Jennifer Bohnet’s High Tides and Summer Skies is an enjoyable and immersive tale about friendship, second chances and the ties that bind.

Mattie Cranford feels as if life has passed her by. Having spent the last 50 years shackled to the family wool shop, she has seen her dreams of travelling the world and having wild adventures slowly ebb away. With nothing but regrets and disappointment to look forward to, Mattie is not exactly optimistic about the future, but could her goddaughter Katie provide her with the solution to all her problems?

Katie is also at a crossroads in her life. Having recently been made redundant, she doesn’t know what she is going to do with her life, so when her godmother asks her to look after the wool shop while she goes off on a luxury world cruise, Katie accepts. This is just what she needs in order to figure what her next step will be. However, just when she had begun to find her feet at the shop, her ex-boyfriend returns with an offer she isn’t sure she can refuse…

Is Katie ready to sacrifice her own happiness for the shop? Will Mattie have found everything she sought on the cruise? Or will she end up regretting ever trusting Katie?

Jennifer Bohnet’s High Tides and Summer Skies is an escapist and entertaining treat perfect for losing yourself in. Written with warmth and humour, High Tides and Summer Skies is a terrific yarn about stepping out of your comfort zone, finding happiness and making your dreams a reality full of characters you will relate to and care bout.

A surefire way to brighten up even the most miserable of days, High Tides and Summer Skies by Jennifer Bohnet is a total delight.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
This is an enjoyable read (perfect for summer really) about second chances and new beginnings.
Enjoyable and light read that will put a smile on your face.

This captivating multigenerational escape takes readers on an emotional rollercoaster filled with heartbreak, romance, family, and secrets. Set against the picturesque backdrop of Dartmouth, Devon, and a Mediterranean cruise, the story unfolds with Mattie and Henri, providing a holiday feel through Jennifer's evocative writing. Mattie, still haunted by her sister Clara's wartime loss, navigates a journey of love and healing, with historical elements like Operation Tiger adding depth. The author's meticulous research shines, avoiding common pitfalls. The engaging plot, including a surprising twist and a delightful epilogue, kept me glued to the pages.

The book is set in Dartmouth which is one of my favourite places so I could relate to some of the places in the book. It was a lovely story about new beginnings and great friendships. It was a multigenerational story with some bittersweet memories for Mattie. I loved the story and is ideal on a wet, miserable day or a holiday read. Great to see how Katie gets stronger with what she really wants.

High Tides and Summer Skies by Jennifer Bohnet is a beautiful summer read set in Dartmouth in Devon, and with a heart-warming relationship between godmother Mattie, burdened by incidents in her childhood during the Second World War, and her goddaughter Katie who is at a career crossroads.

I loved the relationship between Mattie and Katie, who both find themselves at points in their lives where they need to make some changes for the better. Mattie wants Katie to take over her wool shop, and give it a new lease of life, and Katie is filled with new ideas to do that.

When Mattie heads off on a cruise, and meets suave widower Henri, she leaves Katie in charge of the shop, with her dog Bert, and with Leo a member of her family, who is clearly very interested in his childhood friend Katie. I loved the way in which Leo and Katie renewed their friendship, it felt so easy and effortless.

I loved the historical element to the story, with the events that took place when Mattie was young, and which shaped her entire life. The addition of visitors from a US historical society really added depth to the story.

This heart-warming summer read about second chances will have you craving sunshine, boats, and Devonshire cream teas!

A good story about starting again second chances and finding love. It shows the ups and downs of life and that you can turn it all around.

A lovely beach read, very quick and easy read. I found this very relaxing curled up on the sofa, read it in a day. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review

I was soon invested in this story of starting over and second chances. You see these story threads running through the generations and there is the uplifting message that it is never too late to start again and make new friends and relationships. At the centre of the book is Katie who is at a crossroads in her career. Although she loves her work in the media, it seems that a break from it is very welcome and she takes up the challenge of breathing new life into her godmother's shop. Katie proves to be independent and hardworking, full of ideas and open to making new friendships, as well as reconnecting with her childhood friends.

