Doesn’t everyone deserve a chance to start over?

Synopsis

Luckless Lilah Clarke needs a big break, but getting caught wrecking a stall at the Glenbriar Fair was not what she had in mind – especially when the man who catches her is as hot as a summer’s day and sends her heart racing.

Charity campaigner Aidan McBride has returned to Glenbriar after a long absence to discover the love of his life dating his cousin, his cottage in tatters, and his beloved bees gone. When he catches Lilah destroying his mum’s stall and discovers the reason, he sees something in her he can’t explain – or resist.

Feeling sorry for her, he offers her a job, and she reluctantly accepts. What other options does she have? Now, it isn’t just Aidan’s new bees that are buzzing. Lilah dreams of Aidan being hers, but for someone with a background like hers, he’s well out of her reach.

Still stung by the loss of his ex, Aidan struggles with his ever-growing attraction to Lilah. But if he doesn’t spit out exactly how he feels about her before her past catches up with her, he stands to lose the real love of his life.

My review

Lilah Clarke didn’t grow up in the best of circumstances, and in fact, still isn’t living in the best. When her brother brings her in an awkward situation at the Glenbriar Fair, she has to face Aidan McBride. Aidan has just recently returned from a long trip to arise more awareness after losing his father. And has discovered that his girlfriend is now engaged to his cousin.
Upon his return, he is shocked to learn that not only his cottage is in a terrible state, but also that his beloved bees have all gone, while he asked his mother to look after everything.
As it’s clear he needs help to clean everything back up, he offers Lilah the chance to work for him, an offer Lilah reluctantly accepts.
A reluctance that slowly disappears, as Lilah gets to know Aidan better. And for the first time she starts to have feelings for someone. But how could someone like Aidan ever fall for someone like Lilah, with her background? And she cannot forget, that he is also still hurt from the betrayal of his ex…

So here we are again, happily returning to Glenbriar… this is a series that got me hooked, and I have loved each and every story. For those who haven’t read any of the previous stories, don’t worry as you can read them all on their own. But trust me when I say that quickly you’ll find yourself wanting to read them all!

Somehow it felt like this was somehow a very sad story. Well, at least what the characters had been through before, and how it affected them.

It was so sad to read how Lilah didn’t have an easy childhood, how difficult it was for her to grow up, and then also face the nastiness of other people. And even now she is carrying that same burden, because even now things aren’t going that well for her.
Yet it was so easy to spot that Lilah wants her life to take a turn for the better, and she wants to shake off all the bad things that happened.
I found it also saddening, reading how she never has been truly in love with someone… Okay, she is still a young lady, but even that her age I can say that I have fallen in love (not that it was always reciprocated, but that’s a whole different story 😊).

It’s clear that Lilah has missed many things in her life, like a happy childhood, a loving family, being surrounded by love. And that is something that every child should have in their life…
Yet despite everything, and no matter how deep in the gutter her family is, she also still wants the best for them. Even if her own brother brings her into trouble, she wants even him to get his life back on track. Just not at her own cost…

‘Thanks’ to her upbringing, she is also a bit wary. She is ready to fight or fly when needed. She is ready to fly off when she meets Aidan for the first time. And she doesn’t truly trust him when he offers her a job.
But I  liked her spirit, as she somehow also is a bit proud. When Aidan offers her a job to clean his cottage, she doesn’t want his pity and makes that very clear to him.

So seeing her slowly changing was a real delight. Seeing her losing her wariness, making new friends, even putting her trust in people was so sweet. If there is someone who deserve a chance to redeem her situation, it for sure is Lilah.
And of course it was great to see how people change their minds about her once they get to know her better. Because how often is it that our own prejudices about someone are wrong?

In that aspect is Aidan truly a wonderful character. It would have been so easy to just go his own way, and let Lilah solve her own problems.
But that is not who Aidan is…
Of course he pities Lilah initially, but as he needs help, he sees a solution that will help the both of them. And he truly believes that everyone deserves a second chance. Just how admirable is that?

Now, he has had his own share of bad times… Losing his father was just terrible and while Aidan didn’t handle things perfectly, I could understand why he needed some time off.
I have to admit although, I wouldn’t be so kind to my own mother if I would return home and everything is just pure chaos…
And then the situation with his ex and his cousin, I wouldn’t be able to keep my calm in that situation either!
But that’s Aidan.. keeping his cool on the outside and somehow finding it hard to express his feelings…

It would be easy to say that Lilah is the one with the most issues in this book, and that thanks to Aidan, and their evolving relationship, it all fall into place. But that first of all isn’t true and second, it wouldn’t do any justice to the complete book…
Because it’s both Lilah and Aidan that are doing some serious ‘growing up’. Slowly they learn to trust each other, they learn to listen and they learn what love means.

That is exactly the power of this book, as the author shows us that no matter how difficult life can get, it can take one person to put their faith in us, to have a turning point and make things better.
And while perhaps I expected more revolving around the Bee Barn itself, Aidan showed me a side of bees I never thought of. And even if I will still stay far away from these buzzing animals, I have perhaps appreciated them a little bit more! 😊