Book Review - The Winter Garden by Heidi Swain

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Title: The Winter Garden

Author: Heidi Swain

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Publication Date: 1st October 2020

Rating: 5 Stars

Freya Fuller is estranged from her parents and has been following her childhood dream of becoming a gardener ever since. When an opportunity to design a winter garden opens up at a Victorian property in Nightingale Square, Freya jumps at the chance to make a fresh start. But while the majority of the residents are welcoming, local artist Finn seems determined to shut her out, and when Freya's family make a surprise appearance, it seems that her new life is about to come crashing down . . .

The Winter Garden is the perfect read this Christmas, promising snowfall, warm fires and breath-taking seasonal romance. Perfect for fans of Carole Matthews, Cathy Bramley and Sarah Morgan.

How I love being drawn into Heidi Swain's world, this time we are back in Nightingale Square, but with plenty of references to her locations of Wynbridge and Wynmouth, so that you feel as though you are close to old friends from the other books. 

This though is a complete and utter standalone, and although Nightingale Square is a familiar setting to those that have read some of the author's books before, Freya is a whole new character and one that I was enthralled with almost instantly. 

She has a couple of tricky decisions to make early in the book which lead to her being brave and agreeing to take a new job in Norwich and to help make Luke's vision of a Winter Garden come to life. 

I loved all of Luke's ideas for the garden and also his Winterfest workshops, as a way of hopefully helping others like himself that suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder. 

Then there is Finn, who after a bit of a rocky start, is rather wonderful, and I would have happily taken him as my Christmas present this year!  He is very talented and like Freya has parents that just don't seem to understand him. 

In fact troublesome family is a theme in this book, as is the love of the great outdoors, how all sorts of activities that sounded lovely, and often quite cosy. 

This is just a really heartwarming winter's story, in the run up to Christmas, that is perfect to curl up by the fire with a warm drink and just lose yourself in the pages. It's full of Heidi Swain's fabulous writing style, believable characters and I fancied jumping into the book to be a part of it, it felt that realistic. 

Just another gem of a read from this incredibly talented author. 

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.