Reviewed by Emma Crowley
A new start…
When Jinny Birdwhistle is pushed over the edge one time too many times and quits her job as a tabloid journalist, an impromptu – and rather unconventional – job search leads her to a new house, car, and career making honey and chutney in the small Scottish village of Heartcross. And with handsome beekeeper Gabe Warner to help her learn the ropes, she’s ready to embrace ‘country girl life’ and leave the past behind her.
…uncovers an old secret
Yet there’s more to strong and silent Gabe than meets the eye and though Jinny planned to leave her journalistic instincts in London, she can’t help doing a little digging. Now, as she uncovers a mystery that links to her own history, Jinny realises that you can’t outrun the truth and the only way to move forward is to face the past. But now that she’s at home in Heartcross, she won’t have to do it alone…
Many thanks to Harper Collins UK via NetGalley for my copy of The Hidden Secrets of Bumblebee Cottage to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
The Hidden Secrets of Bumblebee Cottage is book ten in the Love Heart Lane series and Christie Barlow just gets better and better. This book has another stunning cover and once again a wonderful feel good story awaits you. Without doubt, this is my favourite ever series and I hope it continues for many a year to come. I’m fast running out of adjectives and phrases to describe just how good the Love Heart Lane series but I’ll try my best. This is a book you will want to read in one sitting as the characters and setting are so warm and inviting and it’s like returning to old friends and catching up after a brief absence. The stories are still fresh and welcoming and are in no danger of becoming stale or of plots being rehashed. You can tell that Christie loves writing about Heartcross and all the various characters both old and new and this book as with all the others deserves all the praise and success in the world.
Jinny is the new character we meet this time around as well as plenty of old familiar and welcome faces whom I love to see each time I return to Heartcross. This very special village in Scotland (albeit sadly fictional) has captured many a readers heart including mine. Jinny is preparing to disappoint her father and leave his newspaper empire where she was a journalist. She will suffer the consequences as she can’t bear the lack of warmth, compassion and basic human skills that exist within the world as her father is determined to get every top story by any means possible. Jinny has morals and to continue with unethical stories finally makes her quit. Straight away, I thought fair play to her for being brave and standing up for herself and realising this was not the long term life that she desired. But what would her next step be? The weight is lifted off her shoulders and she feels liberated if a little afraid as to what direction her new life will now take. She wants to better herself and hopes to find a job that will fulfil her with happiness and contentment.
Near to the beginning, there was a brilliant summarisation of all the previous books, the characters and the setting and this was a great way to introduce new readers and would instantly make you want to go back and read everything and this was all done in a simple and considered manner as Jinny decides where she wishes to go. She wants a slower pace of life and a job that is nice and she sees an ad for a rental and business opportunity. Bee’s Knees is a small business in Heartcross that makes honey and chutney. Jinny has no clue about either product but is willing to give things a go and she may have told a teeny lie or two when Molly interviews her.
Jinny feels apprehensive but also there is a good vibe coming from Molly and Cam at The Old Bakehouse next door to Bumblebee Cottage and she knows she should give everything a go even if the thought of bees terrifies her. I loved how she really stepped outside of her comfort zone but it was almost as if Heartcross was calling to her drawing her. The sense of community is there in spades and the residents always look out for one another. Jinny is a hard worker, someone who is organised and always delivers on time but has she taken on more than she can handle with this new business? With only a few months to prove herself to Cam and Molly she has a lot to learn but someone will be there by her side to help her navigate the tentative new waters.
Gabe is the beekeeper at the cottage. He tends to the land the hives and really it is the most idyllic setting with the cottage, a magical garden, a bridge, stream, orchard, greenhouse and vegetable garden and Jinny can see how much love and care Dixie (Cam’s grandmother) put into it right up until her death. Jinny knows she has to continue the legacy but feels like a fish out of water. Gabe is a supportive friend and good teacher even if when they first meet there is a funny incident with a bee but there is a secretive element to him to that for the life of me I couldn’t get to the bottom of until the point of reveal came. He dislikes social media and journalists and lucky for Jinny she has kept this bit about her secret. For as she starts to get closer to Gabe as they work together to get a start on all the Christmas orders for chutneys she realises that Gabe is struggling with something. Will he trust her enough to open up to her? What will happen when he discovers the truth of her background? Will he feel cheated and betrayed?
Heartcross really does bring out the best in Jinny and I adored reading how she went about learning the processes and about the different ingredients for making all the chutneys (the descriptions of which were mouth-watering) and she also wanted to boost the profile of the business through Instagram with her new and inventive ideas and the Heartcross Fair was a lovely addition to the story also. But what I really loved was the mystery element to the story as in what was Gabe’s story that made him dwell on the past so much? Jinny helped lift his spirits but when the truth comes out will that still be the case? I loved the looking back into the past element as secrets were revealed and connections were established. My attention was held with every turn of the page and I wanted to know exactly what had happened in the past that it was impacting on the present so much? But this special little village is a place where people rally together in anyone’s time of need and one where problems can be mended. Will this prove to be true for Jinny and Gabe or will the truth prove too difficult to surmount?
As with every book that I have read in this series I wish that Heartcross and its residents were real instead of fictional as when you finish reading you look up and think and realise that in fact you are back in the real world and no longer inhabit the books fictional setting even though you very much wish to do so. Christie has a real talent of getting inside the characters heads making the reader really connect with them and care about them. You are sad to leave them behind but know that thankfully two books a year are now published and the wait for the next instalment won’t be too long. Don’t worry if you are new to the series as each book is easily read as a standalone but trust me whatever book you start with you’ll love it and want to go back and read them all. I envy you if you are this person getting to read them all in one fell swoop. For that is what you will want to do. The Hidden Secrets of Bumblebee Cottage was delicious and enthralling and all you want is more as it makes you feel full and complete as stories by this fabulously talented author always do. Two more books will be published in 2023. A Summer Surprise at the Little Blue Boathouse is published in May and A Winter Wedding at Starcross Manor is published in September. I hope I will be able to get my hands on them in advance of publication day as I’m not that good at waiting patiently when it comes to brilliant books.
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