A chance for a bright future not only for your home, but also for your heart?

Synopsis

Festival season has come to Hollyhock Farm…

Since his sister Lettie took over their parents’ farm on the beautiful island of Jersey at the start of the year, Zac Torel’s life has changed completely. Zac loves Hollyhock Farm, and he’s determined to help Lettie succeed, but when their insurance company refuses to pay for the restoration of one of their barns in time for winter, the clock is ticking for the Torrels to raise the money themselves.

The siblings decide to host a wellness festival, but with the summer already well underway, they’ve got their work cut out to get everything ready before the season ends. Lettie recruits the help of Melody, a yoga teacher from Edinburgh. New to the island, Melody is determined to shake things up and make a success of Lettie’s festival.

But Melody has come to Jersey with more baggage than her small backpack implies. And as her friendship with Zac grows, will her past catch up with her?

My review

Zac Torel couldn’t be prouder of his sister Lettie, ever since she decided to take over their parents’ farm, Hollyhock Farm. And Zac is determined to carry his weight as much as he can. But no matter how many good intentions there may be, the siblings are struggling, as the insurance company won’t pay fully for the much-needed restoration of one of the barns before winter comes. So the plan of hosting a wellness festival comes to fruition, hoping to raise enough many. Luckily Zac and Lettie also find help with the presence of Melody, a yoga teacher from Edinburgh and her grandmother. Melody quickly feels at home at Hollyhock Farm, and while there is obviously simmering something between her and Zac, Melody is also scared that the past she ran away from, will catch up with her, jeopardizing everything once again…

I am not a farm – girl myself, yet returning to Hollyhock Farm didn’t dread me at all. On the contrary, I was happy to return to such a beautiful place, with great characters. And of course I was very eager to get to know Zac better, and see what story was in store for him!

When a story ends, it is always great to see how the characters have matured during the telling. But when you are reading a series, it is even greater to see what happens next, and even when the former main characters aren’t the main characters anymore, seeing them back again was just great.

But like I said, I was very eager to get to know Zac much better, and I couldn’t wait to see who his match would be.

Zac for sure charmed me from the start! But I also felt sad for him, as his past has for sure scarred him. What he has been through, truly broke my heart, and I understood his reluctance in a way of letting romance or just people back in.

But no matter what happened in his love life, he absolutely loves his family, his parents and his sister. He is so proud of Lettie, for the choice she made to save the farm. And obviously he is a supportive brother and son. But there is supportive and supportive… And the way he has Lettie’s back, how he wants to put his weight in, being there for Lettie and the farm, just shows what an amazing person he in fact in.

For such a wonderful person, there must be a wonderful match, doesn’t it? And Melody is just that! Melody is this bright person, with a great relationship with her grandmother. She feels so at ease at the farm, not afraid to get her hands dirty too, and is all too willing to help Lettie and Zac out with their wellness festival. It for sure feels that Melody has always been at Hollyhock Farm, part of the family already.

However, it’s also obvious that Melody is escaping from her past. And while it of course it is mandatory for the story that Melody arrives at the farm, the reason for it just angered me. Because even if she is obviously a victim, why do the victims always need to escape what they have been through…

Yet it warmed my heart to see how not only Melody finds a warm place to stay, where she feels at home so easily. But it also warmed my heart to see the relationship between her and Zac evolve. Even if there may be some moments where I might have feared that Zac may have lost his chance.

Things may start slowly between them, but even at their rockiest moments, there is a care and worry in it. Zac shows this especially, he is very protective of Melody, even after a revelation and not knowing the whole story. Even if it would be easy for him to get just angry and walk away from it all, in Melody’s time of need, he is there for her.

While this is all taking place, it was also amazing to see how Zac and Lettie find themselves surrounded by lovely people, helping them out however they can. Because that is the kind of people that Lettie and Zac are surrounded by, people who just want to help and want the siblings to succeed in their plans.

In this lovely book, we see two characters both burnt by love before, in different ways and perhaps not on the same level of severeness. Yet we most importantly see that perhaps it needs you to find the right person to make you believe in love and romance again. And yes, it doesn’t happen overnight, as obviously there are hurdles to overcome on several levels. But with patience and with matureness, courage, why shouldn’t love get a second chance?