Leaving behind everything she thought she knew, Grace arrives at Hazelwick Farm with her teenage daughter, Maddie, and her mother, Frances, ready to build a new life together.
Grace has dreamt of fresh air, open skies and days filled with taking care of the animals while building a family business together. But starting over isn’t as simple as she hoped.
Maddie has barely spoken to her since the divorce from her father and Grace doesn’t know how to fix what she doesn’t fully understand. Between strained silences at home, and the demands of getting the farm ready to open for business, Grace begins to wonder if she’s made a mistake.
Yet life at Hazelwick Farm has its surprises. Grace keeps crossing paths with handsome tenant, Caleb, whether she means to or not. Could this unexpected connection be the start of something she never saw coming?
Review: This is the first book in a new series from Jessica Redland, one of my favourite authors known for many other excellent collections. Her books tend to feature locations in the north of England, this one being no exception.
The story focuses on the fortunes of equine-assisted therapist Grace and her family. Grace is having a difficult time, as her husband of 27 years has ended their marriage without explanation, meaning that the family house in Berkshire must be sold, she has been given notice at work and her teenage daughter, Maddie, is acting quite out of character, making Grace very upset. When Grace takes Maddie to visit her mother, Frances, in Northumberland for a break, they come by chance upon a property for sale that looks ideal for them all. Hazelwick Farm is now a visitor attraction with horses and goats as well as a small cafe and a couple of letting cottages. Grace can see that she would be able to run her business there, while Frances with her baking skills could manage the cafe and all three women could live comfortably in the farmhouse. However, it is not as attractive a proposition as Grace imagined when she discovers that the actual property and the business have not been properly managed. However, with hard work and encouragement from her close friend and Caleb, the tenant of one of the cottages on the farm, she goes ahead with readying Hazelwick Farm Animal Encounters for opening to the public. Can she reverse her fortunes and enjoy life once again?
I really enjoyed this book, which makes a wonderful start to this new series. It is certainly a book for animal lovers, with all the horses, goats, cows and even guinea pigs cropping up throughout. I can see that the author must have done a lot of research, given all the facts that I learned as the story progressed. As well as the stunning countryside scenery described in the book, I loved the characters, even Maddie at her teenage worst. Grace was an amazing character, with such bravery and determination to succeed. She was also lucky to have the backing of her mother and best friend, and, eventually, the handsome Caleb. I am already looking forward to the next book in this series and wondering which direction that will take.
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