The Friendship Tree by Helen J Rolfe @HJRolfe

Book Description:

Beneath the beautiful blue skies of Brewer Creek, Tamara Harding can’t wait to start over. But what happens when her past catches up with her and she begins to fall for someone she shouldn’t?

Tamara left London behind and has joined family ten thousand miles away, where they live and run a veterinary practice. She soon becomes the coordinator for an old-fashioned Friendship Tree – a chart telling people who they can call on in times of trouble – and as she settles in to the small community she begins to realise that not everyone is who they seem.

Jake is the direct competitor for the family business and a man with a dark secret. As Tamara’s suspicions grow about what he’s up to and she fights with secrets of her own, she soon realises that the Friendship Tree does a lot more than organise fundraising events and working bees…it has the power to unite an entire town.

My Thoughts:

I adored the Australian setting of Brewer Creek. It is such a great setting for a story and I couldn’t help but travel miles in my head whilst I took in the sights and sounds that Tamara was experiencing.

This was so much more than a romance story. There is a real sense of community as well as a variety of friendships and relationships. There was also so many heart-warming moments that made my eyes mist over at the lovely actions of some of the characters. Especially the one with Waffles.

I loved Jake’s character. All is definitely not all that it appears when it comes to him and April. I was very intrigued to find out more as I could feel the romantic tension between Jake and Tamara growing. I was desperate for everything to come together and see if romance was on the cards for these two or not.

The Friendship Tree is indeed an uplifting read and one of pure escapism. Reading it in winter time really helped chase those winter blues away while I enjoyed the sunnier climate in the story. I so enjoyed getting to know the residents of Brewer Creek and was reluctant to get near the end which would mean my time with them would soon be coming to an end. A lovely book to pass away the time with.