I love Tilly’s books, and this one was a real pleasure to read.

Hattie has returned home from Paris quite suddenly and is desperate to find some work, as her parents despair of her! She takes up a job at a local donkey sanctuary, Sweet Briar Farm, owned and run by the miserable, short-tempered Jo.

The donkey sanctuary is a great setting for the story, and we just hear enough about it – not enough to get bored. I think I would’ve liked to hear a bit of Jo’s story earlier on, but that didn’t stop me enjoying the book.

Of course, there’s the usual love interest (or interests!) and some interesting background characters.

Great storyline, and a warm, captivating read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for an advance reader copy in return for an honest review.

A great escape read which whisks you away to warm summer days. A lovely book that held my interest throughout

This was such an easy read, it took me less than two days to finish! It was funny, relatable, and heart-warming. I have read other books by this author which I have truly enjoyed, and this one was no different. I read it by the pool and it was just perfect. I would definitely recommend this to my friends!

This book was absolutely charming from start to finish. The characters are rich and compelling, likable despite their flaws, and their dilemmas pulled me in. This is the sort of book that's good for your blood pressure--it feels cozy to read, and the good side of human nature shines through. A wonderful, wonderful beach read! Thanks very much to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC.

Love this author, liked the cover and really really liked everything about this book from start to finish, made me feel really good. Would recommend.

A quirky book with a unique setting of a sanctuary for donkeys.
This book was heart warming with moments of humour.
The characters were lovely but I felt that the story surrounding them could have had more depth.
A nice read for the summer

Hattie is back in her home village of Gillypuddle, Dorset somewhat with her tail between her legs. 

Her wonderful life in Paris has come to an abrupt end and she has had to move back into her parents house who although are welcoming still feel that Hattie is making all the wrong choices and that she should start her education again and get a proper job. 

Hattie is still in the shadow of her sister Charlotte and her parents will never let her forget it, Charlotte despite her death is still very much the favourite and it hurts Hattie. 

To find a life of her own and some independence, Hattie seeks refuge in a job at the local Donkey Sanctuary nearby on Sweet Briar Farm, it all sounds idyllic apart from the owner, Jo who is taciturn and has no contact with the rest of the village until Hattie appears in her life. 

Hattie falls for the donkeys, the vet and a news reporter and it seems the choices she makes are going to affect Jo as much as herself. 

Hattie and Jo it turns out have more than the love of donkeys in common and whilst they both struggle with the truth they are going to need to work together to help the most important thing - the donkeys.

This is a story which will have you laughing, the secondary characters - both human and animal are amusing. The crying comes when you least expect it but who knew you could care so much about donkeys in a fictitious sanctuary? That is all because the story is beautifully written when it comes to dealing with loss and the guilt of those left behind. The romance is very much a secondary plot line for me in this book. 

There is real depth to this book and it will probably surprise you as it did me. Not what I was expecting and for that I was most grateful. A great read.

This was a rather unique story, I loved the part the Donkey Sanctuary played in the story and how the characters interacted. It was a lovely idea and the writing was really easy to read, it was the perfect cosy read. I am definitely a fan of Tilly Tennant's writing.

Another lovely, heart-warming story by Tilly Tennant. A pleasure to read.
So far Hattie has led an impulsive and chaotic lifestyle, living in Paris with her unsuitable boyfriend and then breaking up. She packs up and heads back to her childhood home, without letting her parents know she’s returning. They are shocked to find her back. She’s always felt inferior to her older sister Charlotte who had her life perfectly mapped out and in her parent’s eyes she was letting them down again.
She needs to find a job pretty quickly so she has some income but it’s such a small village with not a lot going on. There had been an opening at the village tea rooms just the day before, but that had been snapped up by a clumsy lady from nearby. Some funny scenes in the tea rooms and I loved the owners!
Hattie does land herself a job, not what she was expecting to be doing, and definitely not what her parents wanted her to be doing. In fact all the village were thinking she was crazy.
Jo, the prickly owner of Sweet Briar Farm is after a live-in helper. Hattie’s little room is at the front of the property, a bit shabby but she makes the most of it. And the sea view is spectacular. After having horses as a child she thought she’d have a bit of an idea of what goes on. What she takes on is so much more than mucking out a few donkeys. The connection she has with them is lovely…. Both happy and sad and very touching at times. The donkeys are definitely the scene-stealers, I loved them.
Being a chatterbox Hattie thinks she’ll get through to Jo, a quiet and withdrawn person. Something just isn’t right with Jo, but she doesn’t open up. She seems to prefer the animals to the humans. Jo just gets on with all the farm jobs, including cooking up some lovely meals.
A great cast of characters in this story…… Seth, the vet, good-looking and a bit mysterious.
Owen, the newspaper reporter, likes a good time and has a question/answer to everything.
Hattie’s best friend from school and her growing family.
The scenery was beautiful, felt I was there on the Dorset cliffs and in the surrounding countryside.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the review copy in which I give my honest opinion.

