Summer at the Little Cottage on the Hill: An utterly uplifting holiday romance to escape with

Isobel has is the first to have rented a cottage at Joy Acre for six weeks. She is working on a music composition with plans of possibly jumpstarting her career as a violinist. She has a lot angst resulting from a troubled past. Tom is a thatcher who is working on the cottages at the farm. Isobel is quite uncomfortable around the affable Tom, who is quite drawn to her. Meanwhile, the rest of the folks there, Seth, Maddie, Clara and Trixie, as well as Tom, are quite like a family, one where Isobel doesn't fit in. These relationships are all important, however, and in time, Isobel begins to relax. Tom has his own demons. He is finally overcoming them as he gets deeper involved in his work on the far. Meeting Isobel is truly a balm to his soul. Not only does his music affect him in a powerful way, her beauty, as well as her reticence makes her quite desirable to him. Their relationship begins to build as they develop trust in one another's feelings. At one point Tom is asked by Clara if he believes he has found a kindred spirit in Isobel. Indeed, they are perfect for one another, as they can read each other quite well, despite Isobel's initial reluctance to draw close to Tom. Summer at the Cottage on the Hill is the second in a four-part series. I read and reviewed the first book immediately before reading this one. This helped me to feel strongly connected to all of the characters. Continuity in stories is highly favorable to me. Just as Tom, I was a strong fan of Isobel's violin playing. I sensed that I could hear the plaintive notes playing! I was also drawn to the intensity of emotion shared between Isobel and Tom. Kudos to Emma Davies for delivering such a powerful connection to her readers. Quite well done! This is truly a feel-good story. I so look forward, not only to the other books in this series, but to the rest of this author's work. Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC to review.

I loved the introductory book to this series, where we met the gang at Joy’s Acre and see just how the intentions and atmosphere of the place, perhaps with a nudge from the people there, bring healing and lovely intentions to the forefront. Now a few months on with the core group in place, the first guest has arrived, having booked the Gardener’s Cottage for a month. Isobel is a violinist, there to compose in peace with few distractions and little contact with the outside world. Too slim, pale and appearing to be haunted and more than a bit prickly, she’s not making the kind of progress she hoped with her work, and things are made no better by the constant interruptions and attempts by everyone on the farm to make sure she’s got all she needs. Tom is the thatcher for the farm, as well as a part-time musician in a folk band, with a reputation for hard partying, womanizing and often late to work. He’s been in a downward spiral for the past years after his brother’s death, leaving his friends concerned but cautious, accounting for his erratic behavior as “Just Tom”. But he’s found an emptiness in the constant merry-go-round of drinking, women and hangovers: the problem is facing the issues that brought him to this point. Far different from the first in the series: Davies brought these two disparate yet similar personalities into a push-pull of emotion, support, challenges and even healing as the two find a tentative friendship that is full of missteps and spoken truths, progress and leaps backward, slowly joining into the creative energies and healing potential of the farm and the intentions of a creative collaborative place where all can be ‘a part’ of the new history being created. From deeply traumatic events for both Isobel and Tom, their communication that bounces from awkward to revelatory, their importance to one another, as the healing the relationship brings is lovely to experience: allowing a real sense of the hurt and despair that changes to hopeful optimism as both find their way: separate and together, all under the gentle. and not so, interference and sharing of the family that has come to be the hallmark of Joy’s Acre. You don’t need to read the first to love the second – but with the intentions of old working their magic on the present, the atmosphere of Joy’s Acre will enchant, entrance and transport you to places you want to be – if only for the hours it takes to experience the story. I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

I loved this read, could not put it down. the words flow and descriptions are so vivid.