Today I am delighted to be part of the Blog Tour for Love Heart Lane by Christie Barlow. My thanks to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources and to Christie for my e-copy of the book.

Synopsis:

Welcome to Love Heart Lane…

When Flick Simons returns to the small village of Heartcross she only expected to stay for a few days. The white-washed cottages of Love Heart Lane might be her home, but the place holds too many painful memories, and of one man in particular – Fergus Campbell.

When a winter storm sweeps in, the only bridge connecting the village to the main land is swept away! As the villagers pull together, Flick finds herself welcomed back by the friends she once left behind. And as the snow begins to melt, maybe there is a chance that Fergus’s heart will thaw too…

Is your book part of a series / standalone? There will be more books based around Love Heart Lane – even though this is the first one in the series they can be read stand alone too.

Purchase Links – Amazon UK – Amazon US

My Thoughts:

Felicity makes an emotional visit to her home of Heartcross. What she did not expect, was to be cut off and stranded there by bad weather along with the rest of the residents of this community that she no longer feels completely part of.

There is one thing this author manages to do and that is to create a story that completely wraps me up in the lives of her characters. Felicity has had a rough time and has been avoiding her past. There is a reason why she left her home years ago, and while it takes a while for that explanation to be known, once I did I understood her reluctance a little more.

Being stranded in the village has opened her eyes to the changes that she had been unaware of. It hits home that life in Heartcross has moved on and she feels a little left behind. It was inevitable that she would bump into her ex, Fergus. Their first meeting on her arrival was definitely out of the blue, and both were caught unawares, making this encounter as cold as the weather they were caught up in.

Felicity and Fergus were characters I really liked. The history of their time together and also after their separation was told, I found myself becoming more emotionally attached to them. They both really did struggle through what life had thrown at them.

Community plays a large part in this story and the author did such a great job with community spirit. There was a nice balance of a little mistrust and tension as well as that spirit of togetherness. Friendships that had been neglected over the years had a nice dose of peevishness to them, as you would expect if you had been ignored.

This is a story about family, friends, community and togetherness. Dealing with chaos and catastrophe and dealing with past issues. Old wounds are opened and some long over due heartfelt confessions, feelings and truths are dealt with. This visit home is tinged with sadness but turns into something very special indeed.

This is the start of a new series and I am really looking forward to reading more about Heartcross. This is the ideal introduction to this author if you have not read anything by her before, as well as being one that fans of her work would also really enjoy. It gets a definitely recommended from me xx

About the Author:

Christie Barlow is the author of A Year in the Life of a Playground Mother, The Misadventures of a Playground Mother, Kitty’s Countryside Dream, Lizzie’s Christmas Escape, Evie’s Year of Taking Chances, The Cosy Canal Boat Dream, A Home at Honeysuckle Farm and Love Heart Lane. Her writing career came as somewhat a surprise when she decided to write a book to teach her children a valuable life lesson and show them that they are capable of achieving their dreams. The book she wrote to prove a point is now a #1 bestseller in the UK, USA & Australia. 

Christie is an ambassador for @ZuriProject raising money/awareness and engaging with impoverished people in Uganda through organisations to improve their well-being as well as Literary Editor for http://www.mamalifemagazine.co.uk bringing you all the latest news and reviews from the book world.

Visit Christie on her – Website – Twitter – Facebook

See what other Book Bloggers think by following the tour

Many thanks for reading, a like or share would be amazing 🙂 xx