When tragedy strikes, Gwen Stanley finds herself jobless and heartbroken. With nowhere else to turn, she retreats to Hopley, a crumbling little village in the sun-dappled English countryside. Wandering the winding lanes and daydreaming about what could have been, Gwen feels so very lost for the first time...
Until one day she pushes through the creaking doors of a tiny stone church on the edge of the village, forgotten by nearly everyone. There she stumbles on a little book full of local secrets. It might just change her life.
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(@Bookouture, 7 May 2021, 285 pages, ebook, #ARC from the publisher via # NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed, #BlogTour 9 May)
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I've read and enjoyed other books by the author so was looking forward to reading this. It's very different from the books I usually read, a sweet, tender book where nobody is murdered and terrible things tend not to happen. This doesn't mean this book is twee, far from it. I fell in love with Gwen and the people she encounters as she strives to help raise funds for a new roof for the church, find a way out of her grief and decide what her place in the world should be. This is a beautiful, life-affirming book. It gave me all the feels.
