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A review by laural27
The Secret of Orchard Cottage by Alex Brown
5.0
Alex Brown is one of my favourite authors and has been ever since I read her beautiful debut Cupcakes At Carringtons. I wait impatiently every time I know there is a new novel imminent and I have been on tenterhooks waiting for The Secret Of Orchard Cottage. When it landed on my Kindle I was super excited and started reading straight away!
The Secret Of Orchard Cottage is set in the gorgeous village of Tindledale and whilst it features returning characters and familiar settings, The Secret Of Orchard Cottage is very different in tone and style to the previous Tindledale novels. It feels much deeper, far more evocative and tackles some incredibly touching and serious issues. The main plot follows widowed April as she visits her Aunt Edie in Tindledale after the death of her husband, Gray. When she arrives she realises that Edie’s memory seems to be receding and Edie keeps calling April, Winnie. Who is Winnie and why does Edie seem to want to know what happened to her? And, with Edie confused, April realises she needs to stick around to look after her aunt. As April explores Tindledale and tries to settle into life in the village, she meets some eccentric and enigmatic villagers who change her world completely.
This novel has so many layers to it that all intertwine to create a story that makes you smile and cry in equal measure. As I turned the final page a huge pang of bittersweet happiness hit me as I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to the characters and their world but I was so satisfied with the ending that I was also just about happy to leave the characters as they were!
Alex has upped her writing game BIG TIME with this novel. It is so precious and special that I can’t see how someone couldn’t love it! There are moments of mystery, moments that make you hold your breath, some moments make you ‘ahhh’ and some make you go ‘nooooo!’ It has everything you could possibly want; and then some. I love how Alex has the ability to draw me into her writing and affect me in so many ways; it's the mark of a brilliant author.
The pacing of this novel was perfect too. There was never a moment I felt bored or wished it would hurry up a little, in fact I was left wanting more at the end! I enjoyed how everything unfolded at the perfect rate too - nothing was too drawn out but at the same time it wasn't revealed too early on; I was glued to the pages to try and get to the bottom of everything.
Oh, and you can't forget about Alex's scene setting. Tindledale felt so real to me, in fact I was ready to pack up my bags and move to the gorgeous village by the time the book was finished! It was so clear and colourful in my mind...I wanted to walk across the green fields and then pluck an apple from a tree in the orchard before settling down to a picnic!
Overall, I can honestly hand on heart say that this is one of the best books I've read this year and I urge you to read it!
Beautiful and poignant, The Secret Of Orchard Cottage is a book you need in your holiday bag this year!
The Secret Of Orchard Cottage is set in the gorgeous village of Tindledale and whilst it features returning characters and familiar settings, The Secret Of Orchard Cottage is very different in tone and style to the previous Tindledale novels. It feels much deeper, far more evocative and tackles some incredibly touching and serious issues. The main plot follows widowed April as she visits her Aunt Edie in Tindledale after the death of her husband, Gray. When she arrives she realises that Edie’s memory seems to be receding and Edie keeps calling April, Winnie. Who is Winnie and why does Edie seem to want to know what happened to her? And, with Edie confused, April realises she needs to stick around to look after her aunt. As April explores Tindledale and tries to settle into life in the village, she meets some eccentric and enigmatic villagers who change her world completely.
This novel has so many layers to it that all intertwine to create a story that makes you smile and cry in equal measure. As I turned the final page a huge pang of bittersweet happiness hit me as I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to the characters and their world but I was so satisfied with the ending that I was also just about happy to leave the characters as they were!
Alex has upped her writing game BIG TIME with this novel. It is so precious and special that I can’t see how someone couldn’t love it! There are moments of mystery, moments that make you hold your breath, some moments make you ‘ahhh’ and some make you go ‘nooooo!’ It has everything you could possibly want; and then some. I love how Alex has the ability to draw me into her writing and affect me in so many ways; it's the mark of a brilliant author.
The pacing of this novel was perfect too. There was never a moment I felt bored or wished it would hurry up a little, in fact I was left wanting more at the end! I enjoyed how everything unfolded at the perfect rate too - nothing was too drawn out but at the same time it wasn't revealed too early on; I was glued to the pages to try and get to the bottom of everything.
Oh, and you can't forget about Alex's scene setting. Tindledale felt so real to me, in fact I was ready to pack up my bags and move to the gorgeous village by the time the book was finished! It was so clear and colourful in my mind...I wanted to walk across the green fields and then pluck an apple from a tree in the orchard before settling down to a picnic!
Overall, I can honestly hand on heart say that this is one of the best books I've read this year and I urge you to read it!
Beautiful and poignant, The Secret Of Orchard Cottage is a book you need in your holiday bag this year!