Mattie is an interesting character who you feel has plenty of new experiences she wants to try, once she has stepped out of the comfort blanket of her everyday routine. You see her ideas about the past challenged and she reassesses her views. There are some interesting parts of the story regarding what life was like in the Second World War in Devon and the arrival of some Americans stirs up memories for many. This is an uplifting story, with likeable characters and some mysteries to unravel along the way.

In short: Starting over, fresh starts

A lovely story about family, love and moving on even later in life. Great characters and stories weaved throughout. I enjoyed the history as well as the romance.

An interesting perspective on navigating life and love from both an older woman's perspective as well as one from a younger woman's perspective. It is intriguing how preconceived notions set you up for success or failure as well as miscommunication with others until you start unraveling the past and figuring out the future in an open manner. This book does a wonderful job of bringing this to light while being funny, sad and a few other emotions peppered in while being completely entertaining. Wrap in a bit of history and a few crimes and this book truly has something for everyone. The characters are extremely well written as compelling and relatable with a touch of humor as well. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to more from this author as this was my first introduction to her!

♦️Mattie Cranford had always dreamt of seeing the world but for fifty years she has been stuck in her family business, A Good Yarn. She was forced to drop out of school and take over the wool shop by her mother when during the War, her elder sister Clara died unexpectedly. That had also led her to bury all her dreams of a family.
           Katie Teague was working at a media company when suddenly, one day, she was made redundant. Now, she is in desperate need of a job to persist in the city. So, when her godmother Mattie, called her to give her the offer of taking over A Good Yarn, she couldn't deny it. She realized that she was more than happy to return to her hometown after such a long time. It will also allow Mattie to finally retire and travel the world.
            Things take a different turn when one day, Katie's boyfriend Patrick shows up and offers her dream job. Will Katie abandon A Good Yarn and return to the city? How will Mattie get a chance to come out of her shell and fulfil her dreams?

💥If on the one hand, this story teaches that for fulfilling your dreams, age is no barrier, on the other hand, it also gives a message that sometimes what we aspire to is not always the best thing for us. When we are too overwhelmed with our daily life, we should always allow ourselves to pause. The story also gives insights into the atrocities of the War and how it affected the life of children. It also emphasizes the fact that finding one's soulmate can make one's life much better.

💥In this novel, Katie and Mattie are the two main characters. Katie was brought up in Dartmouth but had moved to Bristol to make a career in media. Mattie, on the other hand, had never been outside Devon and her life has been restricted to her wool shop. So, after becoming redundant, when Katie is urgently looking for a job, Mattie offers her to take over A Good Yarn, which will provide Katie with a source of income and also let Mattie venture outside her hometown.

💥This story is a great lesson that sometimes, we do not know what we want or what will make us truly happy. We bid our time for some materialistic gain when actually the real happiness lies within simple things. Reading the book was an enjoyable experience for me and I hope other readers will feel the same.
               I want to thank the author, publisher and NetGalley for the DRC.

Enjoyed this from the first page. The main characters both wanted change in their lives but did they manage to find it. You need to read this book to find out. 4 stars. Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for this ARC

This novel is a reworked version of an earlier story by this author. Katie needs a change of scene and a job , both of which her godmother Mattie offers her. She returns to Dartmouth and takes on a completely new challenge, which releases her godmother to fulfill her dream and brings them both unexpected rewards. A feelgood summer read.

I enjoy a book that features characters that make a change to their lives and in this gorgeous book, we get to see two fantastic characters achieve that.
Mattie, who has been working all her adult life in a knitting shop has the opportunity to leave her sheltered life behind in Devon and to experience new adventures in her retirement. She also has the chance to come to terms with heartbreak from her childhood in the process.
Katie her Goddaughter also has a chance of a new beginning, taking on Mattie’s shop and moving back to an area she knew as a child too.
It was such a lovely read, seeing both women making a new life for themselves and making friends along the way.
A little bit of local history was interesting too and added further depth to the story.
A perfect summer read!

