Samantha Tonge has written almost two dozen books, A Single Act of Kindness is my second. I plan to read additional books by this author; A Single Act of Kindness was just right. And just what I needed right now.

Tilda Wright walks past a homeless man often, when he has been beat up she helps clean him up.

Alcohol recovery plays heavily in this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher Boldwood Books for approving my request to read the advance read copy in exchange for an honest review. 293 pages, Publication date is Apr 23, 2024.

This is an intense story. It covers a very tricky subject well. Tilda has an organised life work wise etc. Then she helps Milo and the story gets better and better. Tilde’s mother is a piece of work. I loved all the twists of the story. A very good ending. Read it . One of my books of 2024 . I will highly recommend it.

Tilda is a young, recovering alcoholic, who has built up a successsful cleaning business and stops herself from going off the rails by keeping to herself and living a very regimented and restricted lifestyle. When she stops to help a feverish homeless man on a cold wet day her routines are challenged. However, could this moment of kindness lead to a new friendship and her world becoming a little bit wider?

I really liked the two main characters, Tilda and Milo,  it was interesting to see how much they had in common and how their stories interlinked

This is a lovely, heart-warming story, proving that we are capable of kindness to others, even when we are at rock bottom ourselves.

Mein Leseerlebnis

Den Einstieg in die ruhig erzählte Geschichte fand ich unglaublich stark und mitreißend. Ich habe es geliebt mehr über Tilda zu erfahren und so einige Szenen mit ihr haben mich emotional tief berührt.

Tilda ist eine komplexe Heldin, die für mich zunächst etwas schwer zu verstehen war, was nicht als Kritik gemeint ist. Ich fand sie als Charakter faszinierend und konnte sie mir überraschend gut als echte Person vorstellen.

Beim Lesen wird einem schnell klar, dass die beiden Hauptcharaktere je ihr Päckchen zu tragen haben und dass man zunächst nicht alles über die traumatischen Geschehnisse in ihrer Vergangenheit weiß. Dadurch gibt es im Roman eine gewisse Grundspannung. Das muss man mögen.

Nach dem ersten tollen Drittel gab es für mein Empfinden ein paar kleinere Längen in der Geschichte. Zudem kam mir die Vergangenheit der beiden Hauptfiguren je ein bisschen zu dramatisch bzw. zu vollgestopft vor, um auf mich komplett überzeugend und glaubwürdig zu wirken.

Die Liebesgeschichte entwickelt sich erst in der zweiten Hälfte des Romans (was gut zum Rest des Romans passte) und ich fand sie insgesamt nett, aber nicht so berührend und mitreißend wie erhofft. Auch das Ende fand ich nett, aber leider nicht mehr.

Rückblickend muss ich sagen, dass die ruhigen Szenen, in denen Tilda und ihre Gedanken im Fokus des Geschehens standen, für mich mit Abstand am stärksten und überzeugendsten waren. Von diesen hätte ich in der zweiten Hälfte des Romans gerne mehr gesehen.

🖤🖤🖤 3/4

Für wen?

Wer ruhig erzählte Liebesromane mag, in denen es um Themen wie zweite Chancen und Familie geht, für den könnte das vorliegende Buch eine tolle Wahl sein.

This is truly a story about kindness. Helping a stranger when they have a hit a low point in life! That is exactly what Tilda did with Milo. Little do we know Milo also helped Tilda out ages ago. Both recovering alcoholics, they both have hit many lows in life. Tilda takes Milo in when he is homeless with no job. I think both Tilda and Milo help each other. Tilda hasn't lived the best life. Her mum was horrible. She had her dad but he passed and a brother Logan. Logan and Tilda do reconnect and that is beautiful as well.
This is a story that can be heavy to some. It touches a lot of different areas from addiction, struggles, and more.
It is a story of compassion, forgiveness, love and most importantly kindness.

