I always love Heidi's novels and I just knew that this one would be no different. The cover is beautiful in every way and is so eye-catching I couldn't wait to read it! I love the bright colours, the little row of shops and the flowers surrounding the cover. It's just so pretty! I also loved that we'd be back in Nightingale Square once again - I adore the characters in these stories, everyone seems so friendly that I'd love to live somewhere with such a feel-good community feel!

When we first met Poppy, I really felt for her, it seemed like she had been through quite a bit and I was so intrigued as to why she didn't really get on that well with her mum. However, once I read a few of their conversations, I began to get a better gist as to why! I also felt quite sorry for Jacob, who seemed to be going through quite a lot too and wondered what his story will be. Everything was so interesting I just didn't want to put my Kindle down! I just loved hearing from Kate and Lisa again, and all the other lovely characters from the other novel set in Nightingale Square.

When Ryan came to live with Poppy for a few weeks, I thought there was going to be big trouble. I was pleasantly surprised when Jacob (who was always so moody and withdrawn in previous chapters) offered to help Poppy with Ryan and was hoping this is when Jacob starts coming out of his shell more and telling us a bit more about his background! The story really picks up once Ryan arrives, there's drama, tears and romance as well! I love, love, love the community feel of the whole novel and of course, Nightingale Square. The little events and parties they throw at the garden sound so delightful and so enjoyable!

Overall, I really loved this novel. It was summery, heartwarming and just really lovely. I love Heidi Swain's novels and this one was no different. I can't wait to read more by this author in future. Thank you to the publisher for a chance to read this novel via Netgalley, which I have reviewed honestly.

Returning to Nightingale Square, I was delighted to be reunited with the characters I met the first time round. This book follows the story of Poppy, who works in the local greengrocers and has always wanted to live in the square.

Poppy moves into the home once occupied by Kate, who now lives in Prosperous Place with Luke, his daughter and their new baby daughter. Poppy is looking forward to being a part of the square and helping in the community garden. She isn’t the only newcomer to the square. Jacob is her neighbour and is moody and reclusive. He makes it very clear to Poppy that he has no interest in the garden.

Poppy has a very strained relationship with her Mum and isn’t surprised when she finds out that she’s off to Spain, leaving her brother Ryan to fend for himself. Poppy invites Ryan to come and stay with her. He eventually decides to take her up on her offer and moves into Poppy’s home in the square.

Yet again, Heidi has given a wonderful insight into the lives of these characters and you can’t help but feel like you’re there with them all, enjoying a bbq in the garden at Prosperous Place or sitting in Poppy’s garden with a glass of something cold.

I adored this book and didn’t want it to end. I really hope we get another visit to Nightingale Square as it’d be lovely to see how the new relationships that were built in this book progress.

Thank you Heidi for writing yet another glorious book. A definite ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ from me. Thank you to Net Galley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A really good read. I loved the idea of the community garden. This story is about friendship, family, community, and love. It was lovely to sit for a few hours and be totally caught up in Poppy’s world.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Oh my gosh loved this book . Love how the characters interacted with each onether. Glad everything was happy in the end. Heidi swains books are amazing can't wait to actually buy this in book form 5* all the way

Since I first discovered Heidi Swain’s books last year, I’ve been more than a little vocal about the fact that I would love to live in the world that she has created. It honestly is the most idyllic, community-friendly world, and I can’t think of anything nicer than living there. When Heidi Swain wrote ‘Sunshine and Sweet Peas in Nightingale Square’ last year, in a move away from Wynbridge and Wynthorpe Hall, I found myself loving yet another of her locations, a beautiful square with a community garden, a fresh location but equally as wonderful.

‘Poppy’s Recipe for Life’ sees a return to Nightingale Square, and although there are two new characters living in the square, who are the focus of this book, Poppy and her grumpy neighbour Jacob, they are joined by some familiar faces from Nightingale Square. The continuity between Heidi’s stories, always seeing the odd familiar face of a previous much-loved character strengthens the overriding feeling of community that exists in her stories, which I think probably makes me love her books even more. If you have never read one of her books, don’t let that put you off, because each of her books are standalones in their own right, in spite of recurring characters.

When Poppy moves into the square she does not anticipate that she will end up inviting her half brother Ryan to live with her temporarily, and the arrival of Ryan brings complications to Poppy’s life, as they navigate the fine line between a much older sibling acting like a parent, and simply being a sibling. Add to this the additional complication of her blossoming relationship with her grumpy neighbour, and you have the perfect balance of romance, friendship, trust and community, with a few jars of chutney thrown in too.

Heidi Swain is the queen of feel good stories, and this book is no exception. It left me craving warm summer sun, and a salad, with a really good homemade chutney on the side!

