This is book 13 of my 20 Books of Summer
ABOUT THE BOOK
‘This may just have saved my life…’ The hurried scribble in the dusty visitors’ book catches Gwen’s eye. Just like that, she is drawn into a mystery at the heart of the pretty village of Hopley, and her troubles seem to fall behind.
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.
Perfect for fans of Jojo Moyes, Cecilia Ahern and Fiona Valpy, this is a gorgeous, feel-good read from a Richard and Judy bestselling author.
PUBLISHED BY BOOKOUTURE
MY REVIEW
This is book 13 of my 20 Books of Summer 2021.
I love Tracy Rees and she hits the spot again with this wonderful feelgood story of hope, friendship and finding purpose in a world that seems to often be against you.
Gwen finds herself back in Hopley, the village where she grew up, and she’s feeling lost. But she finds solace at the little local church and becomes rather obsessed with the visitor book, connecting with the little messages that each visitor over the years has left. She’s living with her Aunt Mary and it’s proving a very stressful time.
Jarvis is also living in Hopley, and living with his parents, seemingly having no real plan for life, other than enjoying a drink or 3! To appease his parents, he finds himself volunteering to help out after a plea from the local vicar to raise much needed funds for the church. So that’s how Jarvis meets Gwen.
They soon become addicted to tracking down people who have put messages in the visitor book, in the hope that they might donate some money to the fund! And the feelings of self worth and joy it gives them to find someone and get a donation is truly heartwarming! And the more time they spend focussed on this and not all the negative things in their lives, it starts to make them both blossom as people and start to thinking about their own dreams and passions.
The characters in this book are just the loveliest! And it was wonderful to see how just a simple task could bring about such change in their fortunes. I loved hearing from the past visitors of how this little church had meant so much to them and stayed in their minds, and how their different stories helped open new doors of opportunities for Gwen and Jarvis.
A wonderfully uplifting read!!
★★★★★
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