Another good book from Samantha Tonge. I enjoyed A Single Act of Kindness, it follows Tilda who had a tough upbringing and how one act of kindness changed her life.

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

I absolutely loved reading A Single Act of Kindness by Samantha Tonge.

We meet Tilda, who was never good enough for her family.

Since she left them, she has made something of herself and has everything how she wants it.

But, when she meets Milo, Tilda’s way of living is totally changed, as he likes to live completely different to her.

She decides to help him, so he can be the person he used to be.

I highly recommend this book.

A Single Act of Kindness by Samantha Tonge is a beautiful story that left me feeling warm and replete

Tilda is the black sheep, she has done everything she can to make her life her own, successful since she left her toxic family behind. Everything is where and how it should be, she feels safe in herself. However, Milo comes barrelling into her life by pure chance, the absolute opposite to her sense and order, he is chaos incarnate and Tilda decides to take a chance and help him get back n his feet... but who is helping who?

A beautiful, melodic, elegant storyline, undulating through highs and lows and everything in between. I was sucked in and engrossed, basking in the warmth of the tale. Detailed, heartwarming and deep, a wonderful read

Thank you to Netgalley, Boldwood Books and the author Samantha Tonge for this ARC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

A Single Act of Kindness
A BRAND NEW breathtaking, emotional novel of love and friendship from Samantha Tonge for 2024
by Samantha Tonge
This one started pretty well, then it began to slow down. It was an ok book, but not what I wanted as an ending. I felt it turn and became mostly full of drama, and sadness and I felt a "Title A Single Act of Kindness" felt it went south from alcoholism to bullying and family trauma.


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Touching book!

I felt that this book was deeply touching. It focuses on many areas of emotional vulnerability, from alcoholism to bullying and family trauma. When Tilda invites Milo, a homeless man around her age into her home, it becomes a story of who saved who.

Tilda is a strong female character, even though she doesn’t recognize the trait in herself. Milo has suffered blows in his life, emotional and physical, yet he wants to remain sober and pay back Tilda for her kindness. I identified with Tilda and Logan’s relationship because of a personal similar situation. Highly recommend.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, but my opinions are my own.

3.5🌟
A single act of kindness starts with, you guessed it, a single act of kindness. This is the whole premise of the book and explores/considers the idea that we have no idea what is going on in other people's lives but even a small act of kindness can mean an awful lot.

Tilda, the main character, is very regimented with a very specific routine that she must adhere to every single day. That is until she invites a near stranger into her very neat and tidy home and her routine starts to change a bit as they both experience acts of kindness.

Along for the ride is also her cat, Dettol, aptly named seeing as she owns her own cleaning company. She became the loveable fur companion of the story.

This book touches on themes of alcoholism, family trauma, homelessness and also catfishing in a way as well. It's a sensitive and deep story.

Whilst I enjoyed reading it, I didn't feel a huge connection to the characters and found it especially hard to understand Milo from Tilda's point of view. As well as that, the ending to me felt very quick and predictable, ending with a happy romantic ending for them which I had slightly hoped wouldn't happen!

I was always taught to give to people and good things will happen. I believe in paying it forward. This book is an example of both of these. Two lost souls who meet by chance and an act of kindness. Although this premise was intriguing, it fell a little flat for me. I wanted to feel more engaged with the characters. It was a good book, I just wanted more. Thank you Netgalley for the eArc.

I received a complimentary copy of this book "A Single Act of Kindness" and all opinions expressed are my own. A first read by this author. I thought the story was interesting. I kinda thought Tilda would help Milo and he would start on his way. He ended up just staying and some of the storyline, I saved you and you saved me?? had me questioning the whole thing. Overall good.

Tilda likes to live a life of routine since a traumatic event from her past. She's built walls so high that no one could ever break them down to hurt her again. She simply won't allow it. She's started up her own cleaning company and the success of her work is all she needs to have a happy life, albeit a lonely one.

Milo, is living on the streets after his own traumatic event. He's camped out close by Tilda's home and she often passes him by wordlessly. When a flu hits him hard and he's mugged for the little bit of change he managed to gather, Tilda decides to do the right thing. The kind thing. She'll take him out of the rain, clean his wounds, and nurse him back to health. Once he's on his feet again she'll send him on his way.

What neither of them bargained for was how this single act of kindness will change their lives forever.

I absolutely loved the message of this story. Being kind to one another but also being kind to ones self too. Yes, that is something this world needs more of.

I was expecting this to be an uplifting, feel good book but this kept a fairly somber tone throughout which I wasn't expecting.

I enjoyed the first 30% quite a bit but the more time I spent with Tilda the more exhausted I got. She was so sad and had so many hang ups that I actually skipped at least 50 pages and I don't think I missed anything except her crying about all that's gone wrong in her life. She seemed very immature for her age (28). My kindle edition said this book is 293 pages but it felt much longer than that.