All it takes to change your life is a single act of kindness.
Manchester, and Tilda Wright house proud with her own cleaning business cleaning toilets to build a safe new life, with her cat Dettol for company at home, she meets a homeless guy Milo Campbell and takes him under her wings cleans him up and feeds him she finds him handsome, but this is only a single act of kindness nothing further can happen. They find each other easy to talk to and both have passed troubles with family, that this is going to grow them closer together.
What a beautiful, well planned out story, I found myself curling up and enjoyed every single chapter with these two characters becoming a match made in heaven, it's a lovely heart warming book right to the end.

I really wanted to love this story and the friendship that blossomed between Tilda and Milo. Milo is living on the streets and Tilda takes him in - they bond over being recovering alcoholics and Tilda’s cleaning business. I just struggled to read it, I didn’t feel connected to the characters and honestly the relationship building across the board felt fake and forced.

This book is like a big hug. It's an easy read that is comforting, cozy, interesting, all without being trite or too simple. I am so grateful to have been given the chance to read this and would love to read more by this author.

Wow what an extraordinary heartwarming feel good read! Could quite easily be the next channel 5/hallmark film! Thank you

This is a must read book. Finishing it leaves me feeling a little bereft as it as so beautiful. The kindness in the book is in juxtaposition with the harsh world that both Tilda and Milo lived through as children. Their brokenness is so well described and resonates with the world we are in, the slow tip toeing forward to move towards happiness is well described alongside the tangible fear that we all feel sometimes.

The reader cannot but feel sorry for Times in her inability to step outside her comfort zone due to her highly regimented lifestyle. Whether it be her meals or simple errands, she refused to deviate in the fear of disruption. However, in learning about her upbringing and the need to shelter herself from hurt whose mother would send that type of letter, it is easier to understand why her behavior patterns are such. She hid away from the world. Bringing Milo into her life forced and later wanted to participate in actually living. Her past especially when dealing with her alcoholism didn't define her. In choosing to bring him in especially when one finds out why creates the certainty that she does have the capability to love. Her reuniting with her brother and meeting her niece came at the right time because of her openness to evolve. A truly heartwarming book.

This is the first book I’ve read by Samantha Tonge but it definitely won’t be my last.
What a beautiful heart warming story.
Tilda lives alone with her cat until she helps a homeless man and allows him to move in with her. I loved both characters and how their stories developed and were intertwined.
Thanks to NetGalley, Samantha Tonge and Boldwood Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

What a fantastic read. I loved this story from the first page,when Tilda decides to help Milo who had been reduced to living on the streets they are both vulnerable people who have suffered through no fault of their own but have become emotionally damaged and turned to alcohol as a way to cope . So beautifully written from the heart by Samantha and it shines through the story, as these two characters find each other and also discover that what happened in their pasts can make them stronger and that Kindness does make a huge difference to people's lives. A lesson to be learned from this story is that kindness costs nothing but it means so much.

A Single Act Of Kindness gives off major Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine vibes. The main character, Tilda, is not neuro-divergent but she has a troubled past that causes her to live a very controlled and regimented life. Milo, a homeless man, is the person to whom she directs her single act of kindness.

This novel is about trust, redemption, opening up your heart to love and changes....truly a heartwarming and sweet story. It got a little bit Hallmarky at times towards the end, but it is still a very appealing story.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Oh wow! Another one of Samantha’s books that wraps itself around you like a hug. One of my books of the year.
Tilda is single and likes her routine- very much so. She likes order and convention and doesn’t like to veer away from this. She has been single since she discovered her last boyfriend was more interested in meeting her brother than in her. Milo is homeless and through a chance encounter Tilda speaks to him. What transpires is different from anything either of them could have ever imagined.
Oh heavens! This gripped me and made me smile and made me sad and the whole gamut of emotions in between. Both Tilda and Milo have their backstories and I'm sure like me some will resonate with other readers. “ You didn't get the best from people by criticising, by instilling fear. The power of kindness was like a secret you didn’t get to know about until it touched you”. Wow! This resonated with me beyond words.
I found myself willing things to happen, I’d quickly grown to care for both characters. It's a very special read, one I treasured and didn't want it to end. I could easily see this as a film (my version would possibly have Tom Conti and Emma Thompson in their younger days in the lead roles). If you like a read to restore your faith in human nature or even yourself, this could be the very thing. Of fortitude and bravery, of kindness and life. Stunning, brilliant and lots of other superlatives and most of all, be kind.

