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The Miller's Bride by Liz Harris #Review #TheHouseOfMcleodBook1

  Welcome to Liz Harris and her new Victorian historical novel, The Miller's Bride . This new series, The House of McLeod , was published by Boldwood Books on May 27th. When independence comes at a price... Scotland, 1885 Gracie McLeod’s life changes overnight when her father sells the family grocer’s shop and moves the family from their Highland village to a distant fishing town. But Gracie refuses to follow. Desperate to maintain her independence, she reluctantly agrees to an arranged marriage to Angus MacKenzie – a stranger who makes it clear he doesn’t want her, and who is in love with another woman. When Gracie arrives at the mill she now must call home, she finds herself entangled in a web of deceit and ambition. Unknown to her, Angus’s cousin is plotting to take over the mill and destroy her marriage from within, and he’s enlisted Angus’s former lover to help him. As secrets and sabotage threaten to ruin everything Gracie has tried to build, she must decide whet...
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The Start of the Story by Jane Lovering #Review

 

We are back to the Yorkshire Moors for an uplifting story from Jane Lovering. The Start of the Story was published by Boldwood on September 17th.

 
Rowan Thorpe can be forgiven for living with one foot in the past.

Since having to say goodbye far too young to the future she had planned, moving on still feels a daunting task. So, when historian Connor O’Keefe strides purposefully into her office and life, looking far too handsome for his own good and threatening to undermine the local legends she holds close to her heart, she is more than a little unsettled.

Connor has a past too, and his own reasons to keep his heart under wraps. But when a combination of fate and an unexpected snowstorm mean that Rowan and Connor have all the time in the world to swap stories, it may finally be time for an end and a new beginning.


 My Thoughts

This is a story with real bite. Rowan is living a semi-reclusive life in her cottage up on the Yorkshire Moors. Her work in academia researching folklore puts her apart from history approaches, based as it is on oral traditions rather than written evidenced facts. A visiting historian, Connor, is researching possible roman links on the moors. This brings him into  confrontation with Rowan, When they end up sharing her cottage, Rowan's life gets very complicated. 

    As the story develops you learn more about both Rowan and Connor's pasts and previous relationships. There is a lot of sadness in Rowan's life which takes Connor by surprise but which shows his empathy. The mystery of a stone slab up on the moors is a source of conflict between them. When you find out the actual reason for its existence, it is quite a shock. This story does draw you in and is a rewarding read. 

In short: new beginnings which are hard won.

About the Author

 


Jane Lovering is the bestselling and award-winning romantic comedy writer who won the RNA Contemporary Romantic Novel Award in 2023 with A Cottage Full of Secrets. She lives in Yorkshire and has a cat and a bonkers terrier, as well as five children who have now left home.

 

You can follow Jane here:  Twitter  | Facebook |  Website   |  Bookbub  |  Newsletter Sign up

 Purchase links 

Thanks to Jane Lovering, Boldwood Books and Rachel of Rachel's Random Resources for a copy of the book and a place on the tour. 

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