When food writer Tilly Flint blags her way into a flash, celebrity filled nightclub and witnesses a top model disappear into the night, she has no idea how her life will change, and what events will spiral from that very night...

Along with her boyfriend Jake, she decides to head to a remote village in the Pennines shortly afterwards, but this is no romantic getaway, as her relationship is rapidly floundering and both Tilly and Jake are taking the trip with work in mind. After a massive argument Tilly decides enough is enough and vows to stay in their rented cottage alone, and herself and Jake part terms. He expects her to come running back to him, but she is enjoying her newfound freedom and the parting allows her to rediscover herself, make new friends and stumble upon some family history, revolving around 'Granny Allen' who lived in the locality.

Growing up with a workaholic, grief-stricken mother Tilly had always been aware of her great-grandmother who seemed to be a grounding force throughout the generations, with both Tilly and her mother often questionning "What Granny Allen would say" in certain situations.

But it's not just Granny Allen who jumps to the forefront of Tilly's mind during her period of discovery, as a handsome footballer called Clayton Silver enters her cosy world and leads her to question the dangerous, yet exciting circles he appears to be mixing in. Will Tilly find out the charming footballer is not quite what he seems, and will she be able to unlock the family secrets that are simmering beneath the surface?

This book is the first I have read by author Sharon Griffiths, and to be perfectly honest I wasn't holding out too much hope for it. This is primarily because I swooped it off the library shelf in a hurry while contending with a tantruming toddler. I had not heard of the author, had not read the back and made my snap decision based on the cover which made me hope it would be a nice, easy to read click-lit novel. And thankfully that's exactly what I got.

Tilly, as a main character, is very likeable and despite her being a little impressed with the exciting showbiz world, she also comes across as a warm, engaging and intelligent woman, with her own mind and career and an interest in the world around her. She is loyal to her friends and family and just seems to be an all round nice girl. Jake is a lesser character, and while he is not right for Tilly, he is not painted as a villain, and I like this as itshows a mature approach to relationships, which sometimes end with noone really to blame.

Clayton Silver has a decent role in the book, and comes across as a little flash and arrogant but with a good heart underneath the swagger. Or does he though? Then there is Matty, who becomes a firm friend of Tilly, along with other people she meets in the village like Dexter and Becca. Tilly's own mum Frankie had a difficult time following the death of her husband and son, and she is portrayed with real depth, strength and independence and like Tilly, is extremely likeable but also very admirable. so it's nice when we have snippets about her throughout this book.

One thing I have to mention is that throughout the book, at the end of some of the chapters, there is a short piece written about Granny Allen. This is done from her viewpoint and her story runs alongside that of Tilly. At first I found this extremely irritating and annoying as I hated my focus being distracted from the main story, and I found it cheesy and unnecessary, but after a while I got used to it and have to admit it adds something to the background and sets the scene for things to come. We discover that Granny Allen had similar struggles to Tilly and get to uncover a little bit about the strong woman she was and how her own experiences relate to Tilly's but in a different century. It's just a real shame that the reader gets to uncover these, wheras Tilly herself remains largely unaware of them.

All in all I really enjoyed this book and found it really easy to read with a winning combination of good characters, and good writing alongside themes of ambition, romance, loyalty and friendships. It is slightly far-fetched in places but does not seem that way when you are reading it as the characters come alive, drawing you in to their lives effortlessly. It is a great book to escape into as it has elements of glamour, celebrity and excess but they do not overpower the down to earth nature of everything else happening at the same time.