Reviewed by Emma Crowley
When Zosia arrives at Foxglove Cottage holding her small son’s hand in hers, she is desperate for a new beginning. Her new job is to help seventy-year-old Hazel transform her tumbledown cottage and re-open the enchanting old café, steeped in folklore. Hazel is warm and welcoming, but Zosia can never share the truth about why she has left her own home.
When neighbourly Leon, a bear of a man with deep brown eyes, arrives to help them restore the cafe, Zosia can’t help falling for his rugged charm. But her heart has been shattered before, so she distracts herself by translating an old diary that’s been in Hazel’s family for generations. She discovers an extraordinary love story hidden in the yellowing pages. It pulls her back into World War Two, as if the past is whispering through the garden’s tangled vines and the granite cottage walls. Could the old wartime romance help broken-hearted Zosia believe in soulmates again?
Zosia longs to open up to Hazel and Leon but if her past catches up with her it could ruin everything. When she uncovers the diary’s long buried secret, will it help her let go of her own past? Or, when she receives a letter that threatens everything she holds dear, will she be forced to leave Foxglove Cottage for good?
Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of Secrets of Foxglove Farm to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
Secrets of Foxglove Farm is the first book in a new series called Wildflower Secrets from Rebecca Alexander. This is the first time that I have read anything by this author and it’s always great to discover someone new. Both the cover and title caught my attention and upon reading the blurb I expected it would be a story that I would enjoy. I presumed a lot of the focus would be on Zosia establishing a new life for herself and helping Hazel get her fairy café at Foxglove Cottage up and running again but there was a lot more between the covers of this story than I had bargained for. I was pleasantly surprised that this was like a dual timeline book as it moved back and forth between the past and the present with each chapter alternating between Zosia and Hazel in the present and Rosie and Casimir during World War Two. I will admit I did find the chapters just that bit too short. I felt I was settling in to reading about one time period and then the chapter would be over and then back we went to the past or vice versa. Longer chapters would have been a better option in my opinion.
Zosia is originally from Poland and has a 6 year old son named Krys. She has arrived for an interview with Hazel at Foxglove Cottage in Devon and is desperately hoping that it will go well. Zosia has a troubled recent past that she is still very much affected by as is Krys. She is never fully able to relax and be present in the moment. She is always on edge, anxious and keeping an eye over her shoulder. Bit by bit and ever so slowly over the course of the story of her circumstances are revealed and it’s evident that she has been through a harrowing time and all because of her ex-husband Declan. Without going into specifics it’s safe to say she is much better off without him but still his shadow is ever present and although she is always on high alert in case she has to run maybe Foxglove Cottage will work its magic on her and she will find the happiness, peace and contentment that she richly deserves.
Hazel has recently had a hip replacement and needs help around the cottage. I felt Hazel saw something in Zosia that she could help with and she took her under her wing and became like a surrogate mother to her and a grandmother figure to Krys. She was kind, caring, empathetic and not afraid to confront issues. Zosia takes on the role of gardener, cleaner and general assistant to Hazel and sets about clearing out the house and bringing it back to its former glory as it once was under the direction of Hazel’s parents Rosie and Cas. I enjoyed all the descriptions of the garden and flowers and how fairies played a big part in Hazel’s childhood and also her memories of the little café that her parents had once run. Hazel wants to start this all again and as Zosia settles in the home and the family she was searching for start to become apparent and this all occurred very naturally and at a relaxed pace.
There were dark undercurrents throughout the book which I hadn’t expected at all to be honest given the cover. It’s great to come across the unexpected in a book when you are expecting the usual tropes from certain genres. But here at times I felt it was just that bit out of place. I questioned should it have been omitted altogether or else should there have been more of a focus on it because I felt it too fleeting in that hints and clues were given but it deserved a deeper exploration. I know in some ways it connected back to Zosia’s experiences and it allowed her to gain some strength and share an understanding with some of the people involved in the situation but still I thought it needed to be dealt with more prominently than it was or else not have it there at all. In a book of this nature and genre it’s challenging to strike the balance and for me it didn’t quite hit right. Perhaps there was too much going trying to keep the dual timeline going. Should it just have focused on Zosia and then the past element and omitted the darker threads running through the story? I’m not 100% sure but I do think slightly too much was taken on with regards to the overall story.
Leon is the local vicar who was once in the police. He too had a troubled past and there was a bit of will they won’t they with regards to himself and Zosia. Again, I felt this was underplayed and there was nothing concrete. He did step in in times of need but I would have loved more communication between them as he seemed to blow very hot and cold. Friendly one minute and then like an altogether different person the next. Even towards the end I wasn’t sure did this storyline get the attention it deserved.
What I did thoroughly enjoy was Rosie and Casimir’s (Cas) story in the past. It was very well written and a real eye opener into love in the time of war and how so many barriers and turbulent times kept people apart. As Zosia translates Cas’ memoirs for Hazel their life story became apparent and I looked forward to their chapters. I felt I really got to know the pair and see how they love they felt for each other was real and genuine right from the moment when Cas crashed onto the road near the farm where Rosie lived. He was a Polish air pilot who had fled his country and been through some disturbing and harrowing times. He harbours one secret close to his chest but is reluctant to tell Rosie about it even though he deeply loves and respects her.
Rosie went against her parents wishes and secretly married Cas. This took a lot of guts but it showed her dedication to Cas and that in times of war one just has to go for it because you have to live for the now and worry about the future when you hit that point. I really enjoyed reading about Rosie’s experiences working in the factory around chemicals and gunpowder etc. It brought home the dangers of the time that so many women were involved with and they did their bit for their country when required to do so. Rosie and Cas’ love story was inspirational and a joy to read.
All in all Secrets of Foxglove Cottage was a bit of a mixed bag for me. I loved the storyline set in the past but felt the aspect set in the present had too much going on and therefore it didn’t allow for a deeper focus and exploration of aspects that needed further development. The ending was quite abrupt. I was upon it before I knew it and would have loved to have read a bit more. Saying all that there was a good story here waiting to be discovered. A nice mix of history with some romance, second chances, family and friendship. I will be back for book two Memories of Heather House when it publishes in July when new characters will feature. I will be interested to see how it compares to Secrets of Foxglove Cottage.
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