Many thanks to Simon & Schuster UK, and Netgalley for allowing me to read this wonderful book in exchange for an honest review. Poppy’s Recipe for Life will be published on 30 May 2019!

I loved being back in Nightingale square. It is always wonderful to be back in Heidi Swain's world but when it is one that is still quite a new world, it is great to catch up with people and find out what has changed in the square. If you loved Sunshine and Sweet peas and loved Kate and Luke then you will please to know we get to catch up with them in this novel too, your curiosity about where they are now and how they are doing is definitely satisfied.



Of course this novel follows a new resident of Nightingale Square, Poppy. I love how independent Poppy is and how much she has always had to stand on her own two feet. She does value family and friends but she is quite capable of making her own happiness. I love watching her relationship with her brother change and develop over the course of this novel. Ryan is another great character and I think the life that he leads is one that a lot of young people find themselves in but it isn't written about enough in books. He is a decent guy and we also don't get to see decent acting teenagers a lot within the pages of a novel-very refreshing.



I love the fact that Poppy also has existing relationships with people in the square through friendships and jobs and so she fits right into the community. There is also a little bit of romance in this novel, as you may have expected, and it is just achingly slow burn. It is wonderful to watch and just the kind that will have you hugging yourself with delight!



Ryan's storyline in this novel is defiantly a bit of a departure from the kind of things that this author usually covers in her books. He deals with some tough stuff and tries to deal with everything that is thrown at him on his own without any help from an adult. As I have already mentioned though, the things that he is dealing with are things that a lot of teenagers have to go through and have to deal with day to day. They are not written about enough in books and so I loved seeing Heidi Swain tackle them in this novel. Every issue was handled incredibly well.



This book definitely provides some escapism and some romance but does also deal with the real world and things that go on within it. I think that Heidi has balanced these things well in this novel and it is definitely another hit for her. If you like a little bit of romance, some awesome friendships and real representation of what primary school teachers are like then this is definitely the novel for you. Pop it on your summer TBR now.

Heidi Swain writes about honest and believable characters – sometimes you wish you could live in Nightingale Square with them!

A lovely mix of family relationships, a touch of romance and lots of fun and good advice.

Another hit for Heidi

Quite a good read, kept me engaged, really enjoyed the plot and the characters and i would read more from this author.

Grateful to receive an advanced copy from Netgalley. I wouldn’t normally post anything other than a good review, but as I have to feedback here goes. Not my favourite book from Heidi Swan, sorry 😐, just found the characters were not as ‘believable’ as usual. I seem to be in the minority here though, so give it a try.

Sorry for the bad language but I can’t even begin to explain how bloody excited I was to be able to read & review this before the big publish date 30/05/19. I just want to say a massive thank you to #NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read & review this. I have read all of Heidi’s books so I know she’s absolutely amazing at creating these wonderful places where we can visit & meet some absolutely amazing characters & she didn’t disappoint with Poppy’s story. I absolutely adore #NightingaleSquare and all it’s amazing residents, I can’t even chooses a favourite character because they are all lush. Poppy is like a breath of fresh air and her attitude is so refreshing and addictive, she is like a drug that makes you feel happier and better and I just love her. I love how much she and all the gang love the community garden and how they all have each other’s backs, I just want to pack-up and go and live there and get stuck in with them all. I am gutted that I’ve finished it and need more from the gang pretty please Heidi can we have another fix from these guys. Thank you so much for giving me one of the most loveliest and uplifting books I’ve read in while. If you haven’t pre-ordered this yet I urge you to get it done you will not be disappointed, you can pre order using this link https://www.amazon.co.uk/Poppys-Recipe-Life-Heidi-Swain/dp/1471174387
If your like me and feel like your having withdrawal symptoms from Heidi’s stories you can follow her on her blog here, for a little lift. http://heidiswain.blogspot.com/

This was the first time that I read a Heidi Swain novel too, and honestly I'm so glad I did. The book follows Poppy, who's just moved into Nightingale Square. I now realise Nightingale Square has been the setting of some of Heidi's previous novels too, but it was easy enough to read as a stand-alone. It was such a sweet novel, and I loved seeing the development of Poppy and her neighbour Jacob's friendship, as well as her relationship with her younger brother Ryan. I'm definitely going to have to revisit Nightingale Square in the future!

