I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Holiday Escape by Heidi Swain Also by this author: Sleigh Rides and Silver Bells at the Christmas Fair, Mince Pies and Mistletoe at the Christmas Market, Sunshine and Sweet Peas in Nightingale Square, Snowflakes and Cinnamon Swirls at the Winter Wonderland
Published by Simon & Schuster UK on 25th April 2024
Genres: Chicklit, Contemporary, Humour, Love & Romance, Women's Literary Fiction
Pages: 414
Format: eARC
Source: from Netgalley
Goodreads
Amazon Kindle
Her dream holiday is his everyday life. His dream holiday is her normal life. What happens when they collide?
Ally and her dad, Geoff, run the family business, a creative retreat, from their home Hollyhock Cottage in picturesque Kittiwake Cove. They give their guests their dream break, but Ally hankers after glamourous city living, fancy restaurants and art galleries.
Ally’s survival strategy is to escape out of season, take a break abroad and pretend to be the person she always imagined she would be. She meets Logan while she’s away and he turns out to be exactly the kind of distraction she’s looking for.
With her spirits restored, Ally returns home, picks up the reins again and sets her sights on another successful season, but when Logan unexpectedly arrives on the scene, she soon realises she’s in for a summer that’s going to be far from straightforward…
A story about bringing a holiday home – and what happens when what goes on on holiday comes back to bite you…
Thank you to Simon & Schuster and especially to the team at Books and the City for letting me take part in this tour and my copy of this book via Netgalley. I am a huge fan of Heidi’s writing and have been reading her books for many years now. I love Heidi’s sense of community that features in every story.
This book follows Ally. At first, I found it a bit hard to warm to Ally. I think I didn’t like the pretence she put up while on holiday. I also loved Hollyhock Cottage and Kittiwake Cove so Ally’s dislike and need to leave for a ‘better’ life rubbed me up the wrong way slightly. However, as the book progressed it was easy to love Ally.
Hollyhock Cottage and the business that Ally and her father, Geoff have built there sounds absolutely wonderful. I seriously want to sign myself up for one of their craft weekends, despite both me not being creative and of course its not actually real!
With a mix of family, friendship and romance Heidi builds some really strong relationships in this book. It’s evident from very early on how close Flora and Ally are and how much she really loves her father. I loved that Flora and Ally could be honest with each other and while it may upset each other they also forgave each other. It showed a true friendship that can weather any storm. Ally sacrificed everything for her father and would do it all again in a heartbeat to make him happy.
This book is exactly what I have come to expect from Heidi and it was everything I needed. Full of community, love, friendship and heartwarming moments. It’s a perfect read to get you in the mood for summer.
About Heidi Swain
Although passionate about writing from an early age, Heidi Swain gained a degree in Literature, flirted briefly with a newspaper career, married and had two children before she finally plucked up the courage to join a creative writing class and take her literary ambitions seriously.
A lover of Galaxy bars, vintage paraphernalia and the odd bottle of fizz, she now writes contemporary fiction and enjoys the company of a whole host of feisty female characters.
Heidi can be found at the keyboard at all hours of the day and night and quite often scribbling longhand in her car during her lunch break. She lives in stunning south Norfolk with her wonderful son and daughter and a mischievous cat called Storm.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2024 Goodreads Challenge
- 2024 Netgalley Challenge
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