Is literally digging up the past always the best idea?

Synopsis

On paper, Hope Travers has an idyllic life.

Living in a bustling farmhouse with her mum, aunt and uncles, cousin and too many dogs to count, surrounded by the breath-taking Cotswolds countryside, she knows she is privileged and protected. 

But all families have secrets, and the Travers family are no exception. Their farmhouse sits in the grounds of the Juniper Meadows estate, passed down through the generations and now being made to pay its own way with a myriad of businesses and projects. When a construction crew uncover what appear to be historical ruins, the history of the Travers family is put under ever closer scrutiny as a dig gets underway.

Hope may have found a blossoming romance with local archaeologist Cameron Ferguson who is running the dig, but when things start to go wrong around the estate and family secrets begin to be revealed, Hope wonders if she’s made a big mistake in digging up the past.

My review

Living at a farmhouse together with her mum, aunt, uncles, cousin and many dogs was always lovely, but Hope Travers now also has the need for some alone – time. And she has found the perfect spot on Juniper Meadows, grounds in her family’s possession for generations.
However, when the construction works finally start, Hope didn’t expect that the works would be stopped by finding historical ruins.
With local archaeologist Cameron Ferguson leading the dig, Hope could never have foreseen that those ruins would put her own family under scrutiny. A family who has tried very hard to keep some secrets hidden.
But that is not the only problem, as more and more things start to go wrong around the estate… 

I can only imagine how difficult it can be for an author to start a brand new series. The readers needs to get the right setting and the right feelings. And the characters need some time to develop the way you want. But you don’t want to take too much time away from the real story, and you don’t want to give too much time to the story, as you have a certain direction in mind for the stories that are yet to come.
Being an author for sure isn’t as easy as it seems and I for sure would be too impatient for it!
But I also know Sarah Bennett and her talent of writing wonderful books and series, and I didn’t have any doubt that I would love this brand new series! 

Obviously, the story takes some time to truly start, as Hope has a lot of family members and we do need to get to know them.
We also needed the build – up, as there has to be a logical sense for Cameron and his team to be at Juniper Meadows, and it has to be a logical one. 

I loved the dynamics of the Travers – family. It was really great to see how all the siblings are still very close and are ready to do anything for each other. That love is also obvious between Hope and her cousin, and I could actually feel that they were more like brother and sisters and not just cousins. it warmed my heart to see such a close unit! 

On the other side, such a close unit can also be overwhelming so in this respect, I also perfectly comprehended that Hope needed some (little) distance from all that hectic. 

Hope is a lovely, caring character, who understands that her moving out hurts her mother. However, even if it breaks her heart to see her mother like that, she is also very excited. And I could perfectly relate with that, as I still see in my own life how my own mother was suffering from an empty nest syndrome, while I couldn’t wait to be living on my own. 

And also when her plans need to stop, and it put her whole schedule on hold,  she also knows that those ruins are very significant and too important to just ignore. So she doesn’t even doubt about giving Cameron and his team all the time and space they need to discover what lays beneath. 

The instant attraction between Hope and Cameron is palpable from the first look they share. I loved seeing the two together, getting closer the more Cameron is spending on site.
And I liked how understanding they both are of each other. Hope knows that Cameron is doing an important job, also with digging out the past of Hope’s family. But also Cameron is very understanding when some revelations are more shocking than expected, especially those that affect Hope directly. 

Cameron shows also in another aspect what a great character he is, as he becomes very protective to one of his students. A student that he initially was very prejudiced about but slowly had to change his mind about.  

There is a lot happening in this book, as there is the mystery around the dig, a case of sabotage, an obnoxious parent and most important the secrets of Hope’s family.
Some of these subplots left me flabbergasted as I did not see them coming. Yet there are also so many remaining open issues…  

So while I absolutely devoured this first book in the series, I am also a little bit upset. Because this wonderful author has left me no other choice than the need of reading all the following books. How can I move on without having all these questions answered? 😊