Milo was a decent character but I struggled to buy into his newfound friendship with Tilda. Something about it didn't ring true to me.

Don't even get me started on the ending. While I knew *this* was coming I wish with all my heart that it hadn't. (view spoiler)

I did love Dettel the cat and watching Tilda's relationship with this frisky feline grow. That was very cute. 😻

While there were parts I really enjoyed this one might have been a little too sappy and sad for me in the end. I am sure many other readers will LOVE this story, though, so do give it a try if the premise appeals to you. 3 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for my complimentary copy.

I found it difficult to engage in this novel. The main character was not easily liked, and though the reasons for this were explained as the story developed, I couldn’t get over this and found myself skimming through. Tilda lives alone, and through circumstances, gets to know a man who is living on the streets. Their relationship develops in fits and starts and getting to know each other helps them both get over problems they have encountered in their lives. Thank you to Boldwood books and Netgalley for an ARC of this novel.

Tilda likes order, from eating the same meals each week to making sure she wakes up at the same time every day, its the only way she can ensure her life is organised and that she remains in control, so when she see's Milo the local homeless man not well and in bad weather she is surprised at her own words offering him the chance to come inside to get well.

Slowly Milo and Tilda start to get under each others skins and it starts to become uncertain who is really helping who.

The story is a lovely read full of many layers and as we start to see those layers peeled back in both Tilda and Milo we start to see who they really are and Tilda finds herself falling for Milo.

This was a beautiful read about family, friendship and love.

A story about kindness, how a single act of it can change someone's life. I've loved both Tilda and Milo (and Dettol 🤭) and my heart broke for their way to recovery and a better life.

4 stars

~ I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book received via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own ~

I love Samantha Tonge's writing and was really excited for this book. A Single Act of Kindness is such a beautiful, heartfelt, warm, emotional story. I adored the characters, especially Dettol, and felt quite attached to them by the time I finished reading.

I don't have much experience with the subject of alcoholism or homelessness, but I feel they were written about so sensitively that I have a much better understanding now. To me, that's the sign of a great writer.; making me understand something I'm not very familiar with.

Thank you, Sam, for writing such a beautiful, compassionate, inspiring story.

Tilda and Milo meet by accident, Milo is living on the streets and Tilda takes him in. they bond over being recovering alcoholics, and a sweet friendship is formed.

I really wanted to love this story, but it fell flat for me. It was an awkward read, I didn’t connect with the characters, and the relationship between the two main characters felt forced and fake.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this ARC in return for my honest review.

This author always writes about real emotion and life experiences and this story is no exception. This story is about trust and second chances and of letting other people in. The characters were engaging and the hard hitting themes of the story were dealt with in a sensitive and compelling way.

As the title says a single act of kindness can really make a difference and is all it takes to change someone’s life or to make a difference no matter how big or small that act of kindness is and makes you appreciate everything that you have as life can change in an instant.

I wasn't gripped by this as I have been by previous Tonge novels, but nevertheless it is a good story. Some tough issues are explored, and I felt for Tilda so much regarding the way her mother treated her. I must admit to not quite feeling the connection between Tilda and Milo. There's a lot of good stuff there though. With thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. PS: I loved Dettol.

This was such a great book, I was hanging on from the beginning to the end. I was so invested in this book I even hurt my eyes from staring at my kindle too long. I think this is the first time I have ever read a book and been like I want the physical it was so good. I loved Tilda and Milo and each evolution of them both different but the same in the way. The whole discussion around sobriety was done very well and I loved all the side characters. This definitely was a sweet and wonderful story and just what I needed to get out my reading slump. If I could give it more than 5 stars I would!

A very nice and thought provoking read. Tilda likes to keep things simple, no attachments and strict routines. That’s how she keeps her life in order, that’s how she’s managed to cope during her younger years. However that all changes when she recognises something in milo a homeless man near her home who is unwell and then attacked. Her cat Dettol is instrumental in getting her to break her struck rules.

The more she helps Milo the more he seeps under her skin and she sees how change can be a good thing, how empty her life had been. He helps her mend bridges with her brother and reunite her small family. Likewise she also gives milo hope and friendship and allows him to finally let go of his past ghosts. Together these two are unstoppable, each bringing the best out of each other.

It was a lovely read about friendship, about taking that first step out of your comfort zone and helping someone else to help yourself. Quite a moving read at times.

A great read. Very character driven, and has great characters so it's a joy to read. I loved how it shed light on important matters such as alcoholism and rough sleeping. Also, as someone who found their brother later in life, and had sudden connections with nieces and nephews, I totally related to Tilda's experience.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book about Tilda, who has a troubled past, yet hasn’t truly moved on as evidenced by her very regimented life. When she extends a — you guessed it - single act of kindness, everything changes.