A Place Like Home was pure escape reading. I was thrilled to learn that Aoife Inman had searched through the British library to collect short stories that Rosamunde Pilcher had written for magazines between 1976 and 1984. These stories are published here in A Place Like Home, and while this is not a "literary" collection, they do provide what Rosamunde Pilcher did best. Comfort, lovely domestic details, a sense of some of the bigger questions in life, and ways that we might carry on in dealing with them are all found here. I did find myself rolling my eyes a few times; it's a given that as soon as an eligible man or woman appears in the story, the reader is pretty sure they will end up together. Sometimes this happens with alarming speed, with the characters falling in love or even agreeing to marry within a few pages. But this was the perfect book to read after the pandemic has raged for over a year (and we're not done yet). Escape, comfort, gentle happiness, and the sense that things just may turn out after all is what Rosamunde Picher did best.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the book.

I am saddened to be giving such a low rating to a Rosamunde Pilcher book- this collection of her short stories. Most are about chaste dating and instantaneous love between a man and woman. Oh, with a glass of sherry thrown in. There’s really not much substance in any of these stories and they did not age well. They feel very old fashioned.

3.5 ⭐️
I wanted so much to love this compilation of short stories recently found and published together for the first time. I have enjoyed Pilcher’s writing for many years. There are some stories here I did not like at all, some were “meh” but some were quite lovely. Those made me smile at the cozy descriptions and the sweet blossoming relationships. I am not sure those few are worth the price, but if you are a true Pulcher fan give it a try.

This collection of short stories is a warm cozy hug that we all NEED in our lives. I adore Rosamunde Pilcher and this just reinforces the idea that I need to pick up Winter Solstice this winter and sink in. I loved the illustrations between stories. I loved that they all had a happy ending. If I have pressed Maeve Binchy or Rosamunde into your hands, you probably need this one, too.