Sunshine and Sweet Peas

in Nightingale Square

by Heidi Swain

Kate is on the run from her almost-divorced husband who is determined to have her back, and she has found the perfect place to hide… a little cottage on Nightingale Square in Norwich, far away from her old life in London. But the residents of Nightingale Square don’t take no for an answer, and Kate soon finds herself pulled into a friendship with Lisa, her bossy but lovely new neighbour.

Within a matter of days Kate is landed with the job of campaigning the council to turn the green into a community garden, meanwhile all the residents of Nightingale Square are horrified to discover that the Victorian mansion house on the other side of the square has been bought by developers. But when all hope is lost, the arrival of a handsome stranger is sure to turn things around! 

Review

★★★★★

I was kindly given an e-ARC of the book by NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This was the first time I was reading this author’s writing and she managed to make me fall in love with it.

Kate is such a lovely character with her ‘somewhat set ideas’ but seriously, I couldn’t put this book down once I started reading it. The way Kate has to build her life again and how she meets the lovely people of Nightingale Square, every character was so wonderfully written! At times, I was so engrossed I almost felt as if I was there witnessing the whole thing. The community that the author managed to write is so wonderful, too! I was as invested in Lisa’s and Heather’s life as I was in Kate’s life. Then there was that tense moment of Mark and Neil.

The fun thing about this book is the main character. I didn’t always agree with her ideas, I didn’t always favour her actions either but that’s what made me read the book even more. To try to understand where she was coming from, what sort of thought process she had when she made certain decisions. It is not really supposed to be a serious read and I am glad of it, we need light things in life, you know?

Simply put, this book is absolutely delightful. There were so many twists and yet, it never went over the top. that’s what I loved about it. At the core, it stayed faithful to the tone throughout. That of light and lovely. I would absolutely recommend it to those who want to have some really good time with a lovely book in the summer. Get your coziest spot and your choice of drink and read this book!

This book has prompted me look up the author and read more of her work! I haven’t been super successful with that yet but I haven’t lost hope. I think this was one of the really nice books I read in March. It just left me with such a good feeling! I think that’s what I generally look for in a book and I am totally satisfied with my pick, frankly.