As a huge fan of Sharon Gosling’s books, I was delighted to have the chance to close the blog tour for her latest novel The Secret Orchard. My enormous thanks to SJ of Books and the City for inviting me to take part. It’s my pleasure to share my review today.
You’ll find my review of Sharon’s The House Beneath the Cliffs here, of The Lighthouse Bookshop here and of The Forgotten Garden here.
Published by Simon and Schuster on 12th September 2024 The Secret Orchard is available for purchase through the publisher links here.
The Secret Orchard
Can a return to the past be the start of something new?
Bette and Nina Crowdie have never been close – the ten-year age difference doesn’t help, and Bette’s rarely been home since she left for university at eighteen.
When their father passes away and unexpectedly splits the family farm between them, Nina is furious and afraid. She’s been working at the farm for the past five years. It’s the only home her young son, Barnaby, has ever had, and she’s convinced that Bette will sell at the first chance she gets. When they discover the huge debt their father has been hiding, Bette reluctantly agrees to help her sister. But that means they have to find a way to work together, and Bette must face up to the real reason she left all those years ago.
Could a long-forgotten diary and the discovery of a secret orchard on their land help save the farm – and the sisters’ relationship?
My Review of The Secret Orchard
Bette’s heading home for her father’s funeral.
As I’m a huge fan of Sharon Gosling’s writing I had high hopes for The Secret Orchard and I’m delighted that this book was just as wonderful as her other stories. Filled with an emotional intensity from the very first page, The Secret Orchard is fantastic. I’ve no real idea how she does it, but Sharon Gosling pulls in the reader to her characters’ lives so completely from the opening sentence that it is impossible not to care about them immediately. Her descriptions are beautiful, with a vivid detail that always enhances the story, making the sense of place integral to the action.
The plot is fabulous, being perfectly balanced between dramatic events and ordinary life, making the story completely absorbing. There’s a little bit of mystery, a bit of romance, some history, horticulture and domestic drama which all weave together into a compelling narrative that truly feels greater than the sum of its parts. The sibling rivalry between Nina and Bette is drawn with warm sensitivity and one of the themes that develops so convincingly is the way Sharon Gosling explores the gap between what we believe about others and what is the truth.
Whilst the reader gradually learns more about each sister, actually they are not fully revealed and their futures not fully explained by the end of the book, which adds realism and makes them three dimensional. The Secret Orchard has left me thinking about Nina and Bette, wondering how they are doing because they felt so real to me.
I loved the character of Barnaby too. Usually not a fan of children in stories, I found him natural and believable. There’s great skill in how he shines light and shade on other characters, like Cam, as we see how they respond to him. He’s a great catalyst for action too.
The underpinning themes are explored with maturity and care. The recklessness of youth, the sense of ‘what if?’, the need to belong, the all consuming demands of everyday life, mature relationships, an individual’s fear of making themself vulnerable, are just a few of the aspects woven into The Secret Orchard and making it interesting and entertaining.
Reading Sharon Gosling is like stepping through a secret door into a world populated by people you love and didn’t realise you’ve been missing. The Secret Orchard is an absolutely lovely story that I adored.
About Sharon Gosling
Sharon started her career as an entertainment journalist, writing non-fiction books about film and television. She is also the author of multiple children’s books. Sharon and her husband live in a small village in northern Cumbria.
When she’s not writing, she creates beautiful linocut artwork and is the author of multiple children’s books. The House Beneath the Cliffs was her first adult novel.
You can follow Sharon on Twitter/X @sharongosling and Instagram for further information.
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English (US) · 