Living near Norwich I absolutely loved this book as this is where it is set so I could easily visualise many of the scenes . This is a second visit to Nightingale square from Heidi Swain although I hadn’t read the first. It did take me a few chapters to work out in my head who was who but once I did I really loved this story.
Poppy finally has her life in order. She’s working at the local greengrocers and producing popular recipe cards and about to move into her dream house on Nightingale square with its community garden / allotment. The residents are quite the little community ... that is all except one her grumpy but handsome next door neighbour Jacob. He is hiding from a painful past, betrayed by those closest to him, Jacob thinks he will never trust anyone again.
Then just when life seems perfect Poppy’s life is thrown upside down by the arrival of her 16 year old brother Ryan.
Abandoned by their uncaring mother and still grieving the loss of his father, Ryan has become a bit of a teenage terra way and has such low self esteem he thinks he is worthless.
Can poppy work her magic charm on both Jacob and Ryan ?
I loved this story and soon got into it and the charm of nightingale square with its colourful cast of residents and their community spirit. I was hooked on the prospect of a romance between poppy and jacob and wasn’t disappointed.
A lovely, charming, romantic, funny, feel good read and definitely worth picking up.

I loved this book. I live in North Norfolk and was able to visualize the setting. This is a story of a mother who didn't care about her offspring. Poppy the eldest has moved to her dream home and looking forward to enjoying her peace and quiet. Her new neighbor is a grumpy young man. Her mother is off to Spain leaving young Ryan, 16. to defend for himself. He goes to stay with Poppy and causes problems. Their is a communal garden where everyone mucks in and gets it ready for the local competition. Can this garden change Mr Grumpy and Ryan? This is well written and easy to fall in love with the characters. This is a "mouth-watering and fragrant triumph", Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for a review.

A gentle, feel good factor story that I ended with a few happy tears.
A nice romance that ideally enjoyed

I loved this book, another great read from Heidi Swain , great characters, humour, emotion, fast paced and great writing. When you pick this up you don’t want to put it down. Wonderful and recommended



Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

How can I describe just how much I loved this book?
Right from the very first pages Swain draws you into the life of Poppy and envelops the reader deftly into Poppy’s thoughts and emotions. She intertwines small details of Poppy’s life throughout her present day narrative to give the reader the perfect amount of back story to fall in love with an incredible protagonist. Poppy has errors, as all humans do, but it makes her so much more likeable.
Swain begins with Poppy moving into Nightingale Square and meeting an incredibly grouchy neighbour who just so happens to have the very inventive name of Mr Grizzle. Pure genius.
The story then follows Poppy and her working hard to perfect every aspect of her life, including mending her broken relationship with her brother. It also focuses on Poppy’s relationship with Mr Grizzle and how they form an unlikely bond with Poppy vehemently pushing him past his comfort zone and into the loving and caring, but sometimes crazy, arms of the neighbours of Nightingale Square.
A ‘can’t put it down’ book: simple divine and fantastically written, Swain had me hooked through every single page. Nightingale Square is somewhere I would want to move to! A romantic novel with so much life bursting from it that it’s impossible not to be beaming once you have turned the last page.

Another glorious heart-warmer from Heidi. Lovely to be back in the hug of Nightingale Square’s community.

This was my first of Heidi's books and I highly doubt it'll be my last. I loved Poppy and Jacob's little quarrelsome relationship, and I really felt for Poppy and her lack of closeness to her mum.

It's a glorious novel that will definitely bring some sunshine to your life – I read this on a grey and miserable April afternoon and it cheered me right up. It's full of food, fun, and friends who feel like family.

One thing I would have loved is if there were some recipes included in the back of the book. I love reading about food and when characters make some foodie creations, and I'm often left dying to try them out for myself. I want to see if Poppy's potato bites really are as good as they say they are!

Another fantastic read from Heidi, returning to nightingale square to be reacquainted with previous characters and a few new ones, notably poppy, Ryan and Jacob, it explored the deep and meaningful relationship between family members and the repercussions this can have, this was portrayed in a genuine, sympathetic way, the sense of community provided by the residents of nightingale square along with the garden make you want to move there and experience it for yourself! Great story from start to finish, really didn’t want it to end!
Thank you net galley for advance copy!

Ooh my Easter weekend read and what a goodie. I’ve been saving this, wanting to leave the best till last. This had me both laughing and crying in equal portions. I loved the central character of Poppy as she saves both herself and the day in this gorgeous life-reaffirming read. Here Swain helps the reader press pause on all the nasty bits in their life like housework and, well more housework and dip into the wonderful life around Nightingale Square.

Poppy is the earth-mother type; a woman, if we all had the time, we’d love to be. But growing your own fruit and veg to make into wonderful chutneys and jams is a dream for many and not the reality. Jacob, the male lead, has everything a woman could ask for including having a difficult past and an iron-clad front that takes a brick or, in this case, sweet Poppy to storm through. I can’t help feeling we’ll here more from the characters in and around Prosperous Place and hurrah for that…