Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for the ARC. At the start of the book had a hard time wanting to read. Glad I did stick with it. Enjoyed all the characters and the story they each had. Only one character that I didn't care for but he/she was needed for the story.

I’m not going to lie—this book was not good. The plot drew me in, but I quickly found myself bored by the repetitiveness of the two main girls having to share their traumatic experiences with every single person they meet. It was unnecessary for the reader to see them having these conversations over and over again. The dialogue is very unoriginal, cringey, and almost robotic. The characters were all very much GOOD or BAD, leaving no room for any nuance or layers (this also made Victoria an uninteresting antagonist, as she was just straight up evil). The POV was also odd, as it was third person, but would switch randomly from following one characters thoughts to another in the middle of a scene (with no transition time in between). It was odd and jarring, and in my opinion, completely unnecessary.
One final thing I had issue with was Emma’s clear cut road to success. Sophie basically hands her a million opportunities, and Emma skates through it all without an issue (with everyone crying “oh your art is incredible!” and praising the ground she walks on). Everyone in this book is straight up rich, so it was laughable that one of Emma’s main concerns is money.

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for the eARC.

Hummingbird Lane by Carolyn Brown is about that childhood friend that you have as a child that you did absolutely everything with. You would be friends forever! But life usually gets in the way and this is what happens to Emma and Sophie. They go to different colleges and drift apart. Years later when Emma needs her the most, Sophie brings Emma to an artist getaway called Hummingbird Lane. This is an emotional story of friendship than can endure everything and shows how our friends are really our family! Highly recommend.

Fantastic story of friendship, love, acceptance, and hope. Emma is the daughter of a wealthy, controlling, and manipulative mother. Sophie's mother, Rebel, is a single parent who earns her living cleaning houses. When the girls were little, Rebel cleaned Emma's house and used to take Sophie along with her. Emma and Sophie connected over their love of painting and became best friends. But when Emma was twelve, her mother Victoria fired Rebel, splitting up the friends. Victoria insisted on homeschooling Emma, claiming that Emma couldn't handle the stress of public school. Though Emma went away to college, she left after her first semester, returning home in a state of depression that lingered for ten years. The ever-manipulative Victoria manages to convince Emma that she cannot cope and bounces her in and out of mental institutions.

Sophie worked to put herself through school and became an increasingly successful artist. As she prepares for a big show, Sophie hears of Emma's latest incarceration. Wracked with guilt over losing touch with her friend, Sophie is stunned by Emma's condition when she visits. She impulsively spirits Emma away to the artists' colony where she spends every summer, determined to help her friend.

I loved seeing Emma and Sophie reconnect. Despite being apart for ten years, their friendship rekindles quickly. Sophie is the right combination of bulldozer and cheerleader to help Emma regain confidence in herself and rediscover her love of painting. I loved Sophie's patience and empathy as she helps Emma face the traumatic event that sent her on that downward spiral. It was great to see the emergence of the new Emma. I cheered for her when she stood up to Victoria and sighed with happiness at the return of her artistic mojo. The descriptions of her artwork leaped off the page with their vivid colors and subtle encouragements.

The rekindling of their friendship also had a significant effect on Sophie. She, too, experienced a traumatic event her freshman year, one that still haunts her. When her long-running relationship with her boyfriend looks ready to move to the next level, Sophie's fears come rushing to the surface. Emma's "rescue" of Sophie was funny and emotional and precisely what she needed.

I loved the setting of the tiny artists' group in the wilds of southern Texas. Each member of the group possessed a unique talent and personality that enhanced the story. Arty and Filly provided the experience of the older generation while remaining free-spirited and fun. Their teasing banter with each other was hilarious, and their support of the younger people was unwavering. It was sweet to see the way they welcomed Emma into their lives.

The other member was Josh, who owns the trailer park. Josh is an equally talented artist who could be considered reclusive. The son of wealthy and intelligent parents, Josh always felt like a misfit in his family. Though highly intelligent, he had no interest in the prestigious careers his parents recommended. Instead, he used an inheritance to buy the trailer park and pursue the art that makes him happy. Josh is shy and sensitive, and awkward around most women, but Emma was different.

I enjoyed watching the development of the relationship between Josh and Emma. She is understandably wary around men, but she never feels threatened by him. Josh is smitten right away but senses Emma's skittishness and offers her simple friendship to start with. I loved his encouragement of her artistic endeavors and how he included her in his own. There were sweet scenes of their growing feelings, and I loved seeing them together. The episode in the cave was great. I loved the surprise at the end. The epilogue was fantastic, and I loved seeing everyone a few years down the line.

Carolyn Brown has written another beautiful book. This one is about wounded souls healing, finding family, and learning to love. I can't say enough wonderful things about this book. You'll just have to read it.

HJ Top Pick!

Hold on to your heartstrings. Author Carolyn Brown has another heartwarming, deeply emotional treat in store for her readers.