I didn't really warm to Mattie's character. She seemed to be stuck in the past and was inclined to whinge. Nor did I like Leo. I don't feel he was brought to life as a character, he seemed very flat, and too bossy for my liking. I liked Katie and loved the plot surrounding the wool shop. I would have liked more in the way of romance, we barely had any scenes with Katie and her love interest together. And a small point, Bert was not mentioned in the epilogue. Did Mattie give him up? Did he go to live with Katie. He'd been mentioned all the way through, but nothing at the end. A light read, but not my favourite book by Bohnet. With thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

BLOG TOUR REVIEW


Review for 'High Tides And summer Skies' by Jennifer Bohnet.


Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Jennifer Bohnet, Book And Tonic, Boldwood Books and Rachel's Random resources Tours.


Publication date 11th August 2023.



This is the first book I have read by this author but it most definitely won't be my last!!


This novel consists of a prologue, 41 chapters and an epilogue. The chapters are short to medium in length so easy to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!



WOW!!!! What can I say?!?! What an absolutely beautiful book that I fell in love with!!! I cannot wait to read more books by this extremely talented author!



This book is beautifully written with vivid descriptions setting the picture perfectly in the readers mind. The title, description and cover works perfectly with the storyline.



This book is an absolutely gorgeous multigenerational escape!!! It is an absolute rollercoaster ride of emotions filled with heartbreak, jealousy, regrets, romance, anger, family, love, loss, secrets, friendship and so much more. I was completely swept on the storyline and loved having a holiday not only in Dartmouth Devon but also all over the Mediterranean while on a cruise with Mattie and Henri. I have never actually been on a cruise myself but thanks to Jennifer's evocative writing skills it definitely felt like I was on one while sitting at the captain's table, relaxing in Mattie's suite and walking around the gorgeous places she visited with Henri as her guide. It wasn't just the cruise scenes that made me feel like I was on holiday but the whole book including the time in Dartmouth where the majority of the book is set where I could smell the sea air and hear the visitors to Mattie's shop A Good Yarn chattering away!!! Mattie lost her sister Clara just after the war just after Clara's love Hal was killed in the war. This broke Mattie's heart and because of that she hates anything and everything to do with that time, including Americans. However Henri eventually talks her around and during the book there is a lot of talk about the history of Dartmouth which included Operation Tiger. I was fascinated with the history of Dartmouth and the fact that Jennifer has done her research shines through the storyline. It is one of my pet hates when an author does not do enough research on the topic they are writing about as it can lead to unnecessary mistakes which can spoil the storyline for me so a HUGE CONGRATULATIONS Jennifer on researching your history well. This book really is a rollercoaster ride of emotions. I was utterly glued to the pages and I could not bring myself to put it down. I was carrying my phone to read it in kindle every chance that I got. I adored the gorgeous ending and would love to see this book turned into a series. I don't want to say anything else about the storyline as I don't want to give to much away but I do want to mention two more things. I absolutely loved the gorgeous little twist at the end which I was definitely not expecting and I also adored the epilogue that was based on a year after the last chapter and told us what happened to the main characters in that time and what they were now doing which I thought was an absolutely brilliant addition and something I haven't seen done in a fictional book prior to today so another Congratulations to Jennifer for adding that!!! I would seriously recommend this book to anyone and everyone!! A gorgeous uplifting romance that will warm your hearts 💝. I am off to add the rest of Jennifer's past and future books to my Amazon wish list as soon as I've finished this review!!

