Tag Archive | The Winter Garden

The Winter Garden by Nicola Cornick

Oct27

True Treasure

The Winter Garden by Nicola Cornick is a marvellous dual timeline novel that had me enthralled from the start.

The book is set in present day and 1598 in the lead up to the Gunpowder Plot. Chapters alternate, as do the voices, with the action being seen through the eyes of the leading ladies – in the third person in present day and in the first person in 1598.

Living in a barn called Gunpowder Barn in the grounds of the old Catesby cottage provides a link to the past. It is all very atmospheric as there seems to be a thin veil between the two time periods.

We witness that sadness in the present attracts sadness in the past. A love will not rest until the past has surrendered its secrets.

A mother’s love is strong. We witness several instances. Life in the sixteenth century was precarious, not all children born, survived. A veil of grief is palpable.

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The Winter Garden by Heidi Swain

Oct1

Warm And Welcoming

The Winter Garden by Heidi Swain is the most charming contemporary novel set during the autumn in the run up to Christmas. It is the third book in the Nightingale Square series but can be read as a stand-alone. I enjoyed catching up with familiar faces.

Once more the characters are warm and welcoming. Strangers quickly become friends as arms reach out to include new faces into the fold.

Everything is community based. People work together for the good of all. Much love and encouragement is offered as people’s dreams soar. Neighbours are so much more, they become family.

There are relationships budding but there is an underlying tension as the past is misunderstood. Families that are fractured and need work to repair the cracks.

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