About the book:
Luckless Lilah Clarke needs a big break, but getting caught wrecking a stall at the Glenbriar Fair was not what she had in mind – especially when the man who catches her is as hot as a summer’s day and sends her heart racing.
Charity campaigner Aidan McBride has returned to Glenbriar after a long absence to discover the love of his life dating his cousin, his cottage in tatters, and his beloved bees gone. When he catches Lilah destroying his mum’s stall and discovers the reason, he sees something in her he can’t explain – or resist.
Feeling sorry for her, he offers her a job, and she reluctantly accepts. What other options does she have? Now, it isn’t just Aidan’s new bees that are buzzing. Lilah dreams of Aidan being hers, but for someone with a background like hers, he’s well out of her reach.
Still stung by the loss of his ex, Aidan struggles with his ever-growing attraction to Lilah. But if he doesn’t spit out exactly how he feels about her before her past catches up with her, he stands to lose the real love of his life.
My review:
Starting Over at the Crafty Bee Barn is the seventh book in the Glenbriar series by Margaret Amatt. Although there are characters familiar to those who have read the previous books, you can easily read this story as a standalone. Having said that, I do recommend that you check out the other books in the series because they are all completely wonderful.
In this story, we meet Lilah, a 23 year old who has had the toughest of starts in life, with unreliable family. Not wanting to be like her errant family, Lilah desperately needs a break and someone to realise her capabilities. We also meet Aidan who left Glenbriar to go on a charity walk in memory of his father when he was still grieving. He left his girlfriend behind, but when he returned he found that she had moved on and was now engaged to his cousin. When Aidan meets Lilah, he feels something for her but dismisses it because there is a ten year age gap, and he sets out to give her opportunities that may previously have passed her by.
I loved the dynamic between the two main characters, in particular how much of an old soul Lilah was, mature and keen to better herself. On paper their relationship should not have worked, and both of them agreed that, but their mutual love of nature and their location brought them together in a way neither could have imagined. The doubt they both had initially affected their relationship, but with communication they were able to form a close bond.
I loved their character progression as they both found strength from one another to help them achieve goals and battle their own personal demons. Already likeable, I found as Aidan and Lilah grew I warmed to them even more.
Through every book in the series, and this was no exception, I have adored the location of Glenbriar. The Scottish Highlands have always meant a lot to me, and this book exudes the sense of space and greenery synonymous with the Highlands, providing me with an armchair escape to a region I love.
Starting Over at the Crafty Bee Barn is a gentle romance in a stunning location, that made me want to keep bees, and do crafts, and maybe even have a barn filled with home made gifts to sell to the public!
Many thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources, and Margaret Amatt for my invitation to take part in the blog tour. I received an electronic proof of the book, and I provided my no-obligation honest review. Please check out the other stops on the tour below:
Purchase link:
About the author:
Margaret is a bestselling Scottish author and chocolate lover who has been writing stories for over twenty years (possibly more if you count her primary school efforts). Her early works will never see the light of day and are locked in dusty vaults on some old floppy disks. But after all those years of practise, Margaret released her first novel in 2021. It was the first of a ten-book series set on the gorgeous Scottish Isle of Mull.
Margaret is also the author of the acclaimed Glenbriar Series, based in the fictional Scottish town of Glenbriar. This is an on-going series with more books coming in 2024.
The stories are unashamedly romantic but with lots of drama and an eclectic mix of characters. Each book can be read as a standalone but followers of the series will enjoy catching up with the characters.
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