When Julia Coleman meets Flynn Carter again in the cosy village of Heartcross it can only mean trouble. Flynn might be rich, brooding and sexy, but Julia knows first-hand he’s ruthless and she plans to watch his every move.
When Julia discovers Flynn’s plans for beautiful Starcross Manor her greatest fears come true. Because Flynn’s dreams of turning Starcross into a luxury hotel could ruin Julia’s dreams…and finish off the community of Heartcross for good.
Flynn makes it clear he doesn’t want trouble, and he’s not the man Julia thinks he is. As he sets about convincing the community he’s changed, he hopes he can convince Julia to give him another chance too…
Amazon Link: Kindle
Many thanks to Harper Collins UK via NetGalley for my copy of Starcross Manor to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
Not once so far in the brilliant series that is Love Heart Lane has Christie Barlow disappointed in any way. In fact each book just gets better and better and I can’t get enough of them. I’m gutted that I race too quickly through each story and am then left waiting many months for the next book to arrive. Starcross Manor is book number four and each book is written so it is easy to read as a stand alone but in my opinion you should start at the beginning and work your way through them just to appreciate the overall picture Christie has built up of the picturesque and close knit community in the Scottish Highlands that is Heartcross.
Every time I read one of these books I wish that the village was real and not fictional so that I could visit and meet all the characters who have become almost like friends. Each story focuses on a different character and I love how we are expanding out of the village itself into the surrounding areas so that we are really getting a flavour for all that Heartcross has to offer in terms of the wide variety of characters, the different settings and the overall ambience and warm and cosy feeling that it creates.
Julia Coleman runs the guesthouse in Heartcross and it is something that she thoroughly enjoys. She studied tourism and hospitality in college and has put her skills to good use. She thrives on providing the best experience that she possibly can for her guests and gets so much satisfaction from good reviews and seeing the happy smiling faces of everyone that stays. She managed to buy the guesthouse with the proceeds from the sale of her grandfather’s house but she feels selling his house was a decision that she was railroaded into by property developer Flynn Carter. She knows the property was worth more and it held such special memories for her but it was a cash offer which would see her dreams become a reality so she accepted.
Due to his shady business deal and the fact that he dumped her best friend right on the morning of their wedding Julia really has a thing against Flynn. So when several years later he makes an appearance in Heartcross that seems to be more than just fleeting Julia is shocked and really can’t bare to look at him nor to have any dealings with him. She hopes to avoid him at all costs with interaction if necessary, to be minimal. I could totally see where Julia was coming from in relation to her stance regarding Flynn. She had been hurt on a personal level as her grandfather’s house had meant so much to her but she was also angry on her friend’s behalf. She feels Flynn provided her with an opportunity to make something of her life but in doing so he also took advantage of her. But on the other hand I thought why is Julia holding on to such animosity. Maybe she should let the past stay in the past and perhaps Flynn is in the village for a good reason and might have a justifiable reason for his actions. Maybe a leopard can change his spots?
Heartcross itself is booming as it made headline news in recent months, the reason for this was the main story of one of the earlier books, and everyone from Julia’s guesthouse, to the pub, the tea rooms, the glamping site and farm are all doing well but news reaches the villagers that is not very pleasing. Julia in particular is really aggravated. Even though Eleni who works for her in the B&B tries to calm her down and see things from a rational view, it seems she has a bee in her bonnet, strong opinions and a history that means she refuses to let certain things happen. Why Julia feels this way is that she discovers Flynn is renovating the nearby Starcross Manor in order to turn it into a luxury hotel with all the mod cons and your every little need catered for. Not to mention the Boathouse he plans to turn into a watersports area. Julia is traumatised when she discovers the plans and rightly so. Everything she has worked so hard for and all the time and effort getting her business up and running and making sure it was successful could all be for nothing? Why would tourists want to stay with her if they could have a wonderful experience provided by Flynn?
This pressing issue forms the main plot of the book and I just love how Christie always has a dilemma/conundrum that must be dealt with. It’s always something that affects so many people within the village and their need to resolve it or fight against it shows their true community spirit, their passion and the bonds of friendship and solidarity really coming to the fore. It demonstrates the village means so much to everyone and friendship, support and community will always shine through. But has Julia gotten the wrong end of the stick? Should she have questioned further to find out finer details before she jumped the gun and had the entire village on Flynn’s back.Literally giving him the cold shoulder and trying to stop the renovations.
The minute that Julia laid eyes on Flynn again with his movie star good looks and oodles of charisma I felt the fizz of chemistry between them and this was evident in every scene that they featured in together. But I think Julia had such preconceived notions about him and what he was trying to achieve, and I could understand why given their history. Yet at the same time I felt she really walked herself into the big situation that develops by not telling the truth to the villagers. She’s not the kind of person that would want trouble to befall others so I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough to see how she was going to get herself out of trouble. If she succeeded in this, would Flynn be willing to forgive her and listen to her? To be honest I would have found it difficult considering what she did but Flynn was just the most brilliant of characters that I really just want a Flynn all for myself. Deep down he is a good egg and Julia needed some convincing to see this and the way he sets about doing this was just wonderful and so sweet.
Of course there has to be lots of drama and not just in the relationship department in this series and it comes in the form of something devastating happening to Julia. It was awful what happened to her but it provided opportunities for other avenues to open within the overall story and led to lots of surprising developments. The majority of which I was really glad to see happen. Said event also meant that the residents of Heartcross got to show their community spirit and that its never forced or all an act. They really do care for each other and will help anyone out in anyway they can in times of need and show that out of something negative will always come a positive.
Starcross Manor is just the most wonderful of reads and it’s one you’ll easily sit and read in one sitting, but be aware you’ll be gutted you did so, so try and savour it as long as possible. It’s impossible to stop reading once you start as you get so caught up in Julia’s story and just really care for her as a character and want nothing but good for her. At the same old familiar faces make an appearance and I love that this continually happens and that we get to see a different aspect to them as they are not the main character featuring but still, they are not gone and forgotten. I couldn’t recommend this book enough. The story that awaits you inside is a joy to read and the little clues as to may feature in the next book dropped in towards the end. Well they are just tantalising but thankfully Christie is not leaving us waiting too long to discover the answers as The Lake House will be published in December 2020 and in even better news there will also be another book Primrose Park to look forward to in 2021.
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