With a little help of a friend…

Synopsis

Eleanor Sharpley has been living a lie…

Needing to escape her London life quickly, Eleanor throws her things into the back of her car, and heads to her erstwhile best friend Charlie’s family farm. 

But Charlie isn’t there. Instead she finds Charlie’s grieving brother Daniel, her eight-month old daughter Hope (a daughter Eleanor had known nothing about), and a crumbling and unloved Damson Farm. 

Damson Farm lies at the edge of the village of Ferrington, with the river Maddon flowing at its heart. But Ferrington is a village divided by more than just a river – it is split in two by an age-old feud – between the Old Side and the New Side. Eleanor has run from her problems, straight into a family and a world that has problems of its own. 

But Damson Farm has magic too, and as winter gives way to spring, the old farm starts to come to life under Eleanor’s love and care. The orchard starts to blossom with daffodils and bluebells, and the sound of bees busy in their hives fills the warming air. Can Eleanor bring Daniel and the feuding village of Ferrington back to life too, or will her secrets catch up with her first?

My review

Eleanor Sharpley’s name is not a known name in the world of journalism, but her pen name Nora Sharp is often being feared.
However, writing the truth can sometimes be hurtful, and Eleanor now has a stalker, who finds her just everywhere she goes.
After another strike of the stalker, Eleanor decides to escape to her best friend Charlie’s family farm.
The trip to the farm isn’t a smooth one, so Eleanor is relieved when Daniel shows up to help her after her close encounter with a sheep.
Daniel appears to be Charlie’s brother, but he delivers some unexpected news: not only has Charlie passed away, but Daniel has also adopter Charlie’s daughter Hope.
Eleanor is welcome to stay at Damson Farm, which has seen its best time as long as she needs, to put her life back on track.
But slowly Eleanor realizes that Damson Farm needs her more than her London life needed her. And after finding out Charlie’s dream, Eleanor is determined to make Charlie’s dream come true, while trying to solve a feud that is dividing the village of Ferrington.

I know that when I start reading a story by this author, there will be a whole rollercoaster of emotions. Because this is not just a romance, but our main characters have to face so many different hurdles in their lives.

Eleanor is struggling with her work because she is being stalked. She has her suspicion, but as so often also in real life, people being stalked are minimalizing what is happening to them. But everyone has a limit they can endure, thus when Eleanor reaches hers, she sees no other option than running to her friend Charlie.

I have to admit, the sheep made me laugh, but when the news of Charlie was revealed, I felt utterly sad.
Because don’t we all have friends we don’t hear that often as we supposed to, but for some reason contact is limited to the bare minimum. However, not being aware of your best friend’s death, I can only imagine how Eleanor’s heart broke. And on top of it, learning that Charlie left a daughter behind… just tragic.

Together with Daniel, she now has to grieve over a person she loved, while taking care of the most innocent person, Hope.
Learning that Daniel has adopted Hope as his own, made me just fall in love with him immediately. Because he puts his own life and dreams on hold to take care of the most precious gift Charlie left behind.

I loved reading how Eleanor was adapting living in Damson Farm, and in the village of Ferrington. When she learns of the feud still being actual, and the harmful effects it has on its inhabitants, she is determined to put an end to it all.
I found it somehow funny how people, who generally have a normal sense of right and wrong, can be so single – minded over something that happened in the past.

This book was heart – warming, heart – breaking, bittersweet, even a bit mysterious because who was the stalker, and I found it a joy to read.
This isn’t just a feel – good story, but it shows us real emotions to events that could be happening in everyone’s lives.

The author managed to put all the feelings of grieve perfectly into words, without making a depressing story to read.
But she also managed to show us that there is light in the end of the tunnel. Losing someone is very hurtful, but in time, you can change that pain into something beautiful. And trying to change a dream into reality is a wonderful way of trying.

And as there is of course some romance in it, it shows us that love can wash all the pain and grieve away.

This was a hopeful story that shows a bit of the ugliness of life, but mainly the beauty of it.