I always know I'm going to love what is put in front of me when it comes to a Heidi Swain book & this did not in any way, disappoint! This was a really lovely/fun listen, the narrator was really engaging and set the scenes wonderfully. I found myself become enthralled within the family/friendship drama and romance that came along with it all and yes, I absolutely loved it!

Audiobook Review:

Narration: The Cherry Tree Cafe is narrated by Karen Cass. I enjoyed the narration, the expression and feelings of the writing come across well. The narrator does a good job of differentiating between the different characters. The male and female voices were both good. The speed and pacing were well done, with gaps in all the right places. The narration definitely adds something to the story, bringing it to life.
  
Story: I didn’t enjoy all the betrayal, and friends keeping secrets from one another. However, I really enjoyed the good bits of the friendships. I loved the cafe, the way Jemma, Tom and Lizzie built the cafe and the crafting up. The relationship development was good, and the characters were well rounded and believable. Ella was especially delightful.

The ending was somewhat abrupt, but at least there was an epilogue. I suppose it might be a little dull to get into the nitty gritty of how Lizzie and Ben sort out their issues, but I really felt like a chunk of the story was missing, even with the epilogue.

Flow: it was easy to get swept up in the story. The narration never detracted or distracted from the plot. In fact, it improved it. It was easy to distinguish when one chapter ended and another began.

Thankfully, there was no music or sound effects, as I find these hard to cope with.

Recommendation: I would definitely recommend getting the audiobook version of this book, the narration of this really brings the story to life. I would only give the ebook 3 stars (I have read it a few years ago), whereas the narration raises it to a solid 4 stars.

I was given a free copy of this audiobook, my opinions are my own.

The narrator did an absolute excellent job, I thought their portrayal of the characters was spot on.

At the beginning, everything is going so terribly for Lizzie. I felt so much for her, and her pain really came across - it was heartbreaking but also I loved how she pulled through the betrayal.

The Cherry Tree Cafe is a lot of fun to read/listen to. It's full of small dramas and friendship and family. There is an excellent romance to give you the warm fuzzies, and characters I could fully get behind.

I’m clearly in the minority here as I didn’t love this book. It was ok and Lizzie’s life followed the usual chick lit style which normally I like, but if I’m honest I found the characters dull. It was an easy ready and very fluffy if that’s your thing. If you like crafting then you’ll probably enjoy the the plot and the Cherry Tree Cafe did sound an ideal setting. The narration was steady however, I hated the male voices and the little girl one was very annoying.

The minute I began to listen to this audio book I became swept away in Lizzie’s world. The narrator (Karen Cass) does an amazing job of really bringing Lizzie to life. I love the tone of her voice and found it really gentles and soothing to listen to. It was also really clear which character was speaking as she changed her pitch and tone really well to reflect each character.

Lizzie is just a gorgeous character and very early in the book she suffers humiliation and my heart broke for her. She’s a down to earth girl and I immediately wanted her to take her life back. Her friendship with Jemma is real friendship goals and I loved how the women supported each other through various events and how Lizzie was completely a member of Jemma’s family. Lizzie has a few hurdles to navigate on her way to happiness and she does so with the support of friends, family and the community.

Using the backdrop of a cafe is always a winner in my eyes but as someone who does craft like a nursery child, I delighted in all the wonderful creations and activities that were part of Lizzie’s world. I pictured myself sitting in Lizzie’s cosy flat above the cafe whilst listening to this book and it just fel so homely. Of course, the cakes on offer from Jemma and the friendliness of the clientele added even more depth to the main setting.

This is such a wonderful tale of new beginnings, new love and new (and old) friendships and I loved every minute of listening to it.

I LOVE LOVE LOVED THIS BOOK.

Lizzie is a fab character.. I loved the narrator, who for me kept me gripped on my drives to and from work. 

This is light hearted, funny and genuinely cheerful.

It's a proper chic-lit book.

If you want something light and easy, read/listen to this.

When Lizzie is forced to move back home after a disastrous break up, she does not thing that she would find love, a former hobby and a business there. 

I really loved listening to this book. The story is so heartwarming and although Lizzie faces a lot of heartache as well, there's no moments where I would think she would not get her happy ending. I like the idea of a cafe and crafting space mixed together. And the way that the story is told, makes crafting so appealing that I wish I could take up one of the classes at the Cherry Tree Cafe (although I do have a slight fixation on crocheting at the moment anyway. 