This was a deeply emotional read for me. But, then again, Carolyn Brown always stirs my emotions with her women’s fiction stories. In this case two best friends found each other again and gave each other the strength to heal from past wounds and move on to happy lives. I loved these two characters, along with Rebel, Sophia’s mother and all the other characters at the trailer park, Josh, Filly, Arty and Sophia’s long-time boyfriend Teddy. These characters are all totally genuine people who reached out and touched my heart.

The beginning of this story was so very powerful. It made me ache with sympathy for Emma and later that sympathy extended to Sophia. I just wanted to wrap Emma and Sophia up in a big group hug and make everything better for them. I loved how Carolyn Brown brought them both peace and happiness.

EXCERPT:Emma wondered if it could have been the chocolate cake that kept her from having the recurring nightmares the night before? Or was it the fact that she was so far away from that big mansion of a house and her overbearing mother, or even the many centres she'd been sent to for more than two decades? Whatever happened, it sure was nice to sleep all night without drugs and horrible dreams. If it was because she'd arrived at Hummingbird Lane, then Emma didn't ever want to leave the place.

ABOUT 'HUMMINGBIRD LANE': Ever since childhood, Emma Merrill and Sophia Mason were bound by a passion for painting. Like all young best friends, they promised to never lose touch. But the girls came from different worlds, and their paths diverged when Emma went to an elite college and Sophie worked her way through state school.

After a decade they’ve reconnected, both in a time of need. Emma has been struggling with depression since her college years, and she’s lost herself under the suffocating influence of her controlling and manipulative mother. Sophie, under pressure to prepare for an upcoming gallery show, whisks the fragile Emma away to a small artist’s colony in south Texas. It’s a raw and beautiful landscape where wildflowers bloom—and perhaps Emma can bloom there, too. In the company of such nurturing and creative strangers—especially Josh Corlen, the openhearted manager of the commune—Emma allows herself to breathe again.

For Sophie and Emma, it’s the perfect place for reflection and to finally share the secret burdens each has carried. Most of all it’s a chance to rediscover their true selves and to make good on the old promise that their friendship would last forever.

MY THOUGHTS: This is a story about the power of friendship and how sometimes, friendship can endure and transcend both distance and years of separation.

Emma and Sophie are such wonderful characters. I laughed and cried with them and got angry with them at times. They support each other and recognize each other's strengths, but fail to see their own.

Art and Filly, the elderly permanent residents of Hummingbird Lane, are the sort of people everyone needs in their lives. Wise and humourous, kind and generous.

My only criticism is the brief, one month, period of time that it takes for Emma to turn her life around. And the author makes quite a big thing about the small time frame, frequently. Perhaps if she hadn't have mentioned the time frame at all, this would have been a five star read. Her recovery was far too fast, and far too easy. It annoyed me enough to knock a star off, but not enough to put me off reading more from this wonderful author.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

#HummingbirdLane #NetGalley #carolynbrownbooks #montlakeromance @thecarolynbrown

#contemporaryfiction #domesticdrama #romance

THE AUTHOR: Hi! I'm twenty five years old and movie star gorgeous. The camera added thirty plus years and a few wrinkles. Can't trust those cameras or mirrors either. Along with bathroom scales they are notorious liars! Honestly, I am the mother of three fantastic grown children who've made me laugh and given me more story ideas than I could ever write. My husband, Charles, is my strongest supporter and my best friend. He's even willing to eat fast food and help with the laundry while I finish one more chapter! Life is good and I am blessed!

Reading has been a passion since I was five years old and figured out those were words on book pages. As soon as my chubby little fingers found they could put words on a Big Chief tablet with a fat pencil, I was on my way. Writing joined reading in my list of passions. I will read anything from the back of the Cheerio's box to Faulkner and love every bit of it. In addition to reading I enjoy cooking, my family and the ocean. I love the Florida beaches. Listening to the ocean waves puts my writing brain into high gear.

I love writing romance because it's about emotions and relationships. Human nature hasn't changed a bit since Eve coveted the fruit in the Garden of Eden. Settings change. Plots change. Names change. Times change. But love is love and men and women have been falling in and out of it forever. Romance is about emotions: love, hate, anger, laughter... all of it. If I can make you laugh until your sides ache or grab a tissue then I've touched your emotions and accomplished what every writer sets out to do.

I got serious about writing when my third child was born and had her days and nights mixed up. I had to stay up all night anyway and it was very quiet so I invested in a spiral back notebook and sharpened a few pencils. The story that emerged has never sold but it's brought in enough rejection slips to put the Redwood Forest on the endangered list.

Folks ask me where I get my ideas. Three kids, fifteen grandchildren, two great grandchildren. Note: I was a very young grandmother! Life is a zoo around here when they all come home. In one Sunday afternoon there's enough ideas to keep me writing for years and years. Seriously, ideas pop up at the craziest times. When one sinks its roots into my mind, I have no choice but to write the story. And while I'm writing the characters peek over my shoulder and make sure I'm telling it right and not exaggerating too much. Pesky little devils, they are!

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Montlake for providing me with a digital ARC of Hummingbird Lane by Carolyn Brown for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage

5 True and Accepting Stars
* * * * *
It is so important to be able to look at yourself, see things as clearly as we can, and then go forward. Because, if we keep holding onto the past, we can never go and experience the future of our own making.

