When your peace is disturbed by uninvited guests…

Synopsis

Escape the rat race by heading to the Yorkshire Moors in Jane Lovering’s funny, warm and magical new novel.

Needing an escape, Dora swapped city living for life as a shepherdess on her grandad’s Yorkshire farm. More than a decade later Dora is still there, now farming the fifty acres and caring for the one hundred rare sheep by herself. She never hears the call of the city, but instead relishes the peace and simplicity of life on the Moors.

When Dora’s glamorous but quarrelsome sister Cass, her teenage nephew Thor and his handsome tutor Nat, turn up for an unexpected and unreasonably long stay, life on the farm is thrown into chaos. Cass brings with her unwelcome memories from the past, and of someone who once stole Dora’s heart. 

Dora takes refuge in the comforting routine of the farm, the sheep never allowing her too much time to dwell. But, as the seasons change, the snow starts to melt, and as lambs begin to fill the fields, Dora can’t keep hiding in the hills. Because even though she’s trying, Dora can’t run away from a love that never really let her go…

Let Jane Lovering whisk you away to the beauty and serenity of the Yorkshire Moors, far away from the noise of the city. Just right for fans of Emma Burstall, Holly Martin and Kate Forster.

My review

Dora inherited her grandad’s Yorkshire farm and swapped her city life for a life as a shepherdess. She enjoys the peace and quiet, even if running a farm with one hundred rare sheep is not an easy task.
However, when her sister Cass and nephew Thor suddenly appear on her doorstep, together with tutor Nat, demanding to stay for an undefined time at the farm, Dora’s peace and calm are swapped for Chaos and Disorder!
Not only has Dora lost her peace, but also unwanted memories resurface, and because of the interfering of Cass, Dora needs to find a solution to save the farm. And Nat seems to be part of her past also somehow…

I always enjoy reading a book from Jane Lovering, yet this one was a bit different. Not that I didn’t enjoy reading it, because I honestly did!
But there were some darker themes in it that I didn’t expect.

Dora seems like a strange woman, looking on her own after one hundred rare sheep. It surely wouldn’t be something for me! And it’s not just literally looking at the sheep, there are so many more tasks involved! And some of them just gave me shivers!
It’s very quickly obvious that Dora has some secrets from a dark past, what made her escape to Folly Farm. And even if initially her past was partly made clear, I did have some sympathy for her, but not the overwhelming feeling of feeling sorry for her.
Yet the more is made clear, the more the real overwhelming feeling of pity came to me.
However, now she has put her past behind her, and looking after sheep surely made some hilarious situations are taking place. I found myself laughing at the stubborn sheep (one sheep particularly!).

When Cass suddenly stands at her door, I didn’t like her presence. Cass came over like a know-it-all, it seemed like she thought she could just come and start making decisions over the farm, never taking Dora’s opinion in account. And that made Dora doubt if being at the farm was truly her own wish or just something thrown at her.
Yet again, there is always more than meets the eye, and slowly I had to readjust my opinion over Cass, because just like Dora, I didn’t understand what Cass had been through and is still going through.

But please keep in mind, there are also so many sweet and funny moments! I loved reading how Thor slowly starts to embrace farm life, even if his dream is to become insta-famous. And his livestreaming will prove to be a real lifesaver!

I am not writing anything on Nat on purpose, because I want you to discover him all by yourself. Let me just say that no matter what happened before, I would like to have a Nat all for me too!

This story is about running away from your past, but also that sometimes confronting them can be liberating. And that it can be hard to see the difficulties someone else is in when your own plate is already full. Yet when you take the time to be honest and open, you will be able to find the perfect solution for all people involved and appreciate your loved ones and vice versa.

I found it sometimes a funny story, sometimes a story with a darker twist to it. But I enjoyed reading about two sisters so different yet so alike.
Again Jane Lovering didn’t disappoint in this book, writing about a place to call home, seeing people for the first like how they really are and many many many funny sheep!