Love Heart Lane (Love Heart Lane, #1)

by Christie Barlow

[zooloo1983]

Right off the bat, I knew this would be a new series I would fall in love with, not just the characters but the community would warm my heart on the cold nights.

Felicity aka Flick, left HeartCross under a huge black cloud 8 years ago, only returning because her nan Bonnie has passed. How will the community receive her? When she left, she left Fergus behind, the broody hero of the story and boy does he have the right to be broody.

Despite loving all the characters especially the cute Esme, Flicks behaviour did sometimes rile me. She is very head-strong, which is a great trait, but she would do things without thinking of a certain person feeling, ignoring the advice of other people and pushing at it. It did annoy me, but then I reflected and thought to be fair I would do the same and then I annoyed myself. I mean how far would you go to get your Fergus back? Let’s face most of us has a Fergus in our lives I know I do.

In spite of that quality, Flick is the only person I would have chosen to be the ambassador for the village when they lose their bridge, the only connection to the world. She gets the community geared up as they all support each other as they battle the snow and the other horrid elements. She is the epitome of community life, now that she’s back from the glamour and glitz.

The story is now just about the villagers and their plight, but the village itself. Bonnie's teashop, Hamish shop, Allie and her parents and the pub and Rory and the vet, they are all prominent, they have a lease of their own. They are where the community meet, there is a lot of laughter and love and a lot of smiling.

So I have been a bit emotional lately and not going to lie when I was reading this a few watery eye moments happened. I felt for Flick and her heartache and break, her loss of leaving the place and people she loved the most, Fergus dealing with Esme and a potential new threat, Isla and her babies and family being snowed in at the most inopportune time and Allie allowing her heart to thaw and accept her best friend back in the fold.

I do love reading books when the character changes their entire life, a thing I could only dream of, so l live vicariously through them, Flick and her teashop. If it was that simple I would do it! The book made me smile and I can not wait for the next story to get stuck in and meet up with old friends.

This is my first book by Ms Barlow and I don’t know why it’s taken me so long! The writing flows so easily, and you get caught up in the moment, the words and I couldn’t put it down. I want to jump back into her past books and get caught Up in her writing. I read love heart lane in one evening, I burned the midnight oil, I couldn’t rest until I knew everyone would be ok…I mean who else worries that the characters in a book won’t be ok? Just me??