Carolyn Brown takes these ideas and creates an amazing story.

This is a lovely story of friendship and healing. Sophie and Emma became friends when Sophie's mom Rebel worked for Emma's mother Victoria. The girls bonded and although they went to different schools, remained friends united by their art until Emma withdrew from school and more or less from life. Sophie rescues Emma, who has struggled with mental health issues (and Victoria) and brings her to Hummingbird lane in a trailer park community of artists. Together, they begin to soothe Emma. There's a romance as well (which felt superfluous but I know many readers will like it). Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. These are good women who care for each other and that's what makes this a positive read.

A story of love, friendship and new beginnings. After being apart for many years Sophie and Emma are back together and helping each other heal from tragedies in the past.

Thank you Netgalley for an ecosystem of this book for my honest opinion.

Loved this book from start to finish! Sophie was the friend everyone needs! Emma finds out she’s stronger than she knew! Great cast of supporting characters! This book is a definite reread! Carolyn Brown books are always winners!

I loved this book. It approached so many different concepts - mental illness, rape, teenage pregnancy, miscarriage, ADHD or spectrum children. I really liked the way the author explored all these aspects of life and how we approach them, deal with them and accept them. Great character development and an easy read.

I received n ARC copy of Hummingbird Lane from NetGalley. I have read several of Carolyn Brown's books, and she always has well-developed characters in a charming story. Hummingbird Lane was true to this pattern. Emma and Sophie were childhood friends, but Emma's mother ended the friendship, and the two had not seen each other in many years. Sophie learned that Emma was in a care facility, and she visited her, only to find that Emma had been convinced she could not care for herself by her mother. Sophie has Emma check herself out of the facility and takes her to a trailer park in southwest Texas, where Sophie lives with a group of artists. Emma learns that she IS capable, and that friends can become family. This is a sweet story with a happy ending.

“Finding the healing power of love and family”
What a beautiful story about the strength of friendship. Hummingbird Lane keeps you engaged from the beginning to the end.
Emma and Sophia had a friendship through childhood and then it ended.
Many quirky characters bring humor to the story.
Healing, friendship, relationships make for a very uplifting story of finding peace within oneself.
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest opinion. All opinions expressed are my own.

I really liked this book. I liked the quirky characters and the story of friendship. I Recommend this book to anyone who likes a good romance story

**Content warning: rape and miscarriage**

I am genuinely so so sad to have finished this book. I've never read anything by Carolyn before but her writing style is like she's in the room telling the story to me personally!

Hummingbird Lane is one of the most heartwarming wholesome books I've read in recent memory. The main protagonists - Emma and Sophie were best friends as children and now reunited as adults begin to find themselves after both having experienced and hidden trauma. They do this at a trailer park, out in the sticks, with a group of people who prove that family is more than just blood.

I thoroughly enjoyed the different storylines woven throughout the narrative and particularly seeing Josh develop as a character.

There were so many moments in this book were I wanted to snapshot a quote and remember it for when life gets a bit tough. A really feel-good read without being clichéd and trite.

The imagery was powerful and I could totally imagine this being turned into a really enjoyable film. 5 stars.

I've never read anything by this author, but this sounded like one I'd enjoy. It did end up being a bit more serious than I expected.

The majority of the book is focused on Emma and Sofie's friendship, and they're realistic characters that are easy to connect with. Character development was solid. The relationship with Josh felt a bit rushed. It almost seemed like this should've been broken into two books so the characters and relationships could've been built up and explored a bit more.

During this lockdown, Carolyn Brown’s novel have saved me! I’ve been able escape dreary dark London and live in the Texan heat! So I was thrilled to be able to read Hummingbird Lane and I’m pleased to report it did not disappoint.
Hummingbird Lane is the story of childhood best friends Emma and Sophia who reconnect when Emma is struggling with her mental health. Where the doctors are struggling to help Emma, it’s Sophie’s friendship that helps her come out of the dark. A beautiful story of friendship, love, art and achievement.

Emma and Sophia were inseparable as young children until Emma’s mother refused to let Sophia see Emma. Both were budding artists but Emma’s mother was very controlling and manipulative. She has convinced Emma that she is mentally ill and not capable of taking of herself and had her in and out of mental hospitals for years. Sophia takes Emma away from her latest hospital to a remote trailer park in Texas, determined to help her. Slowly, Emma begins to regain her confidence and rediscover her passion for art. The residents of the trailer park were interesting people and I enjoyed their banter back and forth. This is a story about love, even if you aren’t related by blood you can become a family. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

Hummingbird Lane is an awesome book about relationships, healing and finding your true family. Emma is a 35 year old woman from a very wealthy family with a very controlling Mother. Her Mother had ruled her life and kept her isolated from her only true friend , Sophie. Emma suffered a traumatic event in her first semester in college. After which, her Mother kept her in a series of mental health facilities. Her friend Sophie found out where she was and rescued her by taking her to small community of artists living in trailers in the desert. Here she rediscovered painting and began to heal. She found herself in this group of artists who became her family. This is a wonderful uplifting book.