Published March 14th, 2024 by Bedford Square Publishers
Romance Novel, Contemporary Romance
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for the delightful The Saturday Place. Thank you Bedford Square Publishers for the invitation to take part in the blog tour and the gifted copy of the book.
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SYNOPSIS:
‘Uplifting, heartwarming and mouth-watering, The Saturday Place is the kind of book we all need now. A tale of friendship and food, it’s bursting with optimism and love. Charming.’ Veronica Henry, author of The Secret Beach
‘A tender story of hope, friendship and the power of community.’ – Emily Houghton, author of Before I Saw You
‘A warm, wise and really special book… I absolutely loved it.’ – Katy Regan, author of Little Big Love
Three perfect strangers who help each other to believe in love again
Holly’s husband died, and she’s lonely. She needs to do something to save herself, quickly. Next thing she knows she’s interviewing for a voluntary cooking job, surprised to be ambushed by a scruffy man who looks like he has a past.
Angus has messed up. He’s lost the respect of his family and has none for himself. If it weren’t for his brother and friend who run the café, he’d be sleeping on the streets. Angus is about ready to give up – until he meets Holly, who sparks something in him.
Then Lauren arrives from the homeless shelter. She came to London with nothing but an old train ticket, a teddy bear, and the clothes on her back. With no family, no home, no friends, she doesn’t know what love is. People scare her. She’s terrified of Angus and Holly. At first.
Each of them finds themselves in the Saturday café at a time when they need something to grab hold of. It might have to be each other…
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MY REVIEW:
“I didn’t appreciate fully, back then, that we can make plans, we can map out our lives, but often fate has other ideas.”
Holly has been adrift ever since the death of her beloved husband, Jamie. She is lonely and needs to find herself again, so she volunteers at Soul Food, a Saturday cafe that caters to those in need. It is there that she meets Angus and Lauren, two other lost souls looking to rebuild their lives again. The three of them become close and form an unlikely trio, helping each other learn to live and believe in love again.
The Saturday Place is a gorgeous slice of life book full of heart, hope and healing. A story about how we may make plans but life has plans of its own that we can’t control. A story that reminds us of the importance of purpose, belonging, community and friendship. Alice Peterson explores topics such as grief, trauma and mental health with sensitivity and there’s a tender and compelling atmosphere that lingers over the pages. I lost myself in the story and didn’t want to put it down.
“Sometimes it’s important to remind myself how lucky I am”
I think a big part of what makes this book so special is the characters. Peterson has created a cast of realistic and relatable characters who it is impossible not to love. You will cry, laugh and rage with them. But most of all you will be rooting for them as they rebuild themselves and their lives among their heartache. It was inspiring and really makes you appreciate the things you have in life.
Uplifting, emotional, endearing and delightful, The Saturday Place is a comforting story that will stay with me. Highly recommended.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
From Amazon:
I have published two non-fiction books, and ten novels, including the critically acclaimed A Song for Tomorrow, and my bestselling title, Monday to Friday Man. My latest novel, The Saturday Place, will be published by Bedford Square Publishers in March, 2024.
My writing is romantic, powerful and emotional, and my storylines always include hard-hitting and thought-provoking themes, such as addiction and disability. My next novel touches on homelessness. My protagonists often have to overcome adversity, based on my own experience of a professional tennis career cut short at the age of 18 when I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. I have never played tennis again, a sadness that will always be with me, but I have very much filled that void with writing. I am drawn to true stories and aim to write with deep compassion, empathy and humour about issues that resonate with my growing readership and that I believe have the potential of reaching and touching millions more.
I live in west London where I am currently training to be a psychotherapist. My most favourite thing is walking my best buddy, my handsome Lucas Terrier, Mr Darcy, in the park.
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BUY THE BOOK:
Waterstones* | Bookshop.org* | Amazon*
*All these links are affiliate links
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Thanks for reading, Bibliophiles xxxx
Please check out the reviews from the other bloggers taking part in the blog tour.
Emma's Biblio Treasures 