Many thanks to The Bookbag for giving me the opportunity to read this book prior to publication.
Expected: 20 February 2020
It’s the season of new beginnings for Helena and Gilly. Gilly runs her own B&B business from her much-loved family home, which she doesn’t want to part with – at any price. But that's before she meets handsome estate agent Leo, and soon she begins to wonder whether selling up might not be such a bad idea after all.
Meanwhile Gilly's daughter Helena has a budding romance of her own. A talented weaver, she's becoming very close to her new landlord, Jago, who's offered to help her at an upcoming craft fair. It’s what friends do, and they are just friends. Aren’t they?
With spring in full bloom, Helena and Gilly begin to ask themselves the same question: Might their new loves lead to happily ever after?
The Review
I've wanted to read author Katie Fforde for ages and this was pretty much exactly what I was expecting - a warm, cosy read focused on romance, family and friendships. This provided two romances for the price of one, but it was actually the family element as opposed to the romance that I really enjoyed.
This was a story of new beginnings for the two main characters, mother and daughter, Gilly and Helena. Gilly is a fifty- something woman running a B&B business after a difficult (marriage and) divorce have left her fighting to keep hold of her much- loved family home, much to the disappointment of her son who introduces her to estate agent Leo in a bid to get her to sell up. At the same time, talented weaver Helena, also running her own small business, is embarking on a budding relationship with her new landlord. But, will either of them get their happily ever after?
For me the heroine of the story was Gilly and the romantic perspective of a mature, self-deprecating female as opposed to an optimistic, love-struck twenty-something was really refreshing for me. The author perfectly and sympathetically captured the conflicting emotions and reactions, of both Gilly and her two adult children, to Gilly's first romantic encounter as a mature and single lady. I was also fascinated by her son's selfishness in believing his mother no longer had dreams and a life of her own to live, instead wanting her to devote herself (and her finances) to looking after his own family. As such it was great to see Gilly embracing a new life, post-divorce and children, running a business, dating not one but two handsome gentlemen and taking up new hobbies such as gliding.
In fact, I always love an entrepreneurial subtext to any story, one of strong, independent women doing it for themselves and running their own successful small businesses. And, this didn't disappoint on that front as I particularly enjoyed reading about the day-to-day running of Gilly's B&B and Helena travelling around the country to sell her woven crafts at various fairs.
All-in-all there's nothing not to like about this book - it's the sort of book that you can just relax into and enjoy. However, that said it definitely falls into the good read rather than must-read category. There's enough going on and enough intrigue from a cast of likeable characters to maintain interest and enjoyment throughout but it lacks a little of the extra spark needed for a full five-stars.
The author
Follow @KatieFforde or find out more at www.katiefforde.com
No comments:
Post a Comment