Will love bloom this winter?
Freya Fuller is living her dream, working as a live-in gardener on a beautiful Suffolk estate. But when the owner dies, Freya finds herself forced out of her job and her home with nowhere to go. However, with luck on her side, she’s soon moving to Nightingale Square and helping to create a beautiful winter garden that will be open to the public in time for Christmas.
There’s a warm welcome from all in Nightingale Square, except from local artist Finn. No matter how hard the pair try, they just can’t get along, and working together to bring the winter garden to life quickly becomes a struggle for them both.
Will Freya and Finn be able to put their differences aside in time for Christmas? Or will the arrival of a face from Freya’s past send them all spiralling?
My Review
After Freya’s employer, Eloise, who is more like a grandmother to her, sadly dies, she finds it impossible to work for the unreasonable new owner of the beautiful garden she looks after. So she can’t believe her luck when Luke Lonsdale, the owner of Prosperous Place garden in Norwich, offers her a new job and it comes with accommodation in Nightingale Square. While she works hard assisted by Chloe, a part-time volunteer, to prepare the garden for a winter welcome to the public she soon finds herself accepted as part of the close-knit community.
Luke’s problem with SAD each winter causes him to instigate a programme of weekend craft workshops. Freya lacks confidence but she is persuaded to share a workshop with another member of the community, and she spends a lot of time with Chloe, a young widow and with Luke and his wife Kate. Luke is thrilled to have found artist Finn to make statues for the garden from recycled scrap metal and has provided him with a workshop and accommodation. Unfortunately, Finn shouts at Freya’s beloved dog, Nell, so she decides to avoid him. But inevitably they are often thrown together, and she realises he was actually trying to avoid Nell becoming injured. Freya finds Finn attractive, but they are constantly clashing due to misunderstanding.
This is the third story about Nightingale Square but the first one I have read and it doesn’t seem to matter. The story deals with problems many of us have, dealing with the expectations of family and having the confidence of our own convictions. This is a great feel-good read for Christmas, but I also intend to seek out the earlier volumes in the trilogy.
The Winter Garden on Amazon UK
Lizanne lost in a good book 
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