Long time fans of Katie Fforde will know exactly what to expect here - cosy settings, a community united (here in restoring a forgotten garden), a charming heroine or three, some dashing love interests, a supporting cast of quirky characters and some gentle humour.

There's nothing here that's new really, but that doesn't matter. This is a curl-up-with-a-cup-of-tea-and-lose-yourself book. One where is doesn't matter if bits of it are quite implausible, such as how anyone actually earns enough money to pay the bills! Or how people can really accidentally lose touch in an age of 24/7 communication. Still, ignore the slight plot holes and enjoy.

A delightful read. Philly is a young woman who has embarked on an adventure with her grandfather "Grand - short for grand - delinquent". They've left the rest of the family behind in Ireland to move to England. Grand has discovered a skill baking, and Philly has set up business in horticulture. We meet a fascinating cast of characters, including Lorna, who manages the gardens of the big house and Philly sells plants to, and Lady Anthea who is a real character. We also meet Lucien, the boy from the cheese stall and watch his blossoming romance with Philly, as well as Lorna's romance with Jack - will either of these couples end up together is the big question. There are adventures and obstacles along the way, and the reader watches another growing romance which nobody else anticipates! A lovely, light read.

When Philly and her grandfather buy a tumbledown smallholding in the English countryside, to pursue her dream of growing plants, her conventional mother is horrified, wishing she would return to Ireland and settle down with her childhood sweetheart.
Meanwhile Lorna is restoring the gardens of Burthen House, home of Peter her lifelong friend. Lorna has held a torch for Peter her whole life but now he is dating someone special. Both of these women are about to cross paths and discover that you never know what is around the corner.
This is a gentle and old fashioned romantic story about finding love at any age. I enjoyed the outdoorsy setting and characters, some of whom were charmingly eccentric and aristocratic. There are a few memorable episodes, although it is a quite predictable storyline. All in all a comforting book to relax with. I was a little let down by my expectations of a secret garden shrouded in mystery and secrets but in fact this is more of a charming romance. Ideal if you are looking for a relaxing read and a happy ending. 3.5*

I received my copy of A Secret Garden from Netgalley. The book had everything you would expect from Katie Fforde; romance, family relationships and an easy read.

On the plus side it had a romantic relationship for both the older women which is rare. However, the plot was way too obvious, you just knew what was going to happen with every turn of the page.

I do wish that every now and again Ms Fforde would do away with the tradition that by the end of the book every relationship whether romantic or not, must have a happy ending, it is just so implausible at times.

As ever an excellent well written story. Perfect for anywhere. I read it on a long haul flight and the flight passed quicker than ever before.

Romance, humour and a good story. Vintage Katie Fforde. What more could a reader ask for? Oh yes, a secret garden, appealing characters and the usual will they won't they romance and happy endings - more than one this time around. Loved it . Roll on the next one by one of my favourite authors.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for this review copy.

A gentle summer read as Spring starts off the flowers in our garden and you can visualise the gardens described in the book.
The person who wrote this book does know something about gardening and flowers but not quite enough to ‘plant’ flowers that don’t flower together – see the combination of Phlox (early summer), crocosmia (late summer), white tree poppies ( early summer). Rather a striking combination as the tree poppy makes a nice shrub and crocosmia are brig ht upright stems with phlox being tall white and rather bushy flowering stems. There are some really nice Harlequin crocosmia which are more subtle that I have my eye out for...
A gentle and happy romance with humour and light-heartedness and some information about how to start your sour dough mother off.

A secret garden is an enjoyable light romance story.
It revolves around three couples,one couple in their early 20's, the others in their 50's and 70's. Gardening and baking take centre stage. There are many funny moments and before the happy ending a few traumatic ones to spice up this tale.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book but my one niggle at completion was its lack of depth at times, I had a few unanswered questions at the end and would very much liked to have known more about Peter and Kirstie especially as they were the main catalysts for the events that unfolded.

I used to read a lot of Katie Fforde. Something about the middle England settings and the romances really appealed to me. My reading habits have changed somewhat since then, but when I spotted this one on Netgalley, I thought I'd give it a go. Nothing has changed; this is a story about two white women; one of whom is middle aged, one of whom is younger. The middle aged one is also middle class, working for a living but comfortable, and enjoying friendships with the local aristocracy. The younger one is poorer, but not destitute, and evidently has enough money to pursue her dream career that doesn't pay a lot of money. The story mostly follows their romantic lives (both are straight), though there is a side story of the secret garden of the title. There's nothing wrong with this kind of book, it's just that I think the world has moved on, and I certainly have, from this very white, very straight, very middle class collection of characters.

