After discovering her fiancé in bed with their neighbour , Liz's dream of the perfect life/ wedding comes crashing down and she flees to the comfort of her elder sister. There she discovers the healing power of friendship and community in this easy reading feelgood tale.

Really enjoyed this story. Loved revisiting the village and the pop up appearances of some familiar characters.

A lovely book, filled with the power of women, the power of friendship, the power of community and the power of having a purpose.

In this book we meet adorable Zelda who is a 82 year old woman. She is feeling tired, tired of being older than she feels, tired of not being able to do the things that she used to do, tired of how much slower she is both mentally and physically then she used to be. She is tired of not fitting into an ever changing world. Tired of always being behind the times with the newest technology and tired of not fitting into the world. She is always extremely lonely after her beloved cat who wasn't just a pet but a beloved family member. The things that bring Zelda joy in her life are her three very funny but cranky goats and looking after her allotment in the very gorgeous village of Little Bramble. A place that sounds idyllic and a place I'd love to visit.

We also meet Mia who has just become a widower after her beloved husband Gideon has died. They used to love visiting the allotments at little bramble together when he was alive. But since Gideon has died Mia can't seem to motivate herself to do anything. Mia is tired of being strong for her three grown up sons and is tired of being strong her her four grandchildren. She is grieving too and she simply cannot keep going being brave for everyone else. When she also needs to come to terms with what has happened and what it means for her going forward and how different her life will be now and how to live in a world without her husband by her side.

Lastly we meet Liz. Liz is a history teacher, she has a job that she loves. She has a perfect boyfriends. She is also planning the most perfect wedding. Life is going exactly the way that she has always wanted and everything is simply wonderful. Well it was until she finds her boyfriend in bed with their neighbour. Suddenly her whole world is rocked, she finds herself living in the tiniest of box rooms in her sisters house. She is sad, and lonely and wallowing in self pity. So her sister decides that she has to do something to help her out and shake her out of the rut that she is in and to try and mend her broken heart.

So all three women Zelda, Mia and Liz find themselves at Little Bramble allotment. Each with pain, each trying to deal with the changes in their lives and each trying to mend their hearts in their own way and each trying to find a way to fit into the world. It is here that they all meet and strike up an unlikely friendship. But one that will change each one of these women's lives forever. Suddenly they all have a purpose, suddenly they all have a community that they all got into, suddenly they all have a reason to get out of bed each day, suddenly these three women have wonderful friendships and soon all three women realise the power of friendship, friendship love, the wonders of nature and the power of healing.

A really gorgeous book by Cathy Lake.

If you want a feel good read, than add this one to your collection! It’s about 3 women who are become friends through various activities in their village. A beautiful read.

A beautiful read. I quickly became absorbed in reading this book. I loved that it was three women’s point of view, each at different stages of their lives. We started off with Liz, we got all her heartache story from the start and the rest if her story was her building a new life, Mia and Zelda were a bit different, we got their back story and heartache in chunks as we watch them forge ahead and give friendship and strength to each other. I loved being back in Little Bramble again and the community was great, I loved how Kyle helped bring them all together.
A beautiful story about love, grief and friendship.

How enjoyable it was to venture into the lives of these three very different yet very loveable women! Confirming the tendency to depict the counter urbanisation that seems to be prevailing in contemporary literature, we follow Zelda and Mia, who’ve lived in Little Bramble (the name of their village) for a while, helping Liz navigate her heartbreak and fall in love with the life in the countryside.

I found the beginning rather funny and absorbing, with a few hints here and there at some secrets that I was very curious to find out about. Despite some passages being a little bit predictable, along with a quite naive view of life in general, I let myself be carried along this sweet story of female friendship, heartbreak and heart mending through love, care, working the land and baking delicious cakes. There were a couple of chapters towards the middle that seemed somewhat dispensable, but the last few chapters picked up a nice and pleasant pace again.

Although I noted a few mistakes here and there (wrong name or wrong word used for example), along with some stylistic features that seemed a bit clumsy to me, I think the author’s style is refined and enjoyable to read, sprinkled with some delicate and beautiful metaphors or descriptions of nature.

I’d recommend this book if you are looking for a heartwarming, lighthearted and feel-good read for the summer!

I thank NetGalley and Zaffre Books for the opportunity to read this Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

A lovely feel good read, a story of community, kindness and friendship! You feel what the characters are going through and root for them!

I was not sure when I began this book but it drew you in and got better and better. It tells the story of 3 ladies of different generations who were became friends through one of them baking and a village allotment and yoga. . They were all great characters . Liz’s childhood had not helped her and I loved how her sister was there for her. I loved it. No spoilers but read it.. A great ending . You get the beginning as you read more. I think the tittle put me off the beginning ..Read it

This was such a beautiful heartwarming and uplifting feel good read of friendship and the coming together of a community and showed what could be achieved when everyone pulls together.. This is the first book by this author I have read and I will definitely be investigating their authors books as it has introduced me to a new author.

I enjoyed the return to this series, felt the book was maybe a bit slow to get going but enjoyable once you got to know the characters. A series I hope to be returning to in the future.

The country village allotment is a real feel good heartwarming read that totally resonated with me!
The wonderful joy, support and camaraderie of female friendship groups can never be underestimated coupled with a healthy appetite for home baked cakes and a joint outside venture on the allotment what more could you wish for!
A really entrancing read that I would highly recommend.
Thank you netgalley fir this early read.

Another fantastic instalment of the country village with characters new and old. Cathy Lake has created a magical whimsical place where I want to go and visit maybe stay a while.
New characters Mia, Zelda and Liz form a wonderful friendship showing age is really just a number after all.
They help and support each other to a wonderful feel good story.
Highly recommended