The Summer Fair By Heidi Swain

‘The Summer Fair’ is the latest book by Heidi Swain.

Beth loves her job working in a care home, looking after its elderly residents, but she doesn’t love the cramped and dirty house-share she currently lives in. So, when she gets the opportunity to move to Nightingale Square, sharing a house with the lovely Eli, she jumps at the chance. The community at Nightingale Square welcomes Beth with open arms, and when she needs help to organise a fundraiser for the care home they rally round. Then she discovers The Arches, a local creative arts centre, has closed and the venture to replace it needs their help too – but this opens old wounds and past secrets for Beth.Music was always an important part of her life, but now she has closed the door on all that. Will her friends at the care home and the people of Nightingale Square help her find a way to learn to love it once more…?

For the last couple of days I’ve been reading the latest book by Heidi and even though I’m miserable and dosed with the cold, this book made me smile.

The story is seen through Beth, a carer an elderly person’s house who’s tired of living with people who take her kindness for granted. So when the opportunity arises to move into a beautiful cottage in Nightingale Square, she picks up her house plants and embarks on a new journey, along with handsome new lodger as well as a promotion in the nursing home. Beth is the absolute star of this story, she’s caring with a huge heart and has been carrying a heavy burden since the tragic loss of her mother. She’s deeply loved by the residents and staff in the nursing home and it makes for touching reading, as she arranges activities to get them entertained and see them reignite their lust for life. Whilst her housemate Elijah has also brought back her passion for music, something she has struggled with. Together the pair of them face fears and form a strong bond and this makes for wonderfully uplifting reading.

Once again, Heidi has delivered another beautifully written story that is bursting with warmth, heart and charm. Filled with hope and new beginnings, Beth’s journey made for tender reading as she embraced new challenges and put old ghosts to bed.

It was also wonderful to return to Nightingale Square and feel that sense of community as well as see them old faces from other books by Heidi.

Beautifully descriptive with warm characters, kind souls and a story to get lost in, ‘The Summer Fair’ was a joy to read and the perfect tonic.

You can pre-order ‘The Summer Fair’ from Amazon and will be available to buy from good bookshops from 12th May 2022.