An accident with consequences…

Synopsis

When the ceiling of preloved clothing shop Roseford Relovedfalls in at the height of Christmas season, owner Polly Parrott is in despair. She can see her fortunes draining away as quickly as the water is pouring through her roof. What makes it worse is that standing right underneath the deluge is Will Sutherland, sporting hero and new owner of Parson’s Grange, the new modern mansion in Roseford.

Polly and Will’s first meeting is about as far from a success as it can be, but over a festive season of Christmas markets, a Yuletide Ball and inconvenient snowfalls, can they forge a friendship or even more, despite their unpromising beginning? Or will the complications in both of their lives end their romance before it even begins?

My review

Polly Parrott is the proud owner of Roseford Reloved, a clothing shop selling preloved items. But running a business isn’t always easy, and when the ceiling of the shop collapses, it’s just the cherry on top of the cake, as it collapsed on a customer.
Luckily the customer himself just has been drowned and there is no further damage, but for Will Sutherland it’s just another thing going wrong that day…
Former football legend and current owner of Parson’s Grange Will has just recently moved to Roseford with his two daughters after a failed marriage and a career that both have made him mistrust everything and everyone.
Yet while the first encounter with Polly was a disastrous one, the more they meet each other, the more difficult it becomes to ignore their attraction.
But as Will’s life is filled with multiple complications, will their romance has a chance to survive?

Having read all the previous books in this series, I was a bit afraid… as I absolutely loved those books, I feared that this one would not be able to live up to my expectations.
But when will Tizi learn to have faith in the authors that she loves?

First of all, how delightful to return to Roseford and seeing all my old friends once again! It truly warmed my heart to see how things have evolved in the meantime and that they were still all very much in love and happy!

From the first appearance, I truly liked Polly. Not only is she very kind and gentle, but the way she runs her shop is even something I would call admirable. Yes, she is selling second – handed clothes, but she doesn’t call them like that. I loved it how she named the clothes ‘preloved’ and that even if it’s not firsthand user, it seems like they actually are.

Polly is the kind of person you want to have in your life as a friend. There is not a thing I didn’t like about her. She is so understanding, patient and if even giving Will when needed options.
Perhaps she is being even too altruistic, as she is ready to give up on her own happiness for the sake of others.
And at some moments, I would have loved to see her biting back, as she always keeps a smile on her face, even when customers don’t deserve it.

As Polly is who she is, she also has a lot of good friends ready to help her out in time of need, or just giving her some kind words of encouragement.
It only shows that Roseford truly is a community that looks after each other! Even if newcomers are welcomed with a wary eye J

Newcomers just like Will and his daughters Hattie and Maeve.
Thanks to Fay’s dedication, I knew somehow how to imagine Will J.
Will in Roseford felt like a fish out of water, as Will is accustomed to a more not only glamorous place, but also a more lively place to live.

My heart truly went out to Will for several reasons…
First of all, he saw his marriage ending in a hideous way. And now he has moved in a house that mostly his ex has put together.
To make this more difficult, he also is struggling with his eldest daughter Hattie, as she is the most fed up with all the recent changes.
And to add even more fuel, he is struggling career wise as an incident in the past for sure left its mark on him and his reputation…

While for sure the two first are definitely difficult as they may be, perhaps I got more frustrated at the last point. I am not going in details here over what exactly happened, but it only showed once again how single – minded people can be, and how evil they can be… Just because someone is a famous person (a celebrity or a sportsman), it doesn’t mean that we have any say in their personal lives.
And even if this is just a fictional story, I know it unfortunately happens in real life, and seeing how it can ruin someone’s life, it truly hurt me…

That made me understand Will’s wariness, as he has seen how ugly people can be. In that way, it was sweet to see how slowly he warms up to Polly, even if with a little bit of help from Maeve.
It only make you see that the right people will make it possible to trust and to love. But also that the wrong people will always be able to push the wrong buttons…

Because no matter how lovely seeing the relationship develop, Will’s issues aren’t solved overnight…  It takes time to overcome all the hurt that has been caused, and it for sure is by trial and error.

Yet that doesn’t take away that he is a great father, that has learnt from his own mistakes and he truly cares about his daughters. He is absolutely concerned about his girls, and he wants their happiness more than anything, even if it’s difficult for him to handle things the right way.

Even expressing his feelings to someone is difficult for him, even to his own daughters. But once again, seeing him making progress was an amazing thing to see.

I absolutely devoured this book, as it was just amazing, lovely, wonderful and marvelous to read. It shows us how life can throw you curveballs and you are left to pick up the pieces (even those of a collapsed ceiling 🤣). But once again we see how the power of love can be that extra nudge in your back to not give up, to trust again, to believe in love again, even if there are a few mishaps on the way to gain your happiness.

And on a sidenote, even if Hattie was a rather hard nut to crack, and Maeve was a delightful character, I would have loved it to see more of them! 😀