This book, I think, was a classic example of: I expected too much. Or more precisely, I've come to expect too much of Tilly Tennant. So far, every book of hers I’ve read? I loved. And that just wasn’t so much the case with Hattie’s Home for Broken Hearts…

I was offered an ARC by Netgalley in exchange for a review. All opinions are strictly my own.

The story
Hattie was once thrilled to call the beautiful city of Paris her home. But when her heart is broken by her boyfriend and she loses her dream job, she bids farewell to the city of love and hurries home to Gillypuddle, a sleepy village on the Dorset coast. But as she returns home she finds her parents struggling to cope with a terrible family tragedy.

In a desperate search for a new start, Hattie takes a job at the donkey sanctuary nearby on Sweet Briar Farm where Jo, the taciturn owner, certainly loves her animals far more than humans. Hattie can’t help but fall in love with the donkeys (and the opportunity to get close to dreamy Canadian vet Seth) but Jo is harder to get to know and when she finds her boss sobbing in her sleep one stormy night, she knows that her new friend is hiding a dark secret.

And when handsome newspaper reporter Owen does some digging into Jo’s past he finds something that connects her to Hattie on a whole new level. Can Hattie trust what Owen says, especially when he seems intent on standing in the way of her blossoming romance with Seth? And can Hattie help Jo to start healing and the donkeys of Sweet Briar Farm?

The opinion
First things first – and this probably didn’t help my appreciation of the book – this “official” summary of the book? Not quite right. That’s to say, the entire first half of the book focuses almost exclusively on Hattie as she tries to adapt to being back home, back with her parents, and working at Sweet Briar Farm.

And you know what? It’s actually a very pleasant read! Hattie falls absolutely in love with the donkeys, and there’s even a really nice friendship developing between her and Jo.

But because of that, it felt as if, by the time the second half of the book came round? The author suddenly remembered “oh yeah, I write romance”. And then had to cramp in all of that part of the plot. For me, at least, that made the second half of the book feel kind of rushed and at times way less well-written than I’m used to from Tilly Tennant.

A part of that, might also have been the fickleness of the characters. Seth does like 3 180° turns within the span of half a page, Hattie changes her mind about approximately everything every other chapter. Even Jo, who – in general – was fairly steady (albeit taciturn)? Suddenly goes a bit weird.

And that brings me to the thing that bugged me most. I was expecting something about Jo’s trauma to be mentioned way earlier in the book. That’s one thing. But then, when it’s mentioned, I feel as if the author didn’t quite manage to convey the depth of how morose Jo was? Because of that, what could have been a steady decline, turned into quite a steep and unexpected one. And that, again: for me at least, took away from what could have been a beautiful yet tragic scene at the end of the book.

The thing is – as per the usual – I’m trying to stay spoiler free. So I can’t really tell you what I mean by any of this. Just take my word for it, though: this book – and especially the latter half of it – felt as if it could have done with at least another round of editing. Something to smooth the bumps – not in the plot, but in the way it was written.

Because that’s what I disliked most – this book had the potential to be absolutely brilliant. It just didn’t really deliver on that promise.

The rating: 2.5/5
I don’t give books ratings below 3 that easily, so I’m probably just as disappointed as you are that I couldn’t quite make myself give it that. Because, as I said: I did really enjoy the first half of this book. I just wish the second half had lived up to that…

-Saar

I think this is a lovely read, it’s quirky with a unique setting – a donkey sanctuary! I liked the premise of the book and enjoyed it, heart-warming with moments of humour. The characters were lovely, but I would have liked to see certain relationships explored more than others. I liked Hattie, could empathise for her feeling of being second best to her sister but feel she was a bit – wishy washy. She didn’t really have a clue about anything, just stumbling through life until the chance encounter with the donkeys. I feel she started came into her own in the latter part of the book.
Some of the characters confused me i.e. her Dad. Built up to be really disapproving of what Hattie did but then supportive and helpful the next. Also, Jo. I understand her distance, her gruff exterior and her self-imposed isolation, and there were lovely moments between her and Hattie. I think I would have really liked to see that relationship develop more than we do.
I appreciated the light-hearted, variation of a chick-lit, rom com full of characters and interesting, funny moments. A nice read for the summer.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for the advanced copy of this book for an honest review.

Hattie returns home from Paris to her doctor parents in Dorset after realising a fashion career isn't for her and at twenty six she has to discover her path again meanwhile Melinda her best friend has four kids by twenty four and is happily settled with her husband and that's despite their money woes and baby boom.



