Having selected lovely Clare Swatman’s The Garden of Shared Stories for one of my The People’s Friend column choices this month, I wasn’t going to write a full review here on Linda’s book Bag because I didn’t have time to write complete reviews of all the books I featured, but there are several reasons why I simply must.
Firstly, there’s a typo on Clare’s name in the magazine which is mortifying – even if it is correct later on, so I need to pass on apologies.
Secondly, I have a very personal reason for wanting to share my thoughts. You see, I was lucky enough to bid in a charity auction to name a character in Clare’s book and to win. Some of you know that my great-niece, Emma, died some ninety minutes before birth at full term and as she would be coming up to her 10th birthday in 2026, I wanted to give her a life she didn’t otherwise have through Clare’s writing. Clare has given her the most wonderful story and I could not be more grateful. Emma has a starring role in The Garden of Shared Stories.
What Clare doesn’t know is that two other minor characters she has named have Emma’s mum’s name and my Mum, Emma’s great-grandma’s, name. Given that Mum died this year, The Garden of Shared Stories feels all the more special.
Lastly, I have loved Clare’s writing in the past and you’ll find my reviews of some of her books here.
The Garden of Shared Stories was published by Boldwood on 3rd December 2025 and is available for purchase through the publisher links here.
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?
My Review of The Garden of Shared Stories
Emma and Nick have both lost someone they love.
Oh. What can I say about The Garden of Shared Stories? I attended a panel discussion involving Clare Swatman earlier this year where she said she likes to break a reader’s heart and then mend it again. If that is her desired aim then she’s done so magnificently here. I adored this book.
The plot is so unusual. The timeslip aspect is unique and as Emma and Nick’s lives come together and move apart, the beat of the novel feels very much like a heartbeat to me. It’s a story that simply pulsates with emotion. Indeed, the two perspectives from Emma and Nick feel like a living cardiac rhythm, bringing vitality and life to the story as we get their perspectives in turn.
Essentially, The Garden of Shared Stories draws on tradition where two grieving people meet up by chance and fall in love, but there are obstacles in the way of their happiness. If that makes the narrative sound mundane or ordinary, think again. The structure is fabulous. I was held spellbound as I wondered how, or even if, the two time frames might be brought together.
And I adored the characters. Both Emma and Nick are relatable. I loved the way their previous relationships were positive ones because it added to their sense of loss and felt cathartic to encounter and to grieve alongside them.
Grief is only one of the themes explored in this narrative. The nature of relationships and how age is perceived within them is important. Parenthood and marriage feature strongly alongside friendship and a wonderful sense of place. Equally vital is the nature of life and fate and how our choices, actions or inactions, can affect our lives and those of the people around us. All these aspects give incredible interest and depth to the narrative.
But what is so captivating in The Garden of Shared Stories, so utterly all enveloping, is the love story between Emma and Nick. I felt it like a physical ache in my chest as I read and found myself experiencing all manner of emotions around their relationship, from fear to how it might evolve, frustration that their lives were so inextricably interwoven and yet so separate, joy at the moments they shared so positively and heartbreak at the times they couldn’t – or wouldn’t – be together.
I really loved The Garden of Shared Stories. It’s engaging, entertaining and emotional so that it’s one of those narratives that swirls in the reader’s mind long after the final page is turned. I really recommend it.
About Clare Swatman
Clare Swatman is the author of 11 women’s fiction novels. Her latest, The Garden of Shared Stories, is a time travel love story about fate and overcoming the impossible. It was released worldwide on 3 December 2025. Her next book, as yet untitled, will be released later in 2026.
She also writes psychological thrillers under the name CL Swatman. Her debut thriller, No Son of Mine, was released in December 2024, and her second, After the Party, was published on 13 September 2025.
Clare lives in Hertfordshire in the UK with her husband and two boys. Even the cat is male, which means she’s destined to be outnumbered forever.
For further information, visit Clare’s website or find her on Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky.
English (US) · 