The start of something new.

Synopsis

One crumbling cottage. One broken heart. A chance to start over?

When Annie returns to Thorndale, the village where she spent much of her childhood, she’s looking for a new start. All she wants to do is fix up the cottage her godmother left her, and fix up her broken heart.

When she clashes with local hero, Jon, Annie can’t help but wonder if coming back to Thorndale was a mistake. The village has clearly changed and the last thing she needs is more drama. But avoiding the distractingly handsome Jon is proving impossible, especially when Thorndale seems to be conspiring to throw them together…

Annie is looking for a fresh start with zero romance – but what if the only way to learn to trust again is to take a risk on love?

The perfect cosy romance for fans of Julie Houston, Victoria Walters and Trisha Ashley.

My review

Annie finds herself single again, after her fiancé left her just a few days before getting married. All she wants to do now is fix the cottage in Thorndale that her godmother left her.
She is ready to start all over, in a village she spent so many time as a child.
But many things have changed, and when she clashes with Jon, she doubts if she made the right decision.

I knew what to expect from this story, and it gave me all my expectations. Not in a bad way, but sometimes you know from the very beginning where it all will end.
And sometimes that’ just what the reader needs.

Annie is someone I immediately sympathized with. The way her heart got broken, is not something you wish to happen to anyone. So her decision to keep all the romance as far as possible, it understandable. But of course, also a mission impossible…

When she meets Jon for the first time, it’s not a happy encounter. So I kind of disliked his behaviour. Yet when I got to know him better, I had to readjust my opinion.

Jon is a man with his heart at the right place. He is not a typical bachelor, ready to conquest the next single lady.
He has a purpose and goes several lengths to make his altruistic dream come true.

I enjoyed reading how Annie and Jon were getting closer. And despite Annie’s reservations, you cannot command the heart.
But this story shows also the importance of caring about other people, those who need just a helping hand. And reading how someone like Jon, having the means to help out, doing so without thinking about what he benefits from it, is admirable and is an example.

The only remark I had after reading the end, was that the ending was a bit too hasted in my modest opinion. Of course, it was beautiful, but it was too fast… In books anything can happen, but I love it when something written in a book could be happening in real life too, and for me, that final act was a bit over the top.

But I enjoyed reading this story about love, hope, starting over and altruism!