This is my first book by this author and I didn’t know what to expect. I must confess that I thought Summer Secrets at Streamside Cottage was going to be a light romance. It totally surprised me.
Summer Secrets at Streamside Cottage
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.
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My review
I’ve never read a book about a tattoo artist and I was eager to find out more about this profession. The beautiful cover of the book also drew me in. As I mentioned at the start of this post I was very surprised with this story of love, loss, forgiving, finding acceptance and moving on.
Secrets have a way of coming to haunt you or the people you love and leave behind. Having been estranged from her parents and then finding a family secret, leaves Lizzie grappling with it all. But there’s a certain comfort that she finds among some new friends and a cat in the quaint village of Leafton !
I found the author’s style of storytelling very easy and I found myself getting drawn into the story, the setting and being able to identify with some of the characters. The book is has greatly relatable characters and Lizzy herself is a very sincere, loveable character, who has managed to carve a life for herself despite her the somewhat over bearing and over protective parents.
Summer Secrets at Streamside Cafe makes a good read with a great storyline – family, community, secrets, mystery and romance – and great characters.
I’m looking out for more books from this author.
Meet The Author
Samantha Tonge lives in Manchester UK and studied German and French at university. She has worked abroad, including a stint at Disneyland Paris, and has travelled widely. She has sold many dozens of short stories to women’s magazines.
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 2019 she was shortlisted for the RNA’s Romantic Comedy Award.
In 2020 she won the RNA’s Jackie Collins Romantic Thriller Award with her novel Knowing You, from publisher Canelo.
Connect with the author on her website and social media – Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Grateful to the publishers, Aria and Rachel’s Random Resources for an advanced reader’s copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.