Her dream holiday is his everyday life. His dream holiday is her normal life. What happens when they collide?
Ally and her dad, Geoff, run a creative retreat from their home, Hollyhock Cottage. They give their guests a dream coastal break, but Ally hankers after something different.
Ally’s survival strategy is to escape out of season and pretend to be the person she always imagined she would be. She meets Logan while she’s away in Barcelona and he turns out to be exactly the kind of distraction she’s looking for.
With her spirits restored, Ally returns home, picks up the reins again and sets her sights on another successful season. But when Logan unexpectedly appears, she soon realises she’s in for a summer that’s going to be far from straightforward…
A story about bringing a holiday home – and what happens when what goes on on holiday comes back to bite you…
Today is my stop on the blog tour for The Holiday Escape. Thank you to Heidi Swain, Sara-Jade Virtue, TeamBATC and Simon and Schuster for the chance to take part.
Heidi Swain is my favourite author so I was thrilled at the opportunity to read her latest standalone novel. I think Hollyhock Cottage is my dream!
Ally made a promise to her late-Mum that she would help her Dad with their holiday retreat home, Hollyhock Cottage, despite her dream of travelling around Europe. Feeling stuck, every year she has a holiday where she pretends to be the person she dreamed of. In Barcelona she meets Logan, the distraction she is looking for, what she doesn’t expect is for him to turn up in Kittiwake Cove.
From the start of the book you feel sorry for Ally, keeping the promise to her Mum before she died but not living the life she had dreamed of. You can understand her desire to create a whole new person when she travels abroad, not expecting that to catch her out when she returns home. The connection that was there in Barcelona between Ally and Logan is definitely still there when he arrives unexpectedly at Hollyhock Cottage. It is then a journey to see how Ally will cope with this clashing of ‘lives’.
Along with Ally and Logan, Heidi creates a group of characters who feel like your friends, I especially liked Flora.
I loved the sound of Hollyhock Cottage and Kittiwake Cave. It sounded idyllic and just the place I wish I was living, so I loved spending my time there with Ally.
In typical Heidi fashion this book is filled with friendship and second chances. It certainly ticks the box for perfect summer escapism.
Kelly T's Space 