The characters are amazing as well. I mean Lizzie is amazing on her own, but my absolute favourite is Ben, for some reason. He just makes me think of someone I might want to date and marry in the future so I loved following him throughout the book. Then there are some characters I really ended up hating and I really feel that hating a character is a sign of an amazing piece of literature. 

I have really fallen in love with audiobooks and this one just made me fall harder. The narrator is easy to listen to and her voice is simply soothing. I'm not a native English speaker (although I have lived four years in English speaking countries and completed a university degree, so I feel I'm quite good at English), and had no problems understanding anything and I loved this listening experience.

Thanks to netgalley for the chance to listen to this book.

Another great book from Heidi.

My first go at listening to an audiobook and will probably be my last. Enjoy reading books more than listening to them.

Beautiful story, my first Heidi Swain & I will definitely be reading more! Set in a charming little village with some heartwarming characters. I really enjoyed listening to it as an audiobook too.

The Cherry Tree Cafe by Heidi Swain

*Potential spoilers ahead*

I listened to the audiobook of this story read by Karen Cass. I loved her voice, she has such a good range of voices that really captured the different characters for me. 

From the cover:

Lizzie Dixon's life feels as though it's fallen apart. Instead of the marriage proposal she was hoping for from her boyfriend, she is unceremoniously dumped, and her job is about to go the same way. So there's only one option: to go back home to the village she grew up in and to try to start again.  

Her best friend, Jemma, is delighted Lizzie has come back home, as she has just bought a little cafe, and Lizzie's sewing skills are just what she needs to help get it ready for the grand opening.  

With a new venture and a new home, things are looking much brighter for Lizzie. But can she get over her broken heart, and will an old flame reignite a love from long ago?  

So I didn’t really like Lizzie at first. She got together with her boyfriend Giles whilst he was about to marry another woman, and then is surprised when he dumps her to go back to the woman he was supposed to marry. At times she contemplated getting back together with him and I just felt like I wanted to give her a good shake to snap her out of these thoughts! As the story goes on she does seem to realise she’s been a bit to an idiot and moves on 👏

I really did enjoy this book as an audiobook, although a tad predictable in places it was a nice easy listen and perfect to get lost in during my daily chores. 

Recommend ✅ 

4/5 ⭐️ 

#books #reading #bookworm #booklover #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookdragon #booklove #book review #thereisalwaystimeforbooks #booknerd #audiobook #netgalley # heidiswain #thecherrytreecafe #karencass

I didn't rate any contemporary book for 5 stars in a while, and the truth is that it never was my favourite genre. But sometimes I get in the mood for some funny and romantic.
I like small-town tropes with some cafféé settings, so I thought I’d give this book a chance.
The book is about Lizzie who was breaking up with her boyfriend and goes back to her hometown, where her best girlfriend is just planning to open a cafe. The story is not a big throw, it is rather the small-town life that was able to give the book an atmosphere. Although it wasn't so atmospheric. I didn’t feel anything unique about this book, especially in terms of story. But I couldn’t say it was bad either. It was cute, I won't reread it.
I can adore a book because of its worldbuilding, but the contemporaries are set in our world, so the characters are very important. Well, I didn’t hate our characters, which is already a positive thing, but it’s also true that I wasn’t even a fan of them. I hate it when the main driving force behind a book is that someone is either lying or not telling the truth. If they would open their mouth, the story would nothing, so I don't see any sense for the book.
 Recently, my top rated chick lit / romantic / new adult books only got 4.5 stars, so 4 stars is a pretty high rating from me. I liked the book, it was cute, but there were a couple of annoying elements I couldn’t go through without a word, plus neither the story nor the characters were outstanding.

