A Home at Honeysuckle Farm - Christie Barlow

About the book...

A family secret

One shocking argument and ten-year-old Alice Parker’s world was turned upside down. Her peaceful life at Honeysuckle Farm in the quiet rural village of Brook Bridge swapped for the bustling metropolis of New York City. Alice’s life was changed forever…

A second chance

Now, thirteen years later, Alice’s American dream is over. With her life in tatters, there is only one place Alice wants to be… home at Honeysuckle Farm. 

A forever home?

But secrets still swirl in Brook Bridge, and Alice is no closer to discovering the truth. And for some reason her new friendship with local heartthrob Sam Reid seems to be making the locals tense.

Sick of the lies Alice knows it’s time to lay the past to rest once and for all. But could the truth ruin her hopes of ever calling Honeysuckle Farm home again?

Buy Links: 

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 and A Home at Honeysuckle Farm. 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 www.mamalifemagazine.co.uk bringing you all the latest news and reviews from the book world. 

Contact Links: 

Website www.christiebarlow.com 

Twitter @ChristieJBarlow 

 Facebook page Christie Barlow author

My thoughts…

I was given an ecopy of this book by Rachel at Rachels Random Resources in exchange for an honest review.  This is something I am more than happy to do.

I was drawn to this book by the cover, spring was on it's way and it looked like it had arrived at Honeysuckle Farm.

A home at Honeysuckle Farm is set in the delightful village of Brook Bridge. It had english, chocolate box written all over it - picture perfect.  Of course the sun always shines and everyone is always happy when you live in a village which is why when I read books like this I want to up sticks and move to one.

The prologue personifies my image of village life exactly, all pretty houses and cute shops to amble in before settling down for afternoon tea in a fab cafe overlooking a babbling brook. That is until the happiness is shattered as Rose and her father, Alice's Grandie have an almighty row which sees them leaving their home, an annex attached to the  farmhouse owned by Grandie and heading to New York, where after a difficult start she settled down and made friends.  

Only a few pages in and what a lot of questions running round my head. What was the row about, what could Rose of done to be cut out of her fathers life? It was a very high price to pay for him, losing his grand-daughter at the same time. At first glance this was going to be a light, frothy book that did what it said on the tin but, it turned out to be much more than that - the story was intense, consuming and heart twisting.

Thirteen years after leaving for America with her mother, Alice is back in Brook Bridge having left her mother behind in America and is here because her Grandie is in hospital She is very apprehensive about meeting him again after all these years - would she ever find out the truth behind their sudden departure, she hoped so.

Once again, Christie Barlow has written a book that is full of delightful characters that are interwoven into a local community. The lows had me crying as hard as I smiled and laughed at the highs. It really was a tonic, a proper pick me up. It's the sort of book that once you pick it up and start reading you finish in no time and are left wondering how you've lost an afternoon without even blinking! This is the first of Christie's books I've read in a good while and was drawn back in as if I read the last one only yesterday! It was better than any tonic you can buy in the chemist.

If you love books that are wrapped up neatly in a classic happy ending then this is for you, it has it all, family, friendship, love, laughter, a sprinkling of sadness and a few little mysteries in the form of unanswered questions. I love how she slipped straight back into the idyll that she left as a child, the community coming together to welcome her back into their folds.

This was truly delightful - huge thx to Rachel for organising the blog tour, Christie for giving me the perfect place to escape - heads off to Rightmove to find me a chocolate box house!! I'm hoping there's one for sale.

Evie's Year of taking Chances - Christie Barlow

About the book...

It’s Evie’s birthday and the start of a year she’ll never forget. An emotional story of love, friendship and grabbing life by the horns.

Evie’s job has always been her safe haven. As a librarian in the little town of Becton she loses herself in books - after all it’s far easier to read about other people’s problems than set about solving her own.

Then, one birthday, everything is turned upside down. A mysterious parcel containing a beautiful book with a poignant inscription arrives for Evie. It’s the beginning of a new chapter for Evie and she’s inspired to try and find her real mother.

Evie’s search leads her to meet handsome author Noah Jones. Charming and intelligent, Noah seems the perfect catch but what Evie doesn’t realise is that he is hiding something – a key to Evie’s past.

As Evie gets closer to Noah and discovering her mother, she must take a giant leap of faith. Can she embrace the new and make this her year of taking chances? And if she does, will she get her heart broken?

A romantic, funny and poignant story of living life to the full and finding love in the most unlikely of places. Fans of Debbie Johnson and Cathy Bramley will adore this book!

Buy Links:

UK 🇬🇧http://amzn.to/2j4p7jt
US 🇺🇸http://amzn.to/2jTXxFE

About the author...

Christie Barlow was born in Cheshire and had a successful career as a civil servant until she decided to trade it in for something more glamorous: ironing, mucking out chickens and horses and chasing a mad cocker spaniel while rearing four children. Christie wrote her debut novel, A Year in the Life of a Playground Mother, as an example to her kids about realising their dreams.

Connect with Christie Barlow: 

https://www.facebook.com/ChristieJBarlow
https://twitter.com/ChristieJBarlow
www.christiebarlow.com

My thoughts...

I was given an ecopy of this book by Bookouture, Christie Barlow's publishers in exchange for an honest review - something which I'm more than happy to give.

Once again, Christie Barlow has written a book that is full of delightful characters that are interwoven into a local community. The story is about the ups and downs of family life, friendship and relationships. Evie, the main character in this book works in her local library and is an out and out book worm, losing herself in the lives of the many characters she reads about. She works with her best friend Clara and until her recent retirement, her foster mother Irene. Evie was given up at birth and knows nothing of her birth parents. Although sharing a very close bond with her foster mother she can't help but wonder about her birth mother - with each passing birthday the urge to try and find her gets stronger.

Christie described the emotions and process that Evie goes through in her search for her mother with empathy and compassion - the roller coaster of emotions is shared by her close friends and family as they support and encourage her in her journey to find her mother and to take a chance on love too. Add a book group held at a gorgeous cafe owned by Mim, a stripper and a hunky author and Evie's Year of Taking Chances has the recipe for success.

All in all, despite the highly emotive central story this was a light, frothy book that does what it says on the tin. An easy read that gives exactly what you'd expect from a modern chic lit author. It's the sort of book that is quite predictable but in a good way. Sometimes we need that fix and to know we are going to get a happy ending. A perfect story for an afternoon curled up on the sofa beside the fire. It's romance equally balanced with humour.