Home at Cornflower Cottage by Tilly Tennant
Published: July 1, 2022
Bookouture
Pages: 361
Genre: Holiday Romance
KKECReads Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.
Tilly Tennant was born in Dorset, the oldest of four children, but now lives in Staffordshire with a family of her own. She also works as a freelance fiction editor and part-time lecturer. Hopelessly Devoted to Holden Finn was her debut novel; published in 2014, it was an Amazon bestseller in both the UK and Australia. In 2016 she signed to the hugely successful Bookouture and is currently working on her fifteenth Tilly Tennant novel. Christmas bestseller A Very Vintage Christmas has just been made into a movie for Lifetime Channel. Tilly also writes young adult fiction as Sharon Sant.
The trouble is that it’s falling apart, and she’s struggling to make ends meet. The garden is a jungle of weeds, the roof leaks, the boiler is broken. Determined to keep hold of the home that is her last link to her parents, Amelie decides it’s time to take action.
Extra shifts at a local hotel, favours called in from old friends, and, reluctantly, a lodger. Could rude, hilarious, brown-eyed Xander be the answer to her problems? Or is he just going to come in and start changing things?
Just as Amelie manages to save the cottage from total collapse, and she starts getting used to the sound of laughter in her cosy farmhouse kitchen, a face from Xander’s past appears and Amelie’s future in the home she loves is shaken once again.
Can Amelie find a way to save her home and protect her heart? Can she trust Xander, or was the spark between them just in her imagination?
“Here she was, alone once again.”
Amelie has had a rough couple years. She lost her parents in a tragic accident and has been lost ever since. She inherited her childhood home and all the costs associated with home ownership. When an opportunity to make extra cash presents itself, Amelie opens her home to Xander and his girlfriend, not quite expecting her life to change.
This was a sweet story. Something I enjoy with Tilly Tennant’s writing is that the story will always be emotionally heavy, but that the ending will have a lightness and be a path towards healing.
Amelie was an interesting character. She was timid and always doing the right thing. She was often steamrolled by her emotions, feeling the loss of her parents hit her and fill her regret and guilt.
She was easy to identify with, but I did find her a tad frustrating too. I loved her balance with Rachel. Rachel was the perfect friend for Amelie. Supportive and understanding, but also not afraid to speak up when Amelie was too moody.
I enjoyed the lightheartedness throughout this novel; it helped move the plot along. I also enjoyed the light love story aspect. Watching Amelie realize she had fallen in love was so genuine and sweet.
This is a beautiful read about love, loss, healing, and growing up.