The Cherry Tree Cafe by Heidi Swain

Lizzie Dixon's life feels as though it's fallen apart. Instead of the marriage proposal she was hoping for from her boyfriend, she is unceremoniously dumped, and her job is about to go the same way. 

So, there's only one option: to go back home to the village she grew up in and to try to start again. Her best friend Jemma is delighted Lizzie has come back home. She has just bought a little cafe and needs help in getting it ready for the grand opening. And Lizzie's sewing skills are just what she needs.

With a new venture and a new home, things are looking much brighter for Lizzie. But can she get over her broken heart, and will an old flame reignite a love from long ago...? 

I happened to stumble across Heidi Swain’s blog in January and I have enjoyed finding out snippets about the book, the excitement when the publication date was announced and the stunning cover revealed, I have been eagerly awaiting the chance to read The Cherry Tree Café as it has been one I have been really looking forward to.

Lizzie has had her life turned upside down, what started off as a hopeful day soon ended in one of the worse days of her life as she has been pampered and treated like a princess she had hopes that by the end of the day a marriage proposal would have finished the day perfectly but she couldn’t have been more wrong.

Lizzie now has to decide what it is she wants to do with her life and as she heads back to her home where her friend Jemma is only too pleased to see her she is hopeful Lizzie will be able to help her and husband Tom with their new project of opening The Cherry Tree Café.

This book was everything I hoped it would be and more, as soon as I started this book the storyline had me captivated and I couldn’t put it down so I ended up reading it in one sitting. The storyline is so uplifting and cheerful even though both the main characters and supporting characters do face challenging times but they all pull through to help one another with their various problems.

The author has a great skill in descriptive writing, she set the scene perfectly in the quaint little Cherry Tree Café I could really visualise the ladies ( and gent ) sitting in The Cherry Tree Café making reams of bunting whilst eating the delicious signature Cherry and Chocolate cupcakes  surrounded by all the quirky original upcycled furniture.

Lizzie was a delightful and warm-hearted heroine and each of the supporting character were all very believable, down to earth characters who all brought their own little something to the storyline. Jemma was everything you could hope for in a best friend, generous, loving and supportive and she really was superwoman managing to make her dream a reality whilst still juggling being a mother too, she was a favourite character of mine alongside Lizzie.

Lizzie has such a great skill when it comes to crafting and you could feel how passionate she was but at times her heart was preventing her from jumping in with both feet and I found myself urging her to take a leap of faith as I could see it was sure to be worth it in the end. At times I wanted to throttle her in frustration as she was a little naïve but I really did love her character.

I loved the mystery and suspense that the author created around Ben, I had an idea or two in my head what his story could be but I will hold my hands up and say the author managed to pull the wool over my eyes!

I really feel that this is a praiseworthy debut by Heidi Swain, she has ticked all the boxes for me, engaging characters, descriptive writing, captivating storyline, perfect setting with a splash of romance and mystery thrown in too. It was a charming and vibrant read that had me hooked the whole way through, I really hope that there is a sequel to this book as I still feel like there is more of these characters story to be told so people with the power please lock Heidi away and don’t let her emerge until we have another installment!

Kindle