Blog Tour Review: The Secrets of Meadow Farmhouse by Katie Ginger

I’m delighted to be part of the blog tour for Katie Ginger’s new book The Secrets of Meadow Farmhouse! This is such a charming story, and I fell in love with the setting and the characters. Let’s take a look at the story:

About the Book:

Escape to the countryside with a heart-warming new novel from Katie Ginger, author of Snowflakes at Mistletoe Cottage.

Amelia loves her life in Paris. But with the surprise inheritance of her childhood home, Meadow Farmhouse, she has no choice but to return to the small village of Meadowbank to restore her great-aunt’s old farmhouse. However returning to Meadowbank means she has to confront her past, including old flame Adam.

When Amelia discovers a locket hidden in the farmhouse, containing the picture of a mysterious World War Two soldier, she starts to uncover the secrets of her great-aunt’s past and is drawn further into village life. Shocked by the warm welcome from the villagers and her own surprising feelings for first love Adam, Amelia is suddenly confused as to where she truly belongs.

Can Amelia finally confront her own past and find where her heart truly calls home?

Fans of Rachael Lucas, Cathy Bramley and Jenny Colgan will fall in love with Katie Ginger!

Purchase Link – https://amzn.to/2SIzxIU

About the Author:

KATIE GINGER lives by the sea in the south-east of England, and apart from holidays to very hot places where you can sit by a pool and drink cocktails as big as your head, she wouldn’t really want to be anywhere else. The Secrets of Meadow Farmhouse is her seventh novel. She is also the author of theSwallowtail Bayseries – Spring Tides at Swallowtail Bay, Summer Strawberries at Swallowtail Bay and Winter Wishes at Swallowtail Bay, Snowflakes at Mistletoe Cottage and the Seafront series – The Little Theatre on the Seafront, shortlisted for the Katie Fforde Debut Novel of the Year award, and Summer Season on the Seafront.

When she’s not writing, Katie spends her time with her husband and two kids, and their dogs: Wotsit, the King Charles spaniel, and Skips, the three-legged rescue dog. (And yes, they are both named after crisps!)

For more about Katie, you can visit her website: www.keginger.com, find her on Facebook: www.facebook.com/KatieGAuthor, or follow her on Twitter: @KatieGAuthor.

My Review:

A story of second chances, new beginnings, forgiveness, and love, The Secrets of Meadow Farmhouse is a wonderful and charming novel. The story follows Amelia, an interior designer who has a successful and productive life in Paris. When Amelia learns that her aunt Vera died and left Amelia Meadow Farmhouse, Amelia reluctantly returns to her childhood home to prepare it for sale.

Amelia is unprepared for the range of emotions she experiences upon her return to Meadow Farmhouse, especially considering she hasn’t returned or spoken to her aunt in over a decade. Sure that she won’t be remembered since she never felt like she belonged, Amelia is stunned when she is welcomed into the community. As she fixes up the farmhouse, Amelia reconnects with the townspeople and faces the pain of her past. She also revisits her unchanged feelings for Adam, the love she left behind. When the mystery of her aunt’s past arises, Amelia realizes that things aren’t always what they seem.

What happened to Vera to make her such a hard and cold woman? Can Amelia reconcile her past and embrace the opportunity for a second-chance in Meadowbank? And will she admit how much she really cares for Adam? Will Adam forgive Amelie for leaving?

I absolutely loved this story! Ginger has created a dynamic setting and cast of characters that add so much to this wonderful story. From comical scenes trying to usher chickens into their pens to scenes where Amelia is overwhelmed by her meddlesome but well-meaning neighbors, the story left me laughing and moved so many times! One of my favorite scenes occurs when Amelia thinks there is an intruder in her house, and she comes out armed with a toilet bowl cleaner. Adam’s mother, who has come with Adam to help care for the ill Amelia says, “What did you think you’d do with this? Un-hygiene them to death?” It’s such a funny quip, but underneath the humor, this is a touching scene that shows how much Adam and his mother care for Amelia.

Amelia is a wonderful protagonist, and I enjoyed her character growth. Now that she’s older, more reflective, and a bit distanced from her childhood she sees things differently and recognizes the small things done to make her feel loved. She is more willing and able to see things from other people’s perspectives, and her views change as she reflects on her time at Meadow Farmhouse and Vera’s story. I love that Amelia takes the time to understand Vera, which is something she never did before.

Vera’s story, as well as her parents, is as interesting as Amelia’s, and I love how the secrets of Vera’s past unfold as the story progresses. It seems like the more Amelia learns about Vera’s painful past, the more she understands herself. This exploration also allows Amelia to explore her conflicting and complex feelings and forgive herself and others.

Amelia also reevaluates her priorities, what she needs, and what makes her happy, and coming home to Meadow Farmhouse helps her see what she values most. Meadowbank is therapeutic for Amelia, and it is here where she can finally begin to grieve and heal from the wounds of her past. It is also where she can face the present and figure out what (and who) she wants in her future.

The small and charming town of Meadowbank is delightful. In Meadowbank, Amelia is surrounded by a strong sense of family and community. Having people care for you and know you and accept you no matter what is something she hasn’t had but has been searching for. She Amelia wants to belong but has never felt like she fit in anywhere until she returns to Meadowbank. The only place she ever felt like she belonged was when she was with Adam, and Amelia often felt undeserving of his time and attention.

I love the second-chance romance between Adam and Amelia! Both characters must face their feelings about the past and the possibility of a future together, which proves difficult. Adam must learn to forgive, understand, and trust. Amelia has to learn to let people in and embrace love. This is something that I really like about the story – there are many messages about love, like loving oneself, embracing a second chance at love, accepting the love of a community, and understanding that people show love differently. I think many of the characters go through revelations about life and love, and these revelations are relatable and universal.

When you finish the novel, be sure to read the acknowledgments! There’s a story about the inspiration behind the story that is so interesting and relates to Ginger’s life. It’s so fascinating to see where authors get their inspiration from, especially for wonderful reads like this! Thanks so much to Katie Ginger and Rachel’s Random Resources for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

My Rating:

Favorite Parts:

The romance, of course! Amelia and Adam have a great second-chance romance.

The supportive and kind small-town charm.

Vera’s story! I love how her story unfolded throughout the book.

Favorite Lines:

Sometimes, she found it hard to believe that someone would love her. Her life had been so destitute of it from such an early age.

Understanding now was like a shaft of bright spring sunshine punctuating dark, gloomy clouds.

She was like a hamster on a wheel, running on and on to end up in exactly the same place she had been before – unfulfilled and lonely – pretending everything was fine when she felt hollow and empty inside.

He felt as if he was teetering on the edge of a precipice and even a slight breeze could blow him over. He couldn’t trust himself not to fall even more in love with her, and if he did, he’d be at the bottom of that precipice with no hope of ever climbing out again.