Book Description:
‘This may just have saved my life…’ The hurried scribble in the dusty church visitors’ book catches Gwen’s eye. Just like that, she is drawn into a mystery at the heart of the pretty village of Hopley, but nothing is what is seems… When tragedy strikes, twenty-six-year-old Gwen Stanley finds herself suddenly jobless and heartbroken. With nowhere to turn, she retreats to Hopley, a crumbling little village deep in the heart of the English countryside. Wandering the winding lanes and daydreaming about what could have been, Gwen feels lost for the first time in her life. Until one day she pushes through the creaking doors of a tiny stone church at the edge of the village, empty and forgotten by nearly everyone. There she stumbles on a book full of local secrets and is instantly drawn into the mystery of who could have left them there, and why. When she’s unexpectedly joined by handsome local artist Jarvis, Gwen is caught off-guard. He seems just as fascinated by what’s in the book as she is… but why? Can she trust Jarvis’s motives really are what he says they are? And are the butterfly flutters she feels whenever they’re together because she’s one step closer to learning the book’s secrets… or might the little village church actually hold the key to healing Gwen’s poor, trampled heart? An utterly unputdownable story – pure joy from the first page to the last. Perfect for fans of Jenny Colgan, Lucy Diamond and Heidi Swain, and anybody longing for the ultimate feel-good escapist read!
BLOG TOUR REVIEW
Review for 'Hidden Secrets At The Little Village Church' by Tracy Rees.
Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Tracy Rees, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous.
Publication date 7th May 2021.
This is the first book I have read by this author. It is also the first book in the 'Hopley Village' series. This book was previously titled 'The Little Book Of Secrets'.
I was originally drawn to this book by its beautiful eye catching cover and its intriguing synopsis. It also stated in the synopsis that this book is 'Perfect for fans of Jenny Colgan, Lucy Diamond and Heidi Swain, and anybody longing for the ultimate feel-good escapist read!'. I am a huge fan of Jenny Colgan and could definitely do with an escape so am looking forward to see if it lives up to this. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).
This novel consists of 39 chapters. The chapters are medium in length so possible to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!
This book is based in Kent, England, UK 🇬🇧. The bonus for me of books that are partly or fully based in the UK is that I live in the UK and have sometimes visited places mentioned in the book which makes it easier to picture. I have actually visited England on several occasions so am looking forward to seeing if I recognise anywhere that Tracy has based the book on.
This book is written in third person perspective with the main protagonists being Gwen, Jarvis and Vicar Dave. The benefits of third person perspective especially with are that it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters more, what they are thinking and what they are doing. It feels like you get to see the whole picture and not miss out in anything.
OMG!!! What an absolutely gorgeous, beautiful heartwarming book!!! I am sooo glad that this is the first book in a series as I cannot wait to read more from this author as well as news from Hopley Village!!
The book is beautifully written with vivid descriptions and lovely settings. The cover, title and synopsis worked perfectly with the storyline and the name change definitely suits it more.
The storyline itself is so heartwarming and I was completely engaged and absorbed throughout. It is filled with friendship, faith, adventures and mysteries of sorts and it ended absolutely perfectly. It was a realistic storyline and I loved reading all the notes in the visitors book. I love reading visitor books when I see any wherever I go as its always intriguing to read the thoughts of people who stayed before me and once in a while you may find a gem of a story, just like Gwen and Jarvis does in this book. I really enjoyed the community spirit and felt it was very realistic of any small village. The story made me absolutely laugh out loud in several places to the point where my partner and kids were looking at me like I had 3 heads. There were some absolutely cracking and side splitting moments as well as some thought provoking ones.
It is always worrying when starting a new series as you have no idea who the characters are. It is very important for me to bond with the characters. I had absolutely no problem in this case and I fell in love with Jarvis and Gwen. They were absolutely worlds apart and came from such different backgrounds but they worked together and complimented each other perfectly. It was lovely watching their friendship grow and blossom. Vicar Dave and his family were really refreshing and I enjoyed getting to know them all, nothing like the boring elderly vicars many books portray. They, along with all the other characters, were strong and realistic. I enjoyed getting to meet each of the characters and reading their stories and how they related to St Domneva's and what became of them since writing their comments in the visitors book. I cannot wait to meet them again in what promises to be an absolutely epic series.
A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to Tracy Rees on an absolutely fantastic page turning book. I cannot wait to get my hands on the next book in the Hopley Village series and get to find out more of some of the amazing characters I've met. I'd like to welcome you to my top authors list!! The fact that you live in Wales is definitely a bonus as I'm also a Welsh girl. 🏴 I would also love to see this on the big screen.
Overall a heartwarming, addictive page turning novel about faith, friendship and what 2 unlikely people can achieve when put together.
Some of my favourite quotes from the book include the following :
🚀"‘Why have you drawn a massive penis?’‘What? I haven’t! It’s a rocket, you fool. I thought it would be a bit more fun than just doing a graph or something. A bit more interesting.’ Jarvis squints. ‘It’s interesting alright. Gwendoline Poppy, maybe you should stick with words and leave the visuals to me. That’s phallic. Must be your subconscious longings coming out.’‘Shut up . Look, those are the launchy bits, and that’s the top of the rocket… Anyway, let’s argue about it later"
🚀"‘That’s great, Gwen. Only, can I ask, do you think that’s entirely appropriate? I mean, why a… a…?’‘Vicar Dave thinks it looks like a penis too,’ puts in Jarvis helpfully. ‘He does not,’ exclaims Gwen hotly. ‘Do you?’ she adds anxiously. ‘Um… I’m afraid so.’‘It was meant to be a rocket.’"
Genres covered in this book include Romance Novel, Contemporary Fiction and Domestic Fiction amongst others.
I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of Jenny Colgan, Lucy Diamond and Heidi Swain. I would also recommend it to anyone who loves a heart warming story or anyone who enjoys peeking at comments in a visitor book.
285 pages.
This book is just £1.99 to purchase on kindle via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!
Rated 5/5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.
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@TracyRees @Bookouture @Bookworm1986 @bookworm86
Author Bio:
Tracy Rees was the winner of the Richard and Judy 'Search for a Bestseller' Competition and her books are paperback, ebook and audio bestsellers. A Cambridge graduate, she had a successful eight-year career in nonfiction publishing and a second career practising and teaching humanistic counselling before becoming a writer. She lives in Wales. https://twitter.com/AuthorTracyRees
Buy Links:
Amazon: https://bit.ly/3e0dKI8
Apple: https://apple.co/3mQpbVJ
Kobo: https://bit.ly/3gdWq42
Google: https://bit.ly/3e17ezP
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