This is a delightful book typical of Kate's books, she draws you in until you feel like you actually in the book
This is perfect holiday reading its a happy Rom com that will take you through twists and turns until you reach the secret garden. Fabulous

As always I thoroughly enjoyed this Katie afforded book. The characters are believable and it romps along.

A bit of a slow burner to start with as you got to know the characters but once that happened it was a very enjoyable book to read.

a fairly predictable outcome but a wonderful journey getting there, just the sort of book to cheer you up to curl up with on a dull day.

Mmm I was somewhat disappointed about this book, I have read several before by Katie fforde and found them a good read but unfortunately this one didn't come close. The story is centred around a large house in the Cotswolds with grounds that are a mess, Lorna and Philly are two ladies that are trying to make the garden look like it used to.
The story was very predictable, from chapter 3 I knew exactly where this was going and when everything started to happen at the end of the book it was not a surprise more at last the book is finished. The characters were likeable but the dialogue for some of them was just strange and you don't expect them to say some of the things they were doing. The biggest surprise in the book was that Lorna from the description and dialogue to me was early thirties so it was a shock to find she was a lot older and had a grown up son. The story didn't hold my attention and I started to skip pages and to be honest I dont think I missed anything.
I woul like to thank netgalley and penguin random house for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

It was interesting to follow the love stories of Anthea, Philly and Lorna, non of whom were looking for love but all let matches who were totally the opposite of who they would have ever believed would have been right for them.. It touched beautifully of how love has no boundaries and is timeless.

I particularly loved Loren and Jack's story, where he fell in love with a painting he came across years earlier only to bump enexpectedly with the model at a random party years later. Just lovely!

I've always really enjoyed Katie Fforde's books and whilst there's absolutely nothing terribly wrong with this one it simply didn't live up to my expectations. Yes it's a nice story about family and relationships, and gardening of course hence the title, and actually I did find that aspect of it rather interesting, however, the downside for me was that it lacked sparkle and was too predictable. I saw how it was going to end about half way through the book and I like to be kept guessing right to the end. If you're looking for an easy-to-read uncomplicated novel for a long flight or train journey this could most certainly fit the bill, just don't expect too many surprises.

This was a real page turner from the beginning to end. You really can't go wrong with a Katie Fforde book.

Yet another fabulous book from Katie Fforde. A thoroughly enjoyable read. Set in the Cotswolds, the story centres around Philly and Lorna who work at a large house. Philly thinks she has her heart set on Peter.... and Lorna finds love unexpectedly. The course of true love doesn't run smoothly....and there are several surprises and hurdles for the characters to overcome. As usual Katie Ffordes creates a warm, satisfying read.

My Thoughts

Cooking and gardening are the central focus of this latest Katie Fford book. You always know what you are up for when you get a Katie Fford book - and I like that. Her writing is always light, sweet and a gentle read - rarely any surprises. So when you are in this kind of reading mood, you know Fford will fit the bill.

Funny old thing, love, Lorna thought, pouring a second glass of wine. It was like a disease. You caught it, and then it went away, or it didn’t. But there was no logic to it. You couldn’t turn it on and off according to the suitability or otherwise of the love object.

With a focus on garden renovations and culinary delights, this book is sure to please many. It’s about taking time and appreciating the little things in life and getting creative. Yes, there are romances involved, and what I particularly liked was the wide age in the characters; from young Philly, to Lorna in her fifties to Grand in his seventies - something for everyone! It takes a light approach to everything and is a perfect way to spend an afternoon.

‘It’s lovely to know that you can fall in love at any time in your life, or at any age.’

I do think, however, that this is not as good as the other Katie Fford books I have read. There is nothing distinctly wrong with it, yet it seems to lack that sparkle that I have found in her previous books. The two main leads love interests appeared as total ‘insta-love’ and therefore there was no real investment in their relationships. Also, the title and blurb will lead you to believe that there is a whole story surrounding a ‘secret garden’ - well if you want to wait until three quarters the way through, you may be rewarded with a taste of it, but certainly and in no way, the main focus of this tale.

Having said that, sometimes you just need something light and ‘fluffy’ (as I like to call it) and if you pick up this book expecting nothing more, then Katie Fforde never fails to deliver. No other pretext is need:

‘What are we celebrating?’
‘Nothing,’ declared Anthea. ‘Life is a pile of horse droppings for you just at the moment. What better reason to drink champagne?’

A lovely little heartwarming tale of the ups and downs of several linked friends. Although a little predictable i really enjoyed the read and was pulled into the storylines, especially jack and lorna!