About the book…
Ally and her dad, Geoff, run the family business, a creative retreat, from their home Hollyhock Cottage in picturesque Kittiwake Cove. They give their guests their dream break, but Ally hankers after glamourous city living, fancy restaurants and art galleries.
Ally’s survival strategy is to escape out of season, take a break abroad and pretend to be the person she always imagined she would be. She meets Logan while she’s away and he turns out to be exactly the kind of distraction she’s looking for.
With her spirits restored, Ally returns home, picks up the reins again and sets her sights on another successful season, but when Logan unexpectedly arrives on the scene, she soon realises she’s in for a summer that’s going to be far from straightforward…
A story about bringing a holiday home – and what happens when what goes on on holiday comes back to bite you…
Buy Links:
About the author…
Heidi Swain is a Sunday Times Top Ten best-selling author who writes feel good fiction for Simon and Schuster. She releases two books a year (early summer and winter) and the stories all have a strong sense of community, family and friendship. She is currently writing books set in three locations - the Fenland town of Wynbridge, Nightingale Square in Norwich and Wynmouth on the Norfolk coast, as well as summer standalone titles.
Heidi lives in beautiful west Norfolk. She is passionate about gardening, the countryside, collecting vintage paraphernalia and reading. Her tbr pile is always out of control!
Contact Links:
her website heidiswain.co.uk/ or
Twitter @Heidi_Swain
My thoughts…
My goodness, what an absolute delight The Holiday Escape was - I loved everything about it.
From the moment I clapped eyes on the most vibrant of covers to the characters, storyline and settings, I knew I was going to love this book. This was just what the doctor ordered, the tonic I needed to lift me up and escape the drab, grey autumn and winter that had carried on into spring.
Our lead character Ally has two personas, the one where she and her dad run a creative retreat in Kittiwake Cove, Dorset. Both of them working hard, hosting all manner of people who enrol in the many creative craft classes held by the artists in residence for that season. Ally bends herself out of shape, going above and beyond to ensure they have the very best of times, her attention to detail ensures that they all leave, missing the place before they get to the end of the drive - all desperate to return. When the season closes for winter Ally works hard to put in place the many improvements that have come to mind during the year to ensure the following season is even better before switching guises and heading off on holiday where she presents herself entirely differently, reinventing herself and her life that, taking on a persona that is as far from her reality as possible.
I loved that Heidi took us all on a journey with Ally as she had to face reality when coming face to face with her Spanish fling Logan. What goes on tour, is supposed to stay on tour, I can only imagine the anguish Ally felt when her two worlds collide. The turmoil and anguish was palpable and probably inevitable - lies and half truths tend to come back to haunt.
I loved Ally’s relationship with her dad and the retreat she ran with him, but we find out early on that Ally is putting on a facade - truly believing her heart and life is meant to be elsewhere - guilt and a sense of duty keeping her in Dorset instead of Spain where her heart and passion is truly ignited. Not wanting to tell her dad, she puts her heart and soul into making it the best place, thinking that will make it easier for her to leave and live out her dreams abroad.
However, life has a way of working itself out. The Holiday Escape does what it says on the tin, it was an escape and haven for its many visitors and resident artists to Hollyhock Cottage, each reluctant to leave when their break was over. There was a multitude of secrets, gentle slow burning love, friendship and a real sense of community. It was difficult for me to see why Ally wanted to escape from it and was delighted to be a fly on the wall as both she, her dad, best friend Flora, and foul mouthed Kasuku the resident parrot navigate a season like no other - somehow life has a way of working itself out and it was a joyful ride to be on as a reader.
Throughout I quietly cheer leaded in the corner, for Ally to see what was in front of her and to take off the emotional blinkers, sometimes we don’t realise we have everything we want and need, the grass is not always greener on the other side. I would love to move to Kittiwake Cove, I even contemplated finding some sort of crafty retreat then I remembered I’m the least crafty person I know - I’ll just come for the friendship, wine and good food - straight from Geoff’s cottage garden
As ever this was the perfect tonic, I loved every single page and was gutted when I turned the last page - Heidi Swain, once again you have brought sunshine and smiles to what is at the moment a very monochrome world - roll on blue skies and summer.
Follow the tour…
