those very special books that you wish you could read for the first time over and over again.

I finished it over two days and throughly fell in live with the village of Little Bramble and its residents.

This book os the perfect feelgood summer read.