Home is where the heart is, even when renovations are required.

Synopsis

Dig out your hard hat and gaze up at the snowflake-speckled sky over the Boardwalk.

Portia Fortescue has traded in the hustle and bustle of London to help renovate a magnificent French manor house on the beautiful island of Jersey with her boyfriend Charlie Hargreaves.

But what they hoped would be a blissful escape to the chateau, turns out to be more of a DIY SOS.

As the winter snow sets in, the stress of restoring the derelict chateau back to life begins to take its toll on their relationship.

Portia has known heartbreak before, but thought she’d found her happy-ever-after with Charlie…

Just when their dreams appear to crumble beneath them Portia and Charlie discover the warmth of the Boardwalk community – the best friends anyone could ever ask for.

This new life could be everything they want it to be, if only they can finish the chateau in time for its grand reopening!

My review

Portia Fortescue believes in love again, after meeting Charlie. Once she thought she could never love again, after her heartbreak, but Charlie showed her that love can be found again.
While living together in London has been wonderful, Portia feels that Charlie misses his life on the island of Jersey.
So when Charlie inherits a French manor house, it’s the opportunity the couple was looking for to return to Jersey.
But the manor needs a lot of TLC and both Charlie and Portia have underestimated how difficult it is to do it all by themselves.
Despite winter throwing snowy curve balls in their schedule, the couple can luckily rely on the community for help. Will Portia and Charlie manage to reopen the chateau in all its splendour in time  but at what cost? 

First of all, what a delight to return to this wonderful island! Secondly, it was great to read a story where love has already been found and we get to see what happens afterwards. Because most of the times, that’s where the story ends, but a life together starts. 

We see Portia and Charlie together, Charlie having made the “sacrifice” of making the move to London for love.
Yet it’s clear that there is something missing in the relationship. Yes, the love is absolutely there, and Portia couldn’t be happier to have found a second chance at love. But here we see that loving someone isn’t enough to be completely happy.  

It’s not that Charlie is ungrateful, but we see a clear difference in the Jersey – Charlie and the
London – Charlie. London – Charlie isn’t the real Charlie, and he obviously misses his home.
Luckily Portia sees behind his façade and decides that a return, even a short one, is needed to find themselves again. 

I found it wonderful how just literally everyone in Jersey is asking if the return is a final one, as Portia and Charlie are clearly being missed. And it was sweet to see how both main characters realize that Jersey is indeed home, even if Portia was a real city – girl before. 

With the French manor now belonging to them, Portia and Charlie have the incentive to make that move back home.
Now, I am not a Handy Harry (Harriet?) myself, so for me personally doing all those restorations would be a real nightmare. Not only would I truly be terrible at it, but in the end it would have to be redone all over again. So yes, I would just throw some money at it, and let the professionals do it! 😊 

I admired the positivism Charlie and Portia had at the start of all the work, but I was also a bit wary. Because things couldn’t be that easy, right?
And indeed, rather quickly, the couple’s dream turns into a minor nightmare. Problem after problem arise, making their plans just go terribly wrong. 

It saddened me to read how all the to do’s and setbacks truly took a strain on this wonderful couple. Yet that made them also more human in my eyes. Because in life it isn’t always lovey – dovey. Things get difficult, but it’s up to you to make it still work. 

While it saddened me to see how difficult Charlie and Portia are having it, I also found it just wonderful and heart – warming how just the whole community decide to help out, any way they can. It can go from the little things, to bring food over, to help with the plastering. 

I have to be honest, at a moment I was a bit afraid that the book would be too much of a ‘Restorations For Dummies’ book. I almost feel the ache in my own body, the frustration building up with every setback. 

But my fears were totally unfounded, as I quickly realized that this is a marvellous book about taking charge of your life, making sometimes choices that aren’t easy to make, finding a home with happiness and love, and a wonderful community that feels more family – like than just friends. And understanding that even when things don’t go easy, some things and some people are worth fighting for and they deserve every blister, every ache in your body, as the reward of happiness and love is priceless…