This was a lovely heartwarming novel abt a women’s return to get roots and I loved every second.

Premise

When Jennifer goes up to Cambridge University with her head full of the Romantic Poets, she never dreams that she will find her very own Byron. But then she meets gorgeous actor Laurie Lewis, and finds herself living a real-life love poem.

Fifteen years and two children later, Jennifer and Laurie's relationship is starting to feel more like an epic tragedy. After a series of revelations turn her world upside down, Jennifer will do anything to keep her family together – even if it means moving hundreds of miles away to Laurie's childhood home in Westenbury, Yorkshire.

As she reluctantly enters into village life – complete with interfering in-laws, new friends and a surprise delivery of alpacas – Jennifer is amazed to find herself feeling happy for the first time in years. But the village holds one last, devastating secret and Jennifer must decide once and for all what she wants her future to hold.

I generally enjoy this authors work and this story was as good as the rest. Love the village and all the interactions between the characters! Also a good and fun read.

I was so excited to receive a copy of this book as I recently read 'A Village Affair' and absolutely loved it. Sadly, this book didn't quite capture my heart as much as I was expecting and I think this was mainly because the characters of Jennifer and Laurie are both fairly hard to like.

Brought up in a wealthy, privileged family with her father gifting her a flat and bailing her out numerous times when things get tough, Jennifer doesn't seem to have any sense of living in the true world which makes her a flat/unrelatable character. Even Laurie, who has had a tougher upbringing, is still no more likeable. He is arrogant, egotistical and materialistic and his less privileged background hasn't made him any more grateful for his success and achievements. I think if the characters were more likeable, I would have been rooting for a more happy ending for them both, As it were, I felt neither of them were much deserving of happiness.

I like that the book documents the characters relationship right from the start when they meet at Cambridge in 1999 through to present day as this gives a really in-depth understanding of how they develop together. However, I felt it was slightly slow moving - it isn't until 40% into the book that they move to Westenbury. Overall, I enjoyed the style of writing and the plot held my attention throughout. Perfect story of idealism vs real life. It is definitely worth a read and I will be looking out for more books from this author.

Thank you to Netgalley and publishers for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

As a fan of Julie Houston's writing, I can heartily recommend this one. I love to read books set in villages and how the characters interact with each other, especially if there are secrets involved.

Another absolute gem of a book. I couldn’t put this one down. I have devoured page after page of this one. Completely unwilling to put this one down.
This has kept my interest and made me want to read more by Houston and fall more in love with each character she creates

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I have enjoyed all this authors books and this was no exception. Great storyline, great characters and great location. Well worth a read.

I received an ARC of A Village Secret, by Julie Houston. This was a nice story about friendship and Villages. Villages can be good and bad, a lot of gossip, but there when you need them.

Unfortunately this book didn't work for me as I really disliked both Jennifer and Laurie.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Head of Zeus | Aria through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you, Head of Zeus | Aria.

A great story of falling in love with someone who you want them to be and finding out 15vyears and two children that they were a stranger.Great read and character