This is the third book in the ‘Hedgehog Hollow‘ series and it keeps getting better with each book. My review of the first two books can be found in “Book Reviews”.
In this book, as the title suggests a number of grey areas in the first two books were brought to light. The story follows Chloe, Samantha’s cousin who got married to James (Samantha’s Ex) and is also a new mum. She appears at Hedgehog Hollow with her baby and announces to Samantha that she has left James. She however refuses to open up to anyone until Samatha’s mother Derby meets up with her and a can of worms pours out from Chloe. This revelation shakes up the entire family especially Chloe and James’ relationship leaving little hope for any reconciliation between the two. ‘Family Secrets at Hedgehog Hollow’ is a heart wrenching story about ghosts from the past that come to hunt us, forgiveness, restitution and true love.
This author keeps surpassing my expectations with each book I read. With book 2 ending with a cliff hanger, I was excited to discover what secrets were hidden beneath in this family I had come to know well and love but what came at me was quite shocking and overwhelming. I would never have guessed in my wildest dreams what Chloe had to reveal and this to a large extent gave me some understanding on her behavior especially towards Samantha. However, It still did not make me warm up to her and I am still in awe of Samantha’s beautiful and forgiving heart. She is currently my role model because her character has got me questioning myself if I would be able to not only forgive but literally continue a relationship with people who have hurt me deeply. I personally don’t have a problem with offering forgiveness because I recognize it’s importance even to me but what I have always struggled with is for the relationship to return to status quo. This may happen in the future but I always need time to recalibrate. Sometimes, I will never go back to it if it is a toxic situation. I was also happy that Samantha had also started standing up for herself which was very impressive and I hope to see more of that in the next book in the series. As always, the author ends story with yet another cliffhanger and I am excited once again to see what she has in store for us.
I really enjoyed reading this book and it got me thinking about a lot of things which is one of the reasons why I love reading wonderful stories. I highly recommend. Off to the next book ‘A Wedding at Hedgehog Hollow‘.
Rating: 5 Stars
Published: May 4th 2021 by Boldwood Book
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
The Author:
I was born in Teesside but now live in Scarborough on the stunning North Yorkshire Coast. My home inspired the creation of the fictional seaside town of Whitsborough Bay where I set many of my books although the Hedgehog Hollow series takes readers to a gorgeous new countryside setting in the Yorkshire Wolds.
I live with my husband, our teenage daughter and sprocker spaniel, Ella. I’m a self-confessed stationery addict with a ridiculously large collection of notepads who loves chocolate (although it doesn’t love me), hedgehogs, 80s music, collectible teddy bears and lighthouses.
Other than a career detour into retail to set up and run my own teddy bear shop (the inspiration for novel Bear With Me), I’ve always worked in HR, specialising in resourcing, coaching and L&D. Writing always had to take a back seat to the day job until June 2020 when I left the world of HR to become a full-time author. I’m so very grateful to anyone who has bought or borrowed my books in whatever format, helping me fulfil a long-held dream of writing full-time. I still can’t believe I get to spend every day chatting to my fictional friends and making stuff up.
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