Looking for a fresh start, finding more than just your roots

Synopsis

Welcome to the town of Starr’s Fall, where Autumn can feel like it goes on forever, and two people have a chance to fall in love…

The leaves are falling, with a crispness to the air, along with the scents of coffee and pumpkin spice, past a half-empty street of shuttered storefronts and a bandstand that has seen better days…

Just like the whole town of Starr’s Fall, thinks Laurie Ellis – as she and her beloved dog Max head to collect the store keys. Maybe she has seen better days, too, but she’s certainly ready for a new start—and to leave her past behind. Still Laurie wonders whether she made a terrible mistake in coming to lovable but shabby Starr’s Fall. Will she even find customers for her pet store and bakery, never mind a community to welcome and accept her?

Not according to Joshua Reilly, the handsome but grumpy manager of the bookstore across the road, who claims he’s never heard of anything so ridiculous as a bakery for dogs.

But Laurie remains stubbornly undeterred. She’s starting over, right here. Not least because she has another secret reason for being here… one she isn’t telling anybody, at least not yet, as it involves her own tragic past.

What she doesn’t yet know is that a clue to the mystery is hidden deep in Joshua’s bookstore. And he doesn’t yet realize that Laurie herself might be the key to mending his own battered heart… for Laurie and Joshua and the whole town, it’s going to be a fall to remember.

My review

Laurie Ellis is ready for a fresh start. So she heads off with her lovely dog Max to Starr’s Fall. She wants to leave her past behind, and open a pet store and bakery.
Yet she is also a bit scared, because will the store be successful? And will the community accept her as a newcomer?
And her fear is justified, as she sees how her neighbour across the road, Joshua Reilly, behaves. Joshua has the reputation of being grumpy and reclusive. And he for sure doesn’t believe that Laurie’s business will be successful.
But Laurie has an ulterior motive for her move to Starr’s Fall, one that she isn’t yet ready for to share with anyone. Yet Joshua’s bookstore may be having a clue for the answers that Laurie needs. And perhaps Laurie may be the answer for Joshua to heal his own broken heart?

Picking up a book from a new author is always a but scary. Even if the author has a great reputation, it doesn’t mean that her books will appeal to me, or that I will like her writing style.
So with a little bit of trepidation I started this book, hoping that I would like it, a bit afraid that I wouldn’t…

But my worries were unjustified because I absolutely loved reading this book!

Making the move to a new town, where you don’t know anyone, can be a scary thing. So in that aspect, I admired Laurie, because let me say this: I couldn’t do that! Even when I moved to be living on my own, I stayed in very close proximity of my family and friends 😊.
But while I admired Laurie, also for starting a business that isn’t that obvious. Yet that also says a lot about Laurie’s character, how she has a heart for animals and wants the best for them, as we can also see the way she cares about her own dog Max.

I also admired her as she chose Starr’s Fall for a specific, ulterior reason. Being a foster child, she doesn’t know who her biological parents are. The only thing she knows is that her mother is from Starr’s Fall, so there is no better place to start her search in this little place.
Yet her growing up in the system, is also why I felt so sorry for her. Because not only did she not have the best of childhoods, but she also still has so many unanswered questions…

As I am a little bit evil, I enjoyed reading the initial clashing between Laurie and Joshua. And that because of course we already know that romance is on the cards between this pair.

It was difficult to immediately like Joshua, because of the way he acts. Not only is he very reclusive (something that I could understand, as at moments I prefer solitude too), but he is very grumpy, answers very rude even.
Yet slowly getting to know him better, made me understand not only his character but also his behaviour that much better.

And it was great to see how slowly those immense high walls he has been building, are falling apart. Even if it scares him terribly, Laurie makes him want to do better, she is the incentive for him to be more open, brighter and more out there.

In fact, the both spending time together makes it possible for the both of them to be more open and bright. And if there are two people who deserve to find lightness and even love again, it’s for sure Laurie and Joshua!

This story is also about Laurie’s search for her biological mother. And that quest isn’t an easy one, but also involves a little bit of luck.
But I also have to admit, that I was a bit disappointed in this storyline. Not because of the storyline itself, but of the outcome. I am not going to tell much more about it, but let me tell you it wasn’t the resolution I was hoping for. But in a way, that is also part of life, that things don’t always go as expected or imagined…

I absolutely enjoyed discovering this author, her storytelling, and her characters. She has added many different layers in this book, even unexpected ones. I cannot wait to read more from her!