Hungarian version:
Már egy éve szerintem nem adtam 5 csillagot romantikus könyvre, de azért mindig nehezen jött össze ennél a műfajnál. Nem a kedvencem, de azért néha kedvet kapok a műfajra.
Nagyon szeretem a kisvárosi, kávézós romantikusokat, így gondoltam esélyt adok ennek a könyvnek is.
A könyv Lizzie-ről szól, akit dob a barátja, és kénytelen hazamenni szülővárosába, ahol a legjobb barátnője éppen egy kávézót tervez megnyitni. Az alaptörténet nem egy nagy dobás, inkább a kisvárosi élet az, ami hangulatot tudott adni a könyvnek. Bár ez a hangulat engem nem tudott 100% megvenni. Nem éreztem a könyvben semmi egyedit, különösen történet szempontjából. De azt sem mondhatnám, hogy rossz volt. Cuki volt, nem egy újraolvasós könyv.
Romantikusoknál nem nagyon tudhat a világ megvenni magának, mint a fantasyknál, ezért nagyon fontosak a szereplők. Hát a szereplőinktől nem mentem neki a falnak, ami máris pozitív, de az is igaz, hogy nem is rajongtam értük. Utálom, ha a könyv fő mozgatóeleme az, hogy valaki vagy hazudik, vagy nem mondja el, amit gondol. Vagyis simán utálom, ha ez történik. Falra tudnék tőle mászni, és nem tudom rendes történetnek felfogni, mert csak ki kéne nyitni a szájukat.
 Mostanában a legjobban értékelt chick lit/romantikus/new adult könyvem is csak 4.5 csillagot ért el, ezért a 4 csillag elég magas értékelés tőlem. Tetszett a könyv, aranyos volt, de volt pár idegesítő elem, amin nem tudtam elmenni szó nélkül, ezenkívül sem a történet, sem a szereplők nem voltak kiemelkedőek.

I have only just starting listening/reading Heidi Swain books, and this was a delight. I loved the story of Lizzy and her battles to get her life back on track after a failed romance. A strong and loveable character, thoroughly enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced audio copy in exchange for an honest review. 

This was an ok book - it was an easy read and I liked the narrator. 

The story didn’t really grip me, and I didn’t feel anything towards the characters, so I doubt that I will go on to read any of the other books in the series.

This book is about a woman called Lizzie Dixon who gets dumped by her posh boyfriend Giles and then goes on to make a new, happier life back in Wynbridge.  Her friends Jemma and Tom from Wynbridge have set up The Cherry Tree Cafe and they ask Lizzie to help them with it, giving her a place to stay above the cafe.  Lizzie enjoys helping them, as well as doing crafting classes in the cafe and getting to know a man called Ben who she knows from her younger days.

I enjoyed this audiobook and I liked the narrator's voice, which was very pleasant.  The Netgalley app was easy to use as well.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a quick and cheesy listen which I thoroughly enjoyed.
The narrator for this audiobook was perfect and kept me smiling throughout. 
It wasn’t perfect and I wanted to shake both Ben and Lizzie more than once but I really enjoyed the storyline and the crafting aspects were great.

I really liked this book, I read it whilst working and it provided me with some lovely well needed respite. Despite getting angry with a few of the characters at times and how many secrets they kept from each other I loved that friendship truly held out throughout the book.

I think my favourite relationship was actually between Her and her parents because it was very realistic and shows that family love just goes so deep and really knows no bounds

☆☆☆☆☆
I really enjoyed this story especially as it included two of my favourite things... cake and crafting. I listened to this book on audio and I found it very enjoyable, the story kept my attention and it had characters that you cant help rooting for. A great chick lit book which I will be recommending.

I downloaded and started to listen to this without realising I had already read the book, so I was really interested to compare my experience of reader to that of listener. 
The story is wonderfully enjoyable, filled with the bond of close friendship and starting life again after heartbreak. 
The narrator hits the spot perfectly, I was initially concerned that it wouldn’t match up to my internal monologue while reading it myself, but she is a great choice of narrator - the pace of her reading and inflection in her voice draws the listener into the story and holds interest throughout. 
A perfect audiobook.

A lovely and highly enjoyable story that made me smile and root for the characters.
Ms Swain never fails to deliver great stories and the narrator added more pleasure to this story.
I strongly recommend it.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Sometimes it's good to have a change of genre, and as a crafter who has taken classes at a local cafe I was looking forward to listening to this.  The Cherry Tree Cafe is my kind of place, and if it were real and close to where I live then I'd be a regular customer.  The book is a delight and my knitting needles were clicking away as listened Lizzie infuriated me at times, but she is a lovely character.  In fact all the characters are well written and realistic.  The plotline is interesting with a few twists along the way, and a satisfying ending.

Karen Cass was the perfect narrator for this book and brought the characters to life.