Any day I have Jessica on my blog, is a happy day. Welcome to my stop for the Finding Love at Hedgehog Hollow Blog Tour. Hint: I loved it!
Can love really be found when you stop looking for it…?
As Samantha Wishaw watches the love of her life marry another woman, she’s ready to give up hope of finding her happy ever after.
But when a chance encounter leads Sam to find friendship in Thomas – a lonely, grumpy elderly widower living at derelict Hedgehog Hollow – her life is about to change forever.
Glad to have a distraction from family feuds and match-making, Sam vows to fulfill Thomas and his wife, Gwendoline’s, dreams of restoring Hedgehog Hollow to its former glory, and to open a hedgehog rescue centre.
Throwing herself into the task at hand, little does Sam realise that the keys to love and happiness may also be found at Hedgehog Hollow, when she least expects it…
Escape to Hedgehog Hollow this summer with top 10 bestseller Jessica Redland for the perfect uplifting, feel-good read.
Purchase Link
As a busy working mum of three, it is rare I have a chance to lose myself in a novel for hours on end. I ruthlessly took those hours to myself one Sunday and devoured this book, I had to get it all in. Interestingly, over the last couple of years, it’s only been Jessica’s books that I’ve managed to do that with!
Part of the blurb describes this book as the perfect uplifting, feel-good read. That’s absolutely true, but only after you’ve cried your eyes out!
Samantha is a wonderfully rich, sympathetic and compelling heroine. I just wanted to pick her up, give her a bear hug and tell her everything would be alright. There were moments I wanted to shout at her and tell her to move on and away from the toxic people in her life. But then, upon a deeper reflection, I realized I too have been guilty of much the same. How much easier it is to tell others how to solve their problems! I even wanted to give her beloved Dad a what’s for but by the end, I grudging accepted that he was also in a most difficult situation and he too remained ever hopeful.
As wonderful as Sam is, is she reliable narrator in terms of her judgements of others? This is a question I ended up asking myself towards the end of her story. She’s pre-disposed to think well of others. When she says, earlier on, in the story that certain people are ‘good’ and ‘kind’, I took that at face value. Then, the truth of some of those characters was revealed… It’s juicy, people! The characters are complex and you’ll enjoy uncovering their many layers- the good and the bad.
Perhaps one of my favourite parts of this story (and I think this holds for many other readers) is the relationship between Thomas and Sam. What starts out as a most inauspicious meeting, turns into one of the highlights of both these character’s lives. They are so very different but yet so similar in heartbreaking ways, and they each provide, for the other, a truly beautiful source of comfort and joy. I dare you to keep a dry eye while reading this book!
The romance: there’s always a romance and that’s always the part where my greedy side comes out and wants more, more more! This is a story about Samantha and how she is challenged, grows, develops and triumphs. Finding love is simply the icing on the cake. Her love interest doesn’t really show up until the last third of the story…. we do meet him about halfway in, though. He’s introduced as Jeep Pratt, Chris Pratt’s look-a-like. You’ll have to read the book to understand 😉 I could easily have devoured another hundred pages watching Sam and Josh fall in love. By the time they meet, however, they’ve each worked through the worst of their personal angst and are now open to finding, understanding and accepting love… so that’s just what they do.
If you haven’t introduced Jessica Redland to your must-read list as yet, do so… now. You won’t regret it.
I give Finding Love at Hedgehog Hollow 5/5 espresso shots for making me laugh, sob, feel.
About the Author
Jessica Redland is the author of nine novels, including The Secret to Happiness, which are all set around the fictional location of Whitsborough Bay. Inspired by her hometown of Scarborough she writes uplifting women’s fiction which has garnered many devoted fans.
Social Media Links
Instagram –https://www.instagram.com/JessicaRedlandWriter/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/JessicaRedland
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/JessicaRedlandWriter/
Own website – https://www.jessicaredland.com/
Blog – https://jessicaredlandwriter.wordpress.com/
Bookbub – https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jessica-redland
Mailing list sign up – http://bit.ly/JessicaRedlandNewsletter
For more reviews and info on Finding Love at Hedgehog Hollow, follow the blog tour.
Blog Tour organised by Rachel’s Random Resources.
The Cozy Pages 
Thank you so much for this gorgeous review, Nina. I’m so glad for you that you were able to grab a Sunday to yourself and immerse yourself in Hedgehog Hollow. How lovely that it’s my books you’ve been able to do that with in the past! I loved your query about Sam’s reliability as a narrator in terms of her judgements on others. I think you’ve concluded that she isn’t and you’d be absolutely right there. She’s the eternal optimist who wants to believe that people are good. Even when she recognises Chloe’s many flaws, she still adores her cousin … until the revelation later. Even though her dad could have done more to deal with the toxic relationship with Sam’s mum, Sam has him on a pedestal as being perfect because he showed her love when her mum didn’t. Definitely complex characters who were great fun to create. Thanks again for your kind words. So thrilled you loved it and thanks so much for the 5 espresso shots!
Jessica xx
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You’re so welcome! Thank you for writing such lovely stories that consume my imagination! Sam… she more than deserved her happy ending. Lol.
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Wonderful review! looks like this had great romance and relationship.
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It certainly did. Great character development too!
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