Ivy Lane - Cathy Bramley

"Tilly Parker needs a fresh start, fresh air and a fresh attitude if she is ever to leave the past behind and move on with her life. As she seeks out peace and quiet in a new town, taking on a plot at Ivy Lane allotments seems like the perfect solution.

But the friendly Ivy Lane community has other ideas and gradually draw Tilly in to their cosy, comforting world of planting seedlings, organizing bake sales and planning seasonal parties.

As the seasons pass, will Tilly learn to stop hiding amongst the sweetpeas and let people back into her life – and her heart?"

Ahhhhhh Tilly. I just wanted to scoop her up and give her a big squeeze. Every so often a character appears in your bookish life that just melts your heart, and that is Tilly. She is sweet, kind and  thoughtful, but terrified of life after what can only be described as a really, reallllllly crappy time. 

All of the characters that appear in Ivy Lane are easy to relate to and very easy to become attached too - Cathy's writing is warm and refreshing, and if I was guaranteed to meet people like the folks of Ivy Lane allotments then I'd have my name on the list like a shot. Instead I'll have to make do with my patch at the bottom of the garden, with only my chickens and rowdy children for company. 

Ivy Lane is a gorgeous tale of friendships, love, trust and learning to move on - please, PLEASE read it, if only for the warm, fuzzy feeling I guarantee you'll have by the end. And to make things even better, I've heard that Cathy is writing a follow-on book, telling the story of a minor character from Ivy Lane. (YAY! I want to be on the blogger list for that one!)

Ivy Lane is out now and you can get it here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ivy-Lane-Cathy-Bramley-ebook

*I was lucky enough to receive an ARC from Sarah Harwood at Transworld Books*