When the stay at a cottage means unravelling family secrets.

Synopsis

A new start can come from the most unexpected places…

It’s been years since Lizzie Lockhart spoke to her parents. But she was safe in the knowledge she knew everything about them. Once upon a time, they were as close as could be. Until they weren’t.

After receiving the earth-shattering news of their passing, Lizzie decides it’s time to unearth some family secrets and find out just who her parents really were… starting with Streamside Cottage. A cottage Lizzie never knew existed, in a place she’s never heard of: the beautiful English village of Leafton.

Leaving behind London, and the tattoo parlour she called home, Lizzie finds herself moving to the countryside. Faced with a tight-lipped community, who have secrets of their own, Lizzie is at a loss for what to do, until her rather handsome neighbour, Ben, steps in to help.

As Lizzie finally begins to piece together the puzzle of her family history she realises she has to confront the truth of the past in order to face her future.

My review

Lizzie Lockhart is not on speaking terms with her parents for several years. Yet when she receives the news that her parents passed away, she realizes that even if she thought she knew everything about them, they had many secrets. And one of those secrets was Streamside Cottage, in the beautiful village of Leafton.
As Lizzie never heard of this cottage or the village, she is determined to find out why her parents kept this place yet never went there. However leaving London and the tattoo – parlour that is also her home, makes Lizzie feel at a loss.
Because the more time she spends in Leafton, the clearer it is that not only her parents are good at keeping secrets, but the whole community too.
Luckily she can count on her kind and handsome neighbour Ben to help her out!

This story truly surprised me. I thought I knew what it would be about, but was I wrong!
I never thought there would be so heart-breaking secrets, misunderstandings  and the sense of belonging somewhere.

Lizzie is a young woman I both admired and pitied. Her parents were rather controlling, not allowing her to make her own decisions or mistakes. And in the beginning it’s obvious that something happened to break al the contact. And that made me very curious. What could Lizzie have possibly done to her parents not want to talk to her anymore? It seemed a bit harsh that following your own dreams would mean to lose your parents.
Yet somehow Lizzie managed to live her life how she wants to, working in a tattoo parlour, and even if her relationship with Ash didn’t work out, they loved each other.

When she arrives at Streamside cottage it’s the start of just everything…
Not only doesn’t Lizzie understand why her parents kept the cottage while never going there, the village is also full of mysteries. Inhabitants avoiding her, carrying secrets that may or may not involve her family, a haunting legend and dreams that are more than just simple dreams.

There is just so much to this story, making it impossible to point out just that one thing that made me devour it.
I loved reading the little facts concerning tattoos at the start of each chapter, but I also loved how a community after the initial hesitation accepts Lizzie as one of them.

I absolutely *ADORED* Taz, without further explanation, because you must read the book.
And Ben… he is just perfect… and how in the end all pieces of the puzzle suddenly fall together… it was not something I saw coming, so I was very surprised but also over the moon with this twist!

I found this a beautiful story, but also a painful one. Not because it was hard to read, but because of what our characters had to endure or already have endured. Yet beside the pain it was a hopeful story too, because even if the ending came too quick for me, it was an ending full of positive possibilities.
The author managed again to grip my attention and did not let it go until the last word, leaving me with a smile of contentment.