My Review
Wow what a read, another superb book by Samantha Tonge. This story really packed a punch and I loved the way it unravelled as I kept reading, taking me on an emotional and unexpected journey.
Lizzie is a tattoo artist who is happy with the life she is forging for herself but since a falling out with her parents a few years before she has many unanswered questions. I loved getting to know Lizzie and learn about her relationship with her parents, there are lots of mysteries contained within the pages of this story and once I had started to read I loved losing myself in her story.Â
When Lizzie discovers her parents owned another property she decides to visit Streamside Cottage, yet she doesn’t realise just how significant this visit will be to peeling back the layers of her life to get some answers to questions that she never had the chance to ask her parents.Â
Set in a picturesque village, Lizzie quickly got to know people in the village and made friends that in turn helped reignite her passion for art and designing tattoos. I personally love tattoos and love this form of expression and the significance of this in the story and the ideas explored as to why tattoos can be so popular.
Throughout the story there are little facts and anecdotes under the chapter numbers and I looked for them every time I started a new chapter. The perfect mix of love, mystery and loss to hook you early on and make you eager to keep turning the pages. A highly recommended read that I loved from the very first pages and that is a wonderful story to lose yourself in.
Book Blurb
A new start can come from the most unexpected places…
It’s been years since Lizzie Lockhart spoke to her parents. But she was safe in the knowledge she knew everything about them. Once upon a time, they were as close as could be. Until they weren’t.
After receiving the earth-shattering news of their passing, Lizzie decides it’s time to unearth some family secrets and find out just who her parents really were… starting with Streamside Cottage. A cottage Lizzie never knew existed, in a place she’s never heard of: the beautiful English village of Leafton.
Leaving behind London, and the tattoo parlour she called home, Lizzie finds herself moving to the countryside. Faced with a tight-lipped community, who have secrets of their own, Lizzie is at a loss for what to do, until her rather handsome neighbour, Ben, steps in to help.
As Lizzie finally begins to piece together the puzzle of her family history she realises she has to confront the truth of the past in order to face her future.
Available to purchase on Kindle or pre-order in Paperback
Meet the Author
Samantha Tonge lives in Manchester UK with her husband and children. She studied German and French at university and has worked abroad, including a stint at Disneyland Paris. She has travelled widely. When not writing she passes her days cycling, baking and drinking coffee. Samantha has sold many dozens of short stories to women’s magazines. She is represented by the Darley Anderson literary agency. In 2013, she landed a publishing deal for romantic comedy fiction with HQDigital at HarperCollins and in 2014, her bestselling debut, Doubting Abbey, was shortlisted for the Festival of Romantic Fiction best Ebook award. In 2015 her summer novel, Game of Scones, hit #5 in the UK Kindle chart and won the Love Stories Awards Best Romantic Ebook category. In 2018 Forgive Me Not heralded a new direction into darker women’s fiction with publisher Canelo. In 2019 she was shortlisted for the Romantic Novelists’ Association romantic comedy award.
Social Media Links
Facebook: @SamanthaTongeAuthor
Twitter: @SamTongeWriter
Instagram: @samanthatongeauthor
Many thanks for the invitation to read and review your latest release.
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Daisy, Jacks & Kel x
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