Home for Christmas - Heidi Swain

About the book… 

Bella is living her best life in Wynbridge, with her beloved Spaniel, Tink. She’s found a way to keep the house she inherited from her grandparents while expanding her dream business – Away With the Fairies – and she’s ecstatic that Christmas is on the horizon!

In fact, everything is perfect until family friend, Catherine Connelly asks Bella if she’d be willing to rent part of the house to freelance author, Jude who is researching the history of the Connelly Clan and Wynthorpe Hall ahead of turning his findings into a book. The plan had been for Jude to stay at the hall, but he can’t cope with the chaos and Bella reluctantly agrees to open her door to him.

Initially, the pair clash but then friendlier feelings begin to grow and Bella finds herself wondering if Jude could become more than just another guest before it’s time for him to leave. That is, until he announces he has no time for Christmas!

With her favourite time of the year suddenly in jeopardy, will Bella ever feel like she’s home for Christmas?

Buy Links: 

Amazon: https://amzn.eu/d/aRvkJba

About the author… 

Although passionate about writing from an early age, Heidi Swain gained a degree in Literature, flirted briefly with a newspaper career, married and had two children before she finally plucked up the courage to join a creative writing class and take her literary ambitions seriously.

A lover of Galaxy bars, vintage paraphernalia and the odd bottle of fizz, she now writes contemporary fiction and enjoys the company of a whole host of feisty female characters.

Heidi can be found at the keyboard at all hours of the day and night and quite often scribbling longhand in her car during her lunch break. She lives in stunning south Norfolk with her wonderful son and daughter and a mischievous cat called Storm.

Contact Links: 

Heidi loves to chat with her readers and you can get in touch via 

her website heidiswain.co.uk/ or 

Twitter @Heidi_Swain

My thoughts…

There is nothing more perfect than a Heidi Swain Christmas novel. Home for Christmas was exactly what it said on the cover - I felt right at home, back in Wynbridge, back with familiar characters and once again itching to be part of this perfect community.

The focal character in Home for Christmas is Bella, Bella lives in the house she inherited from her grand-parents, renting the main part of it out for nine months of the year whilst she nestles herself and her business “Away with the Fairies” up into the small upstairs apartment.

I can’t tell you what a delight this book was, Bella and her fairies and her love of all things Christmas warmed my heart from the inside out.  As ever not everything in the village and Bella’s life is rosy and runs quite to plan. As a reader sitting on the periphery whilst Bella handled the unexpected, last minute house guest who threatens to de-rail both her business and Christmas was blood pressure inducing at times and as you’d expect gooey and mushy at others!

Jude was rude, abrupt and the grinch incarnated.  He is the polar opposite to Bella. Whilst she is the full on, bright, sparkly all singing, all dancing kind of Christmas girl that doesn’t understand the phrase ‘too much’, Jude is the opposite, Christmas - whatever is that, it’s not to be embraced in any way, shape or form. He successfully manages to de-rail Bella’s life in an unexpected way.  Thankfully Holly is surrounded by her close friends Holly, Bear and Jeanie as well as the Connolly clan from Wynthorpe Hall who all manage to support, interfere and guide her as she navigates her unexpected encounter with Jude, her pre-Xmas stalls and events making and selling her unique, individual fairies. I soooooooo want one!!

As with every single one of Heidi’s novels the characters stray from one story to another with the layers of their characters stripped back with each, revealing a bit more with every book.  It was an absolute delight to be back amongst the locals, sharing drinks in the pub, tea in the cafe and lunch in the kitchen of Wynthrop Hall.  Have I said before I want to move here - I want to be part of this fabulous community - I already feel I know so much about them all I know I’ll fit right in.

As ever this was the perfect tonic, There is the right balance of angst, love and romance. I loved every single page and was gutted when I turned the last one - Heidi Swain, once again you have brought sunshine and smiles to a very grey day and even got me starting my Christmas shopping! You know how to bring a smile to my face and I’m now wondering if October is too soon to put up the Christmas lights!

Follow the tour:

The Holiday Escape - Heidi Swain

About the book… 

Her dream holiday is his everyday life. His dream holiday is her normal life. What happens when they collide?

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: 

Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Holiday-Escape-Heidi-Swain-ebook/dp/B0CCWVJMXQ

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: 

 Heidi loves to chat with her readers and you can get in touch via 

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…

The Christmas Wish List - Heidi Swain

About the book… 

After being let go from her job in a swanky hotel just weeks before Christmas, Hattie is feeling lost. Even more so when her high-flying boyfriend announces he’s landed his dream job in Abu Dhabi and asks her to move with him. Luckily, Hattie’s long-time friend Dolly is on hand to help and invites Hattie to spend one last holiday in the small, festive town of Wynbridge, determined to give her a Christmas to remember . . .

