Review of 'The Garden of Shared Stories' - Clare Swatman

The Garden of Shared Stories

Emma is at an all-time low the day she meets Nick. She sits down in a quiet rose garden in her local park, and from nowhere a handsome man sits next to her and turns her world upside down.

Over the weeks, she and Nick meet regularly, always in the same place, always at the same time. They discover they have a lot in common – shared heartbreak, and shared dreams. They tell each other stories about the people they’ve lost – things they’ve never told anyone else. Bit by bit, they get to know each other, and fall in love.

But there’s a catch, because however much they have in common, they have one big thing keeping them apart… twenty years apart. Because when Nick is sitting in the garden it’s 1999 – two decades before Emma is there.

Emma never expected to fall in love again, but now she has, she’s not going to give up on it without a fight. But how do you turn something impossible into a happy ever after?

Purchase Link: https://mybook.to/GardenOfSharedStories

When I read the blurb for this book, I was absolutely intrigued. The premise was a fascinating one and I was keen to see how the author would resolve it to ensure the happy ending I knew would be coming.

I wasn't disappointed. This could very easily have been a saccharine sweet book, but it's not. While it absolutely is heartwarming, it is also heartbreaking at times, which is exactly as it should be. Nothing in life comes easily and Nick and Emma have to work hard to get what they want and, as in life, there is sometimes a price to pay if you want to succeed. As the reader, you are rooting for the couple right from the beginning - both have survived a lot of heartbreak before the book even starts and when the person you love is twenty years away, it is inevitable that more heartbreak will follow.

However, Emma is determined not to give up on their love and it was interesting to follow her logic when she was trying to figure out what to do. I loved the idea of there being a point in time where you could step through into a world a few decades before or after your own, even if it is only a very limited part of it.

All in all, this was a thoroughly satisfying book that I read in two sittings and Clare Swatman is an author I would happily come back to.

Clare Swatman is the author of bestselling women’s fiction novels, which have been translated into over 20 languages. She has been a journalist for over twenty years, writing for Bella and Woman & Home amongst many other magazines. She lives in Hertfordshire.

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