Love Heart Lane by Christie Barlow

Welcome to Love Heart Lane…

When Flick Simons returns to the small village of Heartcross she only expected to stay for a few days. The white-washed cottages of Love Heart Lane might be her home, but the place holds too many painful memories, and of one man in particular – Fergus Campbell.

When a winter storm sweeps in, the only bridge connecting the village to the main land is swept away! As the villagers pull together, Flick finds herself welcomed back by the friends she once left behind. And as the snow begins to melt, maybe there is a chance that Fergus’s heart will thaw too…

Title:  Love Heart Lane

Author:  Christie Barlow

Published By:  Harper Impulse

Publication Date:  11th January 2019

Links:  UK:    Amazon     US:    Amazon

Our Review

As soon as I saw the title of this book I knew I was going to fall in love with it and it certainly didn’t disappoint. I was also thrilled to find it was the first book in a brand new series set in the Scottish Highlands.

Felicity Simons is disillusioned with her life in London and when her gran sadly dies she returns home to Love Heart Lane in the remote village of Heartcross.

Having hurt so many people when she upped and left eight years before, she is filled with trepidation and isn’t sure whether she’ll be welcomed back or not.

I was intrigued to know why Fergus, her ex, found it so hard to forgive and forget and wanted nothing to do with Felicity. It was interesting to observe the dynamics of what happened in their relationship from the two different viewpoints, especially when those two people were suffering so much.

When devastation hits the small village, Felicity manages to show everyone what she’s made of and even surprises herself with what she can achieve.

The love story that runs through the book is heartbreaking, heartwarming and joyful. Christie has a way of describing emotions that enables the reader to feel every bit of pain, confusion and happiness that the characters are going through.

Felicity works hard to rebuild the bridges between her and her family and friends. The relationship she has with a little girl called Esme is simply beautiful and extremely healing.

Christie has created a wonderful village in Heartcross with characters full of warmth and kindness and it was so endearing to see the community come together to face adversity.

This book is about love, friendship, forgiveness and acceptance and will totally melt your heart.

Pre-order Foxglove Farm, the next book in this delightful series here.

Sincerely
Book Angel x

About the Author  

Christie Barlow is the author of A Year in the Life of a Playground Mother, The Misadventures of a Playground Mother, Kitty's Countryside Dream, Lizzie's Christmas Escape, Evie's Year of Taking Chances, The Cosy Canal Boat Dream, A Home at Honeysuckle Farm and Love Heart Lane. Her writing career came as somewhat a surprise when she decided to write a book to teach her children a valuable life lesson and show them that they are capable of achieving their dreams. The book she wrote to prove a point is now a #1 bestseller in the UK, USA & Australia.

Christie is an ambassador for @ZuriProject raising money/awareness and engaging with impoverished people in Uganda through organisations to improve their well-being as well as Literary Editor for www.mamalifemagazine.co.uk bringing you all the latest news and reviews from the book world.

website www.christiebarlow.com

Twitter @ChristieJBarlow

Facebook page Christie Barlow author

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The One We Fell in Love With by Paige Toon

Phoebe is caught between a rock and a hard place. Settle down and get married, or return to the French Alps to pursue her passion?

Eliza is in love with someone who is no longer hers. In fact, he probably never was… And her dream of becoming a successful musician seems to be vanishing before her eyes.

Rose is out of a job and out of a boyfriend. To make matters worse, she’s been forced to move back in with her mother…

But these very different girls have one thing in common. Angus. The one they fell in love with…

Title:        The One We Fell in Love With
Author:    Paige Toon
Published By: Simon & Schuster
Date:        May 19th 2016
Link:        UK: Amazon  US: Amazon

My Review

I heard about this book at the Books and the City Spring Blogger event where I was lucky enough to hear Paige read a chapter from it and it sounded fantastic so I pushed it to the top of my ever growing TBR pile and devoured it in just a few hours. I love Paige's refreshing style of writing and actually was inspired to take up photography from one of her previous books called thirteen weddings which you can find here.

The one we fell in love with is the story of three identical triplets who all manage to fall in love with Angus, the young man who moves in next door. Although the three girls are identical their personalities couldn't be any more different. Phoebe is the one who holds them all together as Eliza and Rose are both in awe of her but don't really get on that well with each other. Phoebe has first dibbs on Angus because she says she saw him first, much to the chagrin of the other two girls. Angus loves Phoebe and convinces himself that he alone can tell the difference between the girls however whilst in the middle of a snog at a party he discovers he may not be so clever after all. 

Soon wedding plans are being made and Phoebe goes away on a hen weekend with her best friend. She decides to go to the place in the French Alps where she worked in a ski lodge when she was younger but soon finds that her ex is also there and temptation soon rears it's ugly head.

I liked the way the other girls had to accept that Angus couldn't be theirs and both tried to find new interests and new directions in their lives. This lovely story starts with innocent teenage angst and follows these characters as they grow into young women who manage to discover what is important in life and Angus manages to play a part in all of their journeys. It's heartbreaking watching the characters try to cope with a whole tangle of emotions including guilt which sometimes seems to be the biggest shadow hanging over them all.

This is actually one of the hardest reviews I've had to write because I really don't want to give anything away but ultimately this book shows that nothing can come between the bond that these sisters share, not even Angus.

This is a really touching and heartbreaking story about sisterly love which will make you laugh and cry, the last line just broke me as it was so beautiful. (Don't peek though or you will ruin the whole experience.)
Thank you so much to Simon & Schuster for the copy that was in my goody bag.

Sincerely

Book Angels x

About the Author

Paige Toon was born in 1975 and grew up between England, Australia and America, following her racing driver father around the globe. A philosophy graduate, she worked at teen, film and women's magazines, before ending up at Heat magazine as Reviews Editor. Paige is married, has two small children and lives in Cambridge.
The Sun in Her Eyes, out 21 May 2015, is her tenth book.

Visit Paige's website at paigetoon.com to sign up to her free book club, 'The Hidden Paige', and say hi to her on Twitter @PaigeToonAuthor and Facebook.com/PaigeToonAuthor