Upon Hattie’s arrival, holiday preparations are in full swing. But for Hattie, whose Christmas cheer has long since run out, it’ll take more than mince pies and mistletoe to open her heart to the season once more. Relishing the task of reigniting Hattie’s Christmas spirit, Dolly suggests they create a wish list of all the things the season can offer, and with the helpful hands of Wynbridge’s resident handyman, Beamish, Hattie finds her frosty exterior is starting to thaw.

As Wynbridge prepares for its most spectacular Christmas yet, will Hattie leave snowy England behind for life in a sunnier clime, or will she in fact realise that her heart’s desire lies much closer to home?

The Christmas Wish List is the perfect read this Christmas, promising snowfall, warm fires and breath-taking seasonal romance. Perfect for fans of Carole Matthews and Cathy Bramley.

Buy Links: 

About the author… 

Heidi Swain is the Sunday Times Top Ten best-selling author of SLEIGH RIDES AND SILVER BELLS AT THE CHRISTMAS FAIR. Her other titles include The Cherry Tree Café, Summer at Skylark Farm, Mince Pies and Mistletoe at the Christmas Market, Coming Home to Cuckoo Cottage, Snowflakes and Cinnamon Swirls at the Winter Wonderland, Poppy's Recipe for Life, The Christmas Wish List and The Secret Seaside Escape. 

Heidi lives in beautiful south Norfolk with her family and a mischievous cat called Storm. She is passionate about gardening, the countryside, collecting vintage paraphernalia and reading. Her tbr pile is always out of control!

Contact Links: 

Heidi loves to chat with her readers and you can get in touch via 
her website heidiswain.co.uk/ or 
Twitter @Heidi_Swain

My thoughts…

From the moment The Christmas Wish List arrived through my door I wanted to shout about it.  It is an addictive Christmas read that took me back to my childhood, reminding me of the anticipation of waiting for Christmas to come, all the beautiful decorations and lights that sparkles all the way to the big day.  The activities, smells and tastes that heighten your senses had me giddy with excitement.

The Christmas Wish List revolves around Hattie, we meet her as she is made redundant from a job she loves, she lives and works in a posh hotel and has made it her life to give the guests the best experience and service she can, being on hand to cater to their every need.  It's a shock and has her reeling, she's knocked further sideways when Jonathan her boyfriend announces he is taking a job in Dubai and wants her to move in with him and go with him.

Hattie is in turmoil and can't think straight so accepts an invitation from a dear, old, elderly, friend Dolly to spend one last Christmas in Wynbridge before she leaves for `Dubai.

Oh, I so want to move to Wynbridge, the town and Dolly wrap themselves around Hattie giving her the time and space to question past decisions made and current ones to be made.  Hattie is estranged from her family, has just lost her long standing job, doesn't like Christmas and appears to have a strong-minded boyfriend that delivers his thoughts and ideas which then seem to become her thoughts and ideas.

Oh we all want a Dolly in our lives, she encourages and pushes Hattie along to join in every aspect of life in the small town, even bamboozling her into a job, helping in the local primary school.  Hattie doesn't 'do' Christmas anymore, she used to love it but not anymore. Dolly and a reluctant Hattie write a Christmas Wish List, she really doesn't want to but Dolly is determined to show her all the things she used to love.

Imagine every wonderful sparkly, shiny, magical thing about Christmas and that is what you get as you read this book, my senses were on high alert I could smell the delicious aromas of food, drink and just Christmas all around me as I read this book.  It's a book that is about remembering the simple things in life, the joy of seeing others excitement and pleasure.  Spending time with family and friends. As the pages turned, it was like unwrapping the many layers of outdoor clothing to reveal the warmth and glow in Hattie that had been buried for so long.  She immerses herself in the Wish List for Dolly, it may, probably will be the last time she gets to spend time with her, but the reality is Dolly's Christmas Wish List is the best tonic for Hattie. She has the time and experiences thrust upon her to allow her own thoughts and feelings to surface, she's able to think about what is important in life and sets on a path to forgiveness and fresh starts.

I'm off to New York at the end of the month and writing my Christmas Wish List raised my excitement levels through the roof, I itching to get on the plane and go there and then.  I'm taking my List with me and I am determined to tick off all the Christmassy things I've planned to do and a few more I couldn't fit in and intend to tweet them as they happen so you can all share the magic of Christmas in New York and all thanks to the gorgeous Heidi Swain for the idea xx.