A friend in need is a friend indeed, but who is the one in need?

Synopsis

A family and hotel in desperate need of help…

Maple Tree Lodge has been the home of the Jackson family for over a century. But the hotel has never been a success and, following the sudden loss of his father, architect Ben Jackson soon discovers the hotel is close to financial ruin. Ben has to make some tough decisions if the hotel is to survive and his family are to keep a roof over their heads.

With the hotel in urgent need of a renovation, Ben’s sister calls on the talents of her best friend, interior designer Lily Watson. Cash strapped Lily needs a successful project to prove to herself and her high-achieving parents that she can carve a successful career and Maple Tree Lodge sounds like just the place for Lily to showcase her talents. However, Lily’s vision for a cosy, country Cotswolds hotel is the complete opposite to what Ben has in mind for a minimalistic, modern makeover and fireworks ensue!

Can they work together to save Maple Tree Lodge?
Can Lily help Ben and his family find a future together?
And can Ben show Lily that there’s more to life than work?

As autumn at Maple Tree Lodge begins to weave its magic spell, perhaps Lily will discover somewhere to finally call home and a reason to stay …

My review

Losing a parent is a terrible event, especially when it happens so suddenly as it happened with Ben Jackson’s father. But Ben doesn’t have a lot of time to genuinely grieve over the loss of his father, as he learns that Maple Tree Lodge, which has been in the family for centuries, is in bad papers. So in order to save the family’s home, Ben needs to make some tough decisions. As an architect, Ben has clear ideas which direction they all should take, even if that clashes with his own grandfather. Luckily, in order to make all those changes, he has hired interior designer Lily Watson. Lily may be Ben’s sister Hannah’s best friend, but she is a talented yet underestimated designer. What nobody knows though, is that Lily is out of a job yet still wants to show her parents that she can have a successful career by doing something she truly loves. Once arriving at the Lodge, she has a vision that for sure would work to attract more clients, weren’t it that it clashes with Ben’s visions… So can there be found a common ground when visions are so different? And with spending so much time together, ping – ponging over ideas, Lily not only becomes a member of the family, but also has something strong with Ben. But will they save the Lodge? And what will happen when the job is done?

Starting a new series, even from an author that you know is very talented, is always a bit of a challenge… When you loved a series, like I did with the Railway Lane Series, it is always a bit sad to leave that series behind, and a bit scary to start a new one. Because will the new one live up to the previous series? Will *I* love it as much? And what must Alison Sherlock be going through, as her readers for sure have extreme high expectations…

Luckily, I fell in love with it! Not only with the story itself, but with the characters, with the setting, with just everything!

Lily and Ben couldn’t have a more different background. Where Ben grew up in a warm, close and united family, having also built important friendships while growing up, Lily grew up moving from one place to another, never able to call a place her home, or build relationships or bonds that would stand the test of time. Only when sharing a place with Hannah, Ella and Beth, that she learned and understood the importance of friendship.

As Lily has been, and still is, a bit of a loner, I could understand how much time and effort she put in her career. Not only is it something she loves doing, but it is also a way to show her parents that she can be successful in what she does. Don’t get me wrong, it is not that her parents don’t approve of her choices, but as often is the case with parents, they wanted Lily to go a different path.

I could understand her past choices and her moods, and while I liked her determination, her situations also saddened me. As Lily is truly a great person, I wanted her to be happy, surrounded by the people she loves and just have a great life and a career. Unfortunately, or rather fortunately for the storyline, also her career isn’t going in the direction she wants it to go, as she is faced with the ego and the selfish character of people…

However, even if she doesn’t have a lot of friends, those she has, are the good kind of friends. Even if she cannot meet them all the time, Hannah, Ella and Beth are the closest to her. They are so close, that when Hannah, or rather, her brother Ben, needs an interior designer, there is in fact only one option, Lily.

Talking about Ben… it is not that he is going through an easy time himself… I truly count my blessings as I still have both my parents, but I am also aware of their age progressing. But I cannot imagine what it would feel like losing one of them totally unexpected… I honestly don’t think I could endure that pain…

And my heart went out to Ben, as not only is he facing the loss of his father, but he is also facing a difficult position, that his own family is not aware of. Because it is up to him to save Maple Tree Lodge.

He knows how important the Lodge is for his family, and he wants to do whatever he can to save it, what truly is admirable. But I also felt that right from the start, even if Ben is for sure a wonderful architect, somehow he has lost his passion, his fire, his mojo to create wonderful things. Instead, he is creating thirteen in a dozen, places that not have that something special that make people love the place.

Ben obviously is the kind of guy that would walk through fire for his family, he knows what matters in life. But I also have to say that perhaps he isn’t the best of communicators, especially when it’s about selling ideas to his grandfather… The love between them is very clear, but also the fact that they have different visions are obvious to anyone.

And I have to admit, I was in Walter’s corner most of the times. I understood that Ben was doing his best to save his home, but just like Walter and Lily, I could see that going minimalistic wasn’t the right course.

I could also understand the awkward situation Lily finds herself in. Customer is king, but what if the king is wrong? So I liked her sneakiness, as she follows Ben’s instructions but is also going a little bit rogue 😊 I truly liked seeing that fire in her!

I liked reading how Ben and Lily are working together to save the Lodge. But I liked the most reading how on one hand, we see Lily finding not only a job where she can flourish, but also a family and a home where she can be herself and being accepted into the family. And on the other hand, we see Ben wanting to protect his family, bit realizing that his way isn’t the only way. And more important, we see Ben opening his eyes again, finding his fire again and finding a way to save his family’s heritage but also finding a way for his family, and especially Walter’s approval.

If we would be catalogue this story, it for sure would fit in the very – slow – burn ones. Because what happens between Lily and Ben, is growing through a joined mission, to save to Lodge. But it slowly turns into friendship, comradery, trust and support. And of course many moments with laughter, unfortunate yet hilarious accidents!

Seeing the pair of them, both broken in a way, finding a way towards not only each other, but finding a way to their passions, to healing even, was just delightful. Alison Sherlock managed to put a lot of pain in this story, but also a lot of healing, love and care in it. It felt even for me, like I was coming home, to a place I have never been, with people I didn’t know, yet it all managed to steal bits of my heart!