The Country Village Allotment by Cathy Lake

 

A heartwarming and uplifting summer story for fans of Heidi Swain and Phillipa Ashley, by the author of The Country Village Christmas Show, The Country Village Summer Fete and The Country Village Winter Wedding.

At eighty-two years old Zelda Grey is tired. Tired of how much slower she is physically and mentally. Tired of technology. Tired of being alone since her beloved cat, Flint, died just before Christmas. And tired of life. The only thing that brings Zelda joy these days is her allotment in the gorgeous village of Little Bramble, where she has lived her whole life, and her three cranky goats.

Widow Mia Holmes always loved visiting Little Bramble Allotment with her husband, Gideon. But since his death she can't motivate herself. Despite putting on a brave face for her three sons and four grandchildren, she's reached breaking point, and isn't sure she can carry on.

And history teacher Liz Carter thought she had it all. The perfect job, perfect boyfriend in Rhodri and the perfect wedding to plan. Until she found Rhodri in bed with the neighbour. Holed up in her sister's box room she wonders how it all went so wrong. As she wallows in her misery, her sister takes her in hand and drags her to Little Bramble Allotment and suddenly she discovers the wonders of planting, growing and getting her hands dirty.

In an increasingly lonely world, these three women strike up an unlikely friendship and find that community, female friendship and the wonders of nature can truly be powerful healers.

Review

This is a typical feel-good story where the characters face different challenges but come together to find peace and healing.

I really enjoyed this novel; it helped immensely that the narrator was Julie Teal, who has a particularly soothing voice, which made listening to this book an absolute pleasure. The story itself is about three women, all in different stages of life, and all suffering from loss and looking for a way to go forward with their lives. When the three women become friends, their lives take on new meaning, and all three of them begin to live again.

The restorative power of friendship has been wonderfully depicted, and this is a story that leaves you with a feel-good feeling once you have finished, not to say there isn't a lot of drama before we get to that lovely conclusion, because there certainly is!

The character development is wonderfully depicted, and these characters are very relatable. I have to say I am fondest of Zelda, who has perhaps the most heartbreaking story of all of them.

I really enjoyed this novel, and I will certainly be reading more books from this author.

I loaned this novel from Borrow Box.