Twenty-three-year-old Madison has been running away from the pain in her past, travelling all over the world trying to find happiness, yet her heart leads her back to her childhood home. When she arrives at The Sunshine Hideaway, she discovers the beautiful old building on the tiny island falling into disrepair. So Madison throws herself into transforming it into a stunning wellness retreat. Will this be enough to save the guesthouse, before it’s too late?
Handsome and mysterious Connor has lived on Sunflower Island his whole life. He works hard as a builder, with his faithful dog Jaws by his side, but something is missing and he dreams of bigger things. As Connor helps to revamp the guesthouse, he wonders if this could be his opportunity to tell the woman he’s secretly been in love with for years how he really feels…
As Madison embraces life on the close-knit island, sharing wine with old friends and ice-cream with quirky new neighbours, she also finds herself being drawn to shy Connor. Despite their clashes on how to paint the rooms and get ready for the grand re-opening, a heat is building between them.
But can opposites attract and find true love this summer? Or will their different personalities bring them heartache… and risk the future of the little guesthouse?
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Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of The Little Guesthouse of New Beginnings to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
Donna Ashcroft's new book The Little Guesthouse of New Beginnings, which has the most gorgeous, inviting cover, takes us to the beautiful setting of Sunflower Island. The island is a special and unique place whose inhabitants are full of warmth, support and people who always offer dedicated friendship in challenging times. This book was an utter joy to read from start to finish, it just gave you that warm, feel good feeling inside. From the opening chapter as Madison Skylar gets her first glimpse of the island whilst returning home on the ferry I just felt this story was one that was going to be so enjoyable and that the characters, setting and plot would very much find a place in my heart and they most certainly did.
At the time of reading I really did enjoy Donna's first two books set in Castle Cove but this new story blew this out of the water and I feel the author has really moved on in terms of her writing. The descriptions were fantastic and I loved how everything was more or less how most of the cards were laid out on the table within the first few chapters. There was no beating around the bush, pussy footing around the issues that would feature in the book instead things were laid bare for us to digest fairly early on and I loved that this happened.
I didn't feel there were any filler chapters or plot-lines just to bulk up the word count, instead there was no shying away from the issues at hand. The reader knew more or less from the outset what was at the heart of the problems facing the two main characters Madison and Connor and it's how they deal with their issues and overcome their fears and worries that make for an excellent read which I read in more or less one sitting. Yes the book did have more than one angle with The Hideaway Guesthouse falling into desperate times as The Lake Lodge Hotel is constantly undercutting their prices and trying to put them out of business. But this wasn't the sole focus of the book and I was ever so glad because I have read this storyline so many times before. Instead a more human, personal side to the story was explored and although both Madison and Connor were very frustrating at times for different reasons and yes the ending may have been slightly predictable, still I was rooting for a positive outcome and thoroughly enjoyed the journey to reach that point.
Madison is a person who herself would admit is not the most perfect person. She has plenty of faults and character traits that could led to her downfall. Although she may outwardly present herself as confident as she travels the world solo seeking something that has eluded her since childhood, deep down she is not a happy person. She is restless and needs to finally establish some firm roots. So this sees her returning to Sunflower Island and to the guesthouse where her aunt and uncle reared her following the tragic death of her parents who were diplomats. Madison has become accustomed to being pushed from pillar to post as her parents relocated many times and Aunt Sandy and Uncle Jack afforded her the opportunity to settle down and live a normal life. Yet Madison left the island when she was old enough and only returned for brief visits, she has gained a reputation for coming and going as she pleases. In fact Madison is constantly running and as we move through the book the reasons for fleeing and escaping become ever more apparent.
Madison never permanently connected with people because she thought she would be safer. But safe from what? To be honest there were times when I understood Madison's viewpoint and others where I just wanted to shake her and say stop with the pity party and feeling all sorry for yourself. You are reading deeply into things and taking things up wrong when really there is no issue at all. You see things that aren't always there because you want to and then in turn I felt she wanted people to chase after her almost pleading in a way that she should stay on the island for good. The island had so much to offer but Madison couldn't see through her firmly established opinions and beliefs that people would embrace her with open arms. Madison needed to prove herself and her worth and by attempting to change the fortunes of the guesthouse maybe she could achieve this. Unfortunately there are one or two things that Dee and Amy who work there and who are friends with her haven't mentioned yet. Will these up scuttle everything and will the brilliant ideas Madison have prove to be futile and all for nothing? Or will it in fact be the makings of her? Only time would tell?
As for Connor, he was such a complicated character. Infuriating, vulnerable but loveable in equal measure. I totally got his viewpoint and stance as similar to Madison his upbringing really affected the person he was today. When Madison arrives back on the island he dismisses her as frivolous and uncommitted and she really rubs him up the wrong way. He can't stand that she never stays in one place and is always leaving the island. He feels he can never get close to her, there is no point as she will be gone. But undeniably there was a chemistry and attraction between the pair and the reader wonders can it develop into something more given they are working in close proximity together? Connor is renovating the guesthouse café and also starts to help Madison with some of her own entrepreneurial ideas. Madison becomes determined to reach beneath that shell that Connor has constructed around himself. To make him understand that there is more than one viewpoint in life and that his opinions and stances on certain situations and events are not always right. That he really needs to embrace a new side of life. Instead of keeping pushing forward with no distractions he should sit back and relax a little. Working himself into the ground to prove a point to a person who won't be there to see it will do no good for you at all in the end. That holding back and not connecting with people will only make for a miserable way of life. Not connecting with people or making time for them will only prove detrimental to both his personal and professional well being.
I thought Connor was a brilliantly written character and I loved the inner turmoil he was wresting with as was Madison. In ways they were quite similar and then in others they were polar opposites but you wondered whether the qualities each person lacked and the other person had would help them gel together and work as a team? Or were they both just too stubborn for anything to work out? I thought all the strands of the story developed so well and at a great pace. There were no significant lulls or times when I thought nothing is happening. Every scene and little plot moved the story forward and in fact I wanted the book to last even longer. I did think the final few scenes were ever so slightly rushed and a chapter or two more would have been ideal as it just felt a bit too abrupt.
The Little Guesthouse of New Beginnings was a charming, warm and wonderful book and I really hope that Donna Ashcroft is hard at work on another book set on the island. There were so many other characters who got brief mentions and together with all the brilliant names of the various shops and business there is undoubtedly a lot more tales to come from Sunflower Island.
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