**We were gifted an e-copy of this book in return for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are our own**
It’s once again been a while since I have blogged despite my best intentions, but I knew I simply had to be part of the tour for Samantha Tonge’s new release as over the last few years she has become one of my all-time favourite authors. Her latest release, Under One Roof, is her first book under new publisher Boldwood and I was interested to see if this change was reflected in the story Sam wrote. Today I’m absolutely thrilled to be able to offer my thoughts as part of the publication tour. Thank you to Rachel, Boldwood and of course Sam for allowing me to take part.
About The Book
One forgotten discovery will change three women’s lives for ever…
Robin hasn’t been home for decades. After running away to London, she never expected to see her cantankerous mother, Faye, again. But when Faye has a fall, the two women are thrown together once more.
The years apart have not made their hearts grow fonder and the ground between them is unsteady. Then Robin finds an unopened scroll – the last of the treasure hunts her much-missed father used to take them on every Sunday. A hunt he believed might change everything.
Yet, not even this gift from her beloved father can smooth the way until Robin’s daughter, Amber, arrives to meet her grandmother for the first time. Amber is determined that the decades-old mystery be solved.
Can a 30-year-old treasure hunt really ‘change everything’?
Review
After the trauma of her Father’s sudden death Robin flees her family home at only sixteen, leaving everything behind including her cold, unfeeling Mother. When years later Robin receives a letter saying her estranged Mum has had a fall she finds herself torn between her duty to help and the painful memories that returning to her childhood home would bring, but after a little persuasion from her Uncle she’s soon en-route barrelling head first towards the past.
Thrown back into her old life she discovers things haven’t stood still in her absence and her Mum has adapted her life as a single woman, despite the fragility her accident has accentuated. Robin quickly discovers whilst some things have been changed beyond recognition that her ‘secret’ childhood bedroom in the attic has remained untouched since she left……bring on some 80’s nostalgia! Whilst reacquainting herself with the memories she thought she had left in the past Robin discovers a treasure map made by her Dad before his final work trip. Having been hidden all this time could solving it’s mystery help bring Mother and Daughter together again as her Dad had intended or will it take a little help from another source?
This book is Sam’s first with a brand new publisher, Boldwood, and despite using this switch to take her writing in a different direction she has retained everything I adore about her books. Tonge’s writing style flows beautifully making reading an absolute dream plus she writes such amazing, fully fleshed and realistic characters and Under One Roof is no exception.
This wonderfully complex multi-generational story takes some really difficult and thought provoking topics thrusting them firmly into the light for examination. These are then explored in-depth by a host of realistic and flawed characters as they navigate relationships and the past. I myself am estranged from my Mother and I appreciated the way Sam has approached this topic showing the true struggle to try and rebuild relationships as apposed to the quick fix we often get in books when dealing with family rifts.
I absolutely loved the inclusion of the secret 80’s bedroom which I believe was the inspiration for the story itself. It really added a fun, nostalgic element to a story that was at times hard to read. Being born in the early 80’s I’m sure some of the nods to the era will have gone over my head, but I really did enjoy learning more about Robin through the frequent inclusion of her Dear Debbie letters from her teenage years.
Under One Roof is yet another winning book and in my opinion Tonge just keeps getting better and better with each and every book published. This book is filled with secrets, misunderstandings, family history and complicated relationships and I just couldn’t put it down – when I wasn’t reading it I was thinking about it! If you haven’t had the pleasure of this authors writing yet then I urge you to pick one of her books up; you won’t be disappointed.
JUST A NOTE TO SAY THAT THIS BOOK DOES HAVE SOME CONTENT WHICH COULD POTENTIALLY BE TRIGGERING HOWEVER COULD BE DEEMED AS SPOILERS SO IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THIS BOOK PLEASE DO SOME RESEARCH BEFORE READING.
About The Author
Samantha Tonge lives in Manchester UK and studied German and French at university. She has worked abroad, including a stint at Disneyland Paris as part of the Opening Crew, and has travelled widely. She enjoys family time, baking and walking and always knew that one day she would write. Samantha finally took the plunge seriously in her late thirties, and hasn’t stopped since. Under One Roof will be her sixteenth book and she has also sold many dozens of short stories to women’s magazines.
Samantha’s uplifting stories are about identity and self-discovery, about friendships and communities. She enjoys creating diverse characters and writing about relatable issues that make the reader feel it’s not just me. Her books have hit the AmazonUK overall chart Top Ten position overall chart Top Ten position twice and she has won two awards.
Author Links: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
Under One Roof is available to purchase from Amazon*
Why not check out some of the other amazing blogs taking part in the tour….
Fraser’s Fun House 