A fresh start never comes easy, does it?

Synopsis

Laura wants to shake things up. She’s thirty-eight, and has been living in her parents’ house since her divorce last year. Her siblings seem to have got their lives together: successful careers, happy marriages, beautiful children.

Laura’s determined to prove herself. And buying the beautiful Pennycress Inn in the idyllic Cotswolds village of Meadowfield could be just the way to do it.

But getting the inn ready for its first guests proves easier said than done! With crumbling walls, dangerous woodwork and loose roof tiles, not to mention unfriendly locals and even errant sheep, Laura soon fears she’s made the wrong choice.

Luckily a friendly face is on hand in the form of gorgeous chef, Jackson. But is he too good to be true? And just why are the villagers so against her?

Can Laura turn her life around and get the fresh start she longs for at Pennycress Inn?

My review

After her divorce last year, thirty – eight – year old Laura is ready for a fresh start. Her big dream has always been running an Inn. And now that she has the time and the resources after her settlement, she can realize that dream after purchasing Pennycress Inn. And Meadowfield is the best setting in her eyes, as it’s a place where nobody knows her, and nobody sees how her life has been a succession of failure, especially compared to her family. But her dream may not be that easy at all to realize, as the Inn may need a lot more TLC than expected. And the locals aren’t that welcoming at all.. But luckily her neighbour is not only someone she knows, but also more than willing to help her out. Hopefully with the help of Jackson, Laura can do what is needed for the Inn, but also change the opinion of the locals. Will this be the fresh start Laura needed?

The start of a new series from an author that I love, always make me feel both excited and a bit scared. With the background that I had, will the series live up to the high expectations I have? Will the story enchant me like the others did?

Yet rather quickly I found myself absolutely enjoying reading this wonderful story, and any fear or doubt just evaporated!

Even if Laura starts buying an Inn, and that is not something I could possibly do myself, there for sure were many, many other things that made me truly like the main character. Not only like her, but it was also easy to recognize many of her thoughts and even doubts. I easily connected with her, and I had everything crossed for her so that everything would work out for her. Of course I knew she would have some bumps on her way, but I felt that she deserved the fresh start she that much needed.

I could understand why she needed a fresh start, how she feels like a failure compared to the rest of her family and how she wants to show that she can make it on her own. And on her own also means away from her family. Perhaps that sounds weird, but her reasoning made perfect sense to me. Because being close means also means that they can interfere anytime, even it’s with the best intention. And what Laura needs more than anything else, is proving her worth. Not only to her family, but mainly to herself too, even if she doesn’t know this yet.

I have to say, it didn’t come as a surprise that the Inn isn’t exactly ready – to – business, yet the level of TLC needed, even I underestimated it. But once again, I could understand why Laura failed initially to see all the defects of the inn. When you fall in love with a place, you see it only through rose – tinted glasses…

What shocked me the most though, was how everyone behaved around her… Being wary of the newcomer is understandable, but I found everyone just rude! I don’t know if I would be able to keep calm like Laura does…

And while the explanation of their behaviour was reasonable, I found it also a bit short – sighted of everyone…

Despite the ice-cold welcome she receives from everyone, I was absolutely thrilled to read that someone was over the moon with her arrival in Meadowfield. Jackson isn’t a complete stranger and that made it just even more perfect for me. There isn’t this awkward getting to know each other, there is just genuine care between them, a happiness of finding each other again, and a wonderful, strong connection.

In this first instalment we not only see how Laura is trying to realize her dream. But we see more importantly how Laura understands that asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness. We also see how she finally sets some boundaries with her family, making them understand why her marriage ended and that family always comes first.

But we also see courage in many aspects. Not only courage to start something completely new, but also courage to open up again, towards your family, talking about the hurt and pain you feel, but also opening up for something not exactly new, yet new at the same time. Opening up for finding happiness again.

I absolutely devoured this book, Sarah Hope swept me off my feet with this first book of a brand new series. While often in a first book in a series it’s exploring the “area”, this book just lets you enjoy the beauty of a fresh start, and let you fill your heart with joy and happiness! I cannot wait to read more!