Jo owns a donkey home and animal sanctuary where she wants help around doing things which Hattie jumps at the chance of doing as she loves Norbert a donkey up there as soon as she meets him. However being off the beaten track it's isolated and no one visits.



As Hattie comes up with the idea of raising awareness of the sanctuary, getting visitors and publicity for donations and trips, her cafe owning friends introduce her to Owen a journalist on a paper who can help her run an article on it meanwhile she also has a crush on local vet Seth but, after a fall out Hattie doesn't know whether to stay or go back to Paris after Jo kicks her out...



However a cry for help from Seth after receiving an odd note from Jo about the animals sets alarm bells ringing can Hattie help heal her and Jo's hearts from their sort of shared heartache of sisterly loss?



A moving story about loneliness and how animals and humans can help heal each others heart's and also how a bond can form between the most unlikely of people.



Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

I have read quite a few books by this author and have really enjoyed them and this one certainly didn’t disappoint. This is a light , easy read perfect to enjoy whilst relaxing on holidays . A lovely read .

Another fantastic book from Tilly.. very fun and warm. Loveable characters.. just perfect.
Look forward to the next book Tilly

Another fun story by a great author. If you love British romance lit than you will love this one. Hattie comes home from Paris with her tail between her legs, and feels crushed enough without her parents disapproval. Feeling forced to find a job quickly, she takes on the position of helping Jo with her donkey sanctuary. Enjoyed this one, with lots of witty banter and a well written story. Hard to put down, and one I highly recommend.

When Hattie’s life falls apart in Paris, she returns home to Gillypuddle on the Dorset coast and moves back in with her parents. Not living up to her parent’s expectations, she takes a job in a donkey sanctuary working for reclusive owner, Jo. As Hattie tries to bring Jo out of her shell, she discovers they both recovering from broken hearts.

A lighthearted entertaining story with a good cast of characters. A tale of new beginnings which is the perfect summer read.

A warm read, perfect for summer. Lovely characters that make you care for them and what happens to them. The cover is really pretty too - I am a sucker for a good cover!

The story line was great making for a very good read. It was different from the usual romance books leaving you guessing until closer to the end, which is a good thing. I can really recommend that you read this and enjoy it as much as I have done. I will be buying this to give to friends that love a good romance so give it a read to find out for yourself.I wont give any spoilers that give the game away.

I never honestly thought you could set a romance novel on a donkey sanctuary, but this book totally works! I enjoyed the storylines of Hattie and Seth the vet, but it was the relationship between Hattie and Jo that really made me love this book! If you want something that will warm your heart, even when you are on the beach this summer, this book is the one!

The following is scheduled to appear on my blog on May 8, 2019:

There are few things in life that can level you emotionally, socially and physically all within a couple of moments. Heartbreak has got to be one of the worst, most longest lasting ones that can have that kind of power over you that can level you in every which way. Often when you are made to feel that awful, you seek comfort in what is familiar. For Hattie Rose, her heartbreak leads her home and in coming home, she finds herself in an entirely new set of affairs.

FROM PARIS TO DORSETT
Hattie Rose was living her life in Paris. She loved her life in the city of lights and is established in her path. However, Hattie soon meets with a heartbreak that devastates her and leads her to make a huge mistake at her job. Ultimately, she is forced to leave her job and with the loss of her employment, she also decides that she has to leave Paris behind her as well. She decides to return to her cliffside hometown in England and takes a job at Sweet Briar Farm, an animal sanctuary for abused goats.

SWEET BRIAR FARM
When Hattie arrives back in Gillypuddle, she takes a job at an animal sanctuary for abused goats. We meet her boss, Jo, who makes it known early on that she is not too fond of her new employee and prefers her goats to people. It takes some time for us to learn that Jo is harboring a secret life and heartbreak of her own. The farm also brings us, Seth, the handsome veterinarian that catches Hattie’s eye and Owen, an equally as handsome newspaper reporter who helps unravel Jo’s secret past.

THEME OF LOSS
Throughout Hattie’s Home for Broken Hearts, we meet characters that are navigating their lives following a large loss. when Hattie first returns home, she learns that her parents are navigating a tragedy and then we meet Jo who is working through her own as we watch Hattie rebuild her life from the one that she had left behind her in Paris. Throughout the tears and the anxiety of loss and the unknown Tennant also intersperses humor and laugh out loud moments that show us that even in the worst of our grief, we can still find the simple joy that brings us to the new lives that we build after we are leveled by our old ones.

BOOK INFORMATION
Hattie’s Home for Broken Hearts: A heartwarming laugh out loud romantic comedy by Tilly Tennant is scheduled for release on July 10, 2019, with ISBN 9781838880019 from Bookouture. This review corresponds to an advanced electronic galley that was supplied by the publisher in exchange for this review. Pre-order pricing is available below.