The Winter Garden: the perfect read this Christmas, promising snowfall, warm fires and breath-taking seasonal romance

When Freya's friend, mentor, and boss dies she is bereft, then when the new owner of the Suffolk estate where she works makes it clear that he has no interest in maintaining the gardens or the house and definitely doesn't want to pay Freya for her work, she is devastated. But when one door closes another door opens and a chance radio chat show leads her to meet Luke, the owner of Nightingale Square, and a job offer to create a Winter Garden. Soon Freya is making new friends in the village and is heavily involved in a series of holiday-inspired classes (think making Christmas puddings, Christmas wreathes etc) to bring the villagers together and alleviate the symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder which impact Luke in particular. This is the third book in a series about the residents of Nightingale Square, I haven't read the others but this can definitely be read as a stand-alone. Perfect for fans of Katie Fforde, Sue Moorcroft and Kate Hewitt. Cute, predictable, warm and comforting, this is an easy-read perfect pre-Christmas reading to get you ready for the festive season. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I haven't read a Heidi Swain book for a little while, and now I'm wondering why! This book had such a lovely feeling throughout, friendly characters, a wonderful little dog, craft workshops, a wonderful garden on an estate, and lots of wintry feelings, with a build up towards Christmas. Freya is a gardener who worked at an estate for an elderly lady who felt more like her grandmother than an employer. But when the lady died and her (horrible) nephew took over Freya decided it was time to, reluctantly, move on. Luckily whilst visiting another garden in Nightingale Square in Norwich she met Luke, who owned the estate and gardens, and he offered her a job and a house to set up his new winter garden. So gradually Freya sets up the garden, meets new friends and neighbours, especially the lovely sculptor Finn and finds a new happier life. This is the third book in the Nightingale Square series and whilst other characters were mentioned from previous books it didn't detract from this one, it just made me want to go back and catch up with their stories too. Very enjoyable read, a warm hug in a book!

I love the characters. It made me quite sad I was almost in tears a couple of times especially when Harold saw the Christmas trimmings.