Clear your schedules as this is one gorgeous and unputdownable stunner ❤️


The characters are strong, realistic and I became completely invested in each and every one of them. They all had their own problems, secrets, feelings and all had unique personalities and I just absolutely loved getting to know them all. I felt each of their love , friendship, pain, heartbreak, happiness, anger, sorrow and so much more. I loved the main protagonists Katie and Mattie who were both such strong females. I love seeing strong female leads in books being female myself and these two were both fantastic women. I loved seeing their personalities change and develop as individuals as well as watching them bond with each other as the storyline went on. I also adored their relationships with Leo and Henri grow in strength from page to page. Leo and Henri were handsome and romantic men as well as both also being realistic and strong. Some of the other characters that I loved meeting included Noah Sr, Noah Jr, Elizabeth, Vicky and Trisha but one of the best characters had to be the lovable Bert!!!
I am a huge animal lover so any books that contain animals as part of their plot are always a huge hit for me and I absolutely adored the cheeky and sweet Bert!!! Although the majority of the characters were amazing and I would love to meet them again there were also a few snakes in the grass which I couldn't stand such as Patrick and Ron. However, regardless of if I loved them or hated them they each played their parts perfectly and it wouldn't have been as amazing a read as it was if I had loved them all!!!
Jennifer does an absolutely amazing job of bringing the story to life and the characters leap out of the pages as your turning them thanks to her evocative writing skills!! It is so hard to say what I feel about the characters without giving anything away so I won't say anymore about them as I don't want to go into too much detail at the risk of spoiling it for other readers but Jennifer really has done an amazing job at bringing each of the characters to life and I am missing them already. Well done Jennifer!!!



Congratulations Jennifer on an absolutely gorgeous, escapism filled with everything you could one in a page turner!!! I am looking forward to reading more of your previous and future books. I would absolutely love to see this book turned into a movie!!! This is why I would like to welcome you to my favourite author list and here's to your next success 🥂

Make sure you read to the very end of the book to read the prologue and the first two chapter of Jennifer's 'Summer on the French Riviera' which promises to be just as gorgeous as this book and is one I'm looking forward to reading myself!!


Overall an absolutely gorgeous book that will take you to Devon and warm your heart ❤️!!!



260 pages.



This book is just £2.99 to purchase on kindle, free with kindle unlimited and £9.99 in paperback (at time of review) via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!



Rated 5 /5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.



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My Review: I really enjoy reading Jennifer's easy to follow, engaging books. There's something in them for everyone. We follow Mattie who has been stuck in the family store for years. Not that she minded hiding away there most days, it's something she'd gotten used to. Her sister having died in the war, leaving her and her parents behind, what else could she do? But now, she feels like it's a good time to find out what the world has to offer her. Her goddaughter Katie seems like the perfect person to help her take care of business and her Labradoodle Bert. I had to laugh at the notion that there are stitch and bitch clubs sprouting up all over the place, as people rediscover knitting. Will Katie find home and love in her new environment? Will Mattie rediscover the excitement in life? I had a lovely dreamy time finding out.

Mattie has stayed for over fifty years
Running the family wool shop, her life is gone she fears.
Then she hears her goddaughter Katie's redundant and so
She she invites her to stay, so Mattie can go.

Mattie has dreamed of holidays away,
Cruising will take her to different place - hurrah!
Whilst she's exploring, Katie will stay for a year
But what happens when she's offered another career?

A story of family, history and dreams
Where it is never too late for changes it seems.
Sometimes coming home can be for the best
But you also need time to escape and to rest!

Rekindling old friendships, making others that are new
There are plenty of choices to decide what to do.
With memories from the past and a chance to look forward, too,
A brilliant, moving story I highly recommend to you.

Two women, two stories that are entwined
A fantastic read, I hope you'll find.
For my complementary copy of this book, I say thank you,
I throughly enjoyed reading it and this is my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the copy of High Tides and Summer Skies. This is my personal review.
Mattie and Katie are a point in each of their lives where they need to do something different with their lives. This was a pleasant soft relaxing book to read that shows what can happen in your life when you decide to take that step to do something different

A lovely multigenerational story set in Dartmouth and the Mediterranean. Mattie has run the family wool shop all her adult life. She's tired and needs a change. Katie has a glamorous job and partner, but she wonders if she should change direction when she loses her job. Both women, godmother and goddaughter, have the opportunity to change, but do they genuinely want to? I like the dynamic between the women, the plot twists and the uplifting quality of this story.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher.