Secrets in the Snow by Emma Heatherington #Review

 I am delighted to be taking part in the celebrations for Emma Heatherington's Secrets in the Snow. Emma's Rewrite the Stars was a five star read for me so I was thrilled to be asked to take part in the tour for her latest romance.

As the winter snow falls on the small Irish village of Ballybray, Roisin O’Connor and her young son, Ben, are saying goodbye to their beloved neighbour Mabel Murphy. Mabel lived a bold and colourful life, but the arrival of her brooding nephew, ‘blow-in’ Aidan Murphy, just makes life more complicated for Roisin. However, in one final act of love, a message arrives from Mabel that changes everything. And as winter turns to spring and the cold snow melts, the secrets both Roisin and Aidan are hiding must be revealed at last...

My Thoughts

This is one of those books which you don't want to put down although at times, it is a touching and emotional read. I admire the way Emma manages to weave dark themes into her stories and yet at the same time, keep the overall tone one of hope and moving forward. Roisin's difficult childhood has never left her and her marriage turned out to be far from the happy ever after she hoped for. When you first meet her, she seems at rock bottom but you soon discover that she has hidden depths and a determination to keep going.

    Of course, the character you never meet, Mabel, probably makes the strongest impression and you can totally understand the effect she has on Roisin, Ben and Aidan. It takes time to get the measure of Aidan and I was never quite sure what was going to happen where he was concerned. This is a slow burn romance. The story takes place over a year which gives the storyline some credibility. Both Roisin and Aidan have issues which are never going to be swept aside quickly. The setting for the book adds to the feeling of friendship and community. It seems to be a haven of safety, a place to heal. This is a touching story which looks at whether you can choose your family.

In short: Will they, won't they?

About the Author

c. Divine Photography NI

Emma Heatherington is a bestselling author from Donaghmore, County Tyrone.
Her novels include the Amazon UK Top 10 bestseller and Amazon US hit, The Legacy of Lucy Harte, and A Part of Me and You, which reached the USA Kindle Top 100 and the UK Top 40. 

Her latest novel, A Miracle on Hope Street is a heartwarming Christmas themed story of love, kindness and friendship.
As well as novels, Emma has written scripts for over 70 educational short films and plays and was ghostwriter for country legend Philomena Begley on her autobiography, My Life My Music My Memories (The O'Brien Press, 2017) and Nathan Carter's life story, Born For The Road (Penguin Ireland) which was shortlisted for the An Póst Irish Book Awards 2018.

She also regularly contributes to the Belfast Telegraph and Sunday Life newspapers and has appeared on chat shows on RTE, TV3 and UTV.

Emma is a mum of five, aged from 23 to 4 years old and her partner is Irish artist and singer/songwriter Jim McKee. 

Find Emma on Twitter @emmalou13 or on Facebook at emmaheatheringtonwriter,

Book link: Amazon UK

Thanks to Emma Heaterington and Harper Collins for a copy of the book and a place on the tour.