To protect the past, to move on from your own?

Synopsis

Rowan Thorpe can be forgiven for living with one foot in the past.

Since having to say goodbye far too young to the future she had planned, moving on still feels a daunting task. So, when historian Connor O’Keefe strides purposefully into her office and life, looking far too handsome for his own good and threatening to undermine the local legends she holds close to her heart, she is more than a little unsettled.

Connor has a past too, and his own reasons to keep his heart under wraps. But when a combination of fate and an unexpected snowstorm mean that Rowan and Connor have all the time in the world to swap stories, it may finally be time for an end and a new beginning.

My review

Rowan Thorpe is doing everything to protect the local legends and myths, especially those of the moors, and even more specifically, The Fairy Stane. Even if that means fighting against the sudden arrived Irish historian Connor O’Keefe. Connor wants to dig up the Fairy Stane, as he believes he may find some Roman artefacts for his own research. Rowan for sure isn’t happy with Connor appearing too often and too handsomely, trying to destroy what she wants to protect for his own professional benefit. And she for sure won’t be blinded by him, as her heart is still utterly broken after the future she planned with her husband ended abruptly. But the more Rowan gets to know Connor, the more she understands that he also has a painful past. A past he wants to get away from. Can two broken hearts find a way to get some healing? And will they be able to move on from the past?

There are plenty stories where the main characters have a broken heart, for one reason or another. But there is something even more devastating about being widowed. Especially, just like in Rowan’s case, there was still a whole future to be planned, dreams to come to fruition and only to have it all ripped away from her.

My heart truly went out to her, as it’s so clear that she is still so much grieving, or rather hasn’t grieved properly yet. And I could understand how she got so focused on preserving The Fairy Stane, as at least that is one thing she can hold on to, keep in her life.

I have to admit, while I understood her reasoning, as an adult it was bit over the top reading how a likewise adult woman was so adamant and resolute on not seeing Connor’s point of view on things. There is of course this mystery around the Stane, as what is it really? Because as wonderful it would be as it would be the entry to Fairyland, well, as adults, we know better…

But this book isn’t about what the Stane truly is, but it’s about Rowan, Connor and the hold their past has on them…

Connor’s story is similar to Rowan in a way, but also so different at the same time. He also has experienced heartbreak, not like Rowan’s but still a painful one. He thought he had found the perfect woman for him, to only learn it has all been a lie from the very start.

And that saddened me, to read how love can be a beautiful thing, but also a terrible thing when you are being wronged…

And I was very quickly in judging the lady that did this to Connor, but the further along I got in the book, the more I realized that there are always two sides in a story. And that we can never assume what the other side of the story is…

But back to Rowan and Connor. Of course for the readers it was hilarious to see how these two people are fighting, arguing most of the time. And it was absolutely funny to see how circumstances bring them to be living together at Rowan’s place.

This is of course also the perfect opportunity to just get to know each other, to understand each other, and to help each other heal too.

This book for sure is showing us that pain and grief just don’t disappear overnight. Nobody can tell you how to grieve, how long it will take or what will trigger a blast of pain and hurt…

And that is for sure what we see with Rowan. She is still clinging to her late husband, everything reminds her of him.

But with Connor entering her life, it was just so heartwarming seeing shift something in Rowan. Even if she does her best to deny it 😊.

While I wanted things to progress perhaps more quickly, as I wanted the both of them to be happy, I also knew that it cannot be forced.  Both Rowan and Connor need to face their past, acknowledge the pain but also find the courage to start to living again, to move on. But never forgetting the past of course. But the past is in the past, and it shouldn’t be holding you back to live your life once again.

I truly loved reading this book, even if Rowan’s agony is so palpable from the pages. And the final revelation of the real meaning of the Fairy Stane was also a heart – breaking one.

But the beauty of this book was also in its pain, as we see how a loss can close someone completely up. And sometimes it needs a confrontation with someone to make a change in life, to have some light back in life.

Jane Lovering wrote once again a captivating story, that gripped my heartstrings. It shows us the pains of the world, but also the beauty that life can give us. And it shows us how something to fight over can the start of a brand new story.