For more reviews please follow me on Twitter or Threads @nickisbookblog
----------------------------------------------------------

I just finished this beautiful, insightful, heart-warming novel and have to say I am glad to have discovered a new favorite author! The stories of Tilda and Milo are beautifully told, and how their stories interweave isn't revealed completely until the end (which I found totally satisfying). There is much here about personal growth, 12 Steps for different kinds of addiction, families, sibling relationships, and the self-doubt that many of us experience as young children and teenagers.

I also loved the inclusion of one very perceptive feline named Dettol as she added much depth and character to the novel.

Here are a few of my favorite "wisdom lines":

"But promise me something. When you meet a young man, don't sing his song...because when you split up, you'll have lost your voice."

"... to be more like her dear grandmother who unashamedly revelled in her uniqueness."

"... Georgie's share was about putting up boundaries. Sometimes, moving forward in life might be about pulling down boundaries too."

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book wasn't really the uplifting novel I was expecting -- it was pretty depressing at times actually. Granted, that's real life for most of us, but when I pick up a book that's supposed to be feel-good, I don't expect to feel sadder because of the events that unfold. Tilda and Milo are both lovely people who each fall on hard times at differing points in their life. Homelessness, and the struggles that come along with it, are featured here, as well as family battles, alcoholism, and - as noted - how small acts of kindness can unknowingly become large acts that come back to you. There were some surprise twists and an odd romance toward the end, but...it just didn't do it for me.

A Single Act of Kindness is an excellent fulfilling read.
Tilda, owner of a small cleaning company keeps her home and personal life neat and tidy, each day following the same pattern, meals and clothes kept the same for each day of the week, colleagues, neighbours and family kept at arms length.
When a homeless man living on her street is attacked and beaten by thugs and he is obviously unwell with the flu she finds herself acting completely out of character and offers him a bed in her home for a couple of nights. Milo has reached rock bottom and has nowhere else to go after falling on hard times. He is a lovely character and now beyond grateful and overcome with gratitude towards Tilda.
The back stories of them both is heartbreaking but gradually you see them both blossoming with their mutual friendship and support.
Milo is determined to pay back Tilda for her single act of kindness.
One reviewer has described Milo as a freeloader, that couldn’t be further from the truth and I’m at a loss as to why that has been perceived.
A well written flowing story with a cast of characters with depth, humour personality and above all kindness. Throughly enjoyable.
My thanks to net galley and publisher for the opportunity to review this book honestly.

This was a lovely read with a lot of positivity running through it whilst still dealing with difficult issues and emotions. Tilda is very self contained due to the impact of her childhood and this has made it very difficult for her to let people close to her. When she comes to the aid of Milo, a homeless man who has been attacked, she tries very hard to keep him at a distance but a small enough part of her trusts him enough to give him a chance to start afresh.

This is told from Tilda’s point of view and she seems quite harsh toward Milo in a way but her reasons are very understandable and it was good to see her look back on parts of her life differently and open up more. Milo seems like a really decent person but past trauma led to him tearing his life apart so it was good to see he still held on to many positive aspects of his personality. Together the dynamic developed really well over the course of the book which overall made for a very uplifting a hopeful read. 9/10

✨It only takes a simple act of kindness to change someone's life✨

This book is a reminder that no matter how rough life has been knocking your door, we can knock rougher than it.

A Single Act of Kindness is a book I highly recommend - it's a hidden gem if I'm honest -

While reading it you definitely can experience lots of emotions. Tilda and Milo story is about self recrimination, difficult family members and mostly important personal growth.

This book taught that you can find friendship and love in unexpected people.

And as Tilda said - choose kindness- a small act of kindness can make you feel better.

Thank you NetGalley and Samantha Tonge for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.