Reviewed by Emma Crowley
Maura has everything she ever wanted from life – a quirky cottage in Edinburgh’s picturesque Dean Village, a thriving career as a potter and a contented relationship with her childhood sweetheart, Jamie. Never mind that the cottage is damp, her pots aren’t selling and Jamie prefers a night down the pub with his rugby mates to an evening in with her.
But everyone wishes things were just a tiny bit better, right?
When Maura reunites with Fraser Bell at a Hogmanay party, she’s instantly transported back to her school days. And when he proposes she makes ceramic ghosts to complement his city ghost tour business, she’s tempted. At first, everything goes smoothly but it’s not long before their new partnership causes problems that ripple through every aspect of Maura’s life. The ghosts go viral, so she has more orders than she can fulfil and Jamie is not thrilled that she’s spending all her time in her studio. But when Edinburgh Castle shows an interest in Maura’s work, things begin to spiral out of control.
Can Maura really have it all or will she regret wishing for more?
Many thanks to Simon and Schuster UK via NetGalley for my copy of Healing Hearts on Thistledown Lane to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
Healing Hearts on Thistledown Lane is the latest book from Holly Hepburn. Previously published in four separate parts the full length book is now here for you to indulge in Maura’s story in one swoop. It’s been quite some time since I have read a book by this author but the books that I have read I did enjoy so I felt right at home in the author’s writing style. The four parts are contained within this book with a very brief prologue at the beginning of each new section. Admittedly, I did find it a bit jarring moving from one section to the next as I felt I was getting into the rhythm of the story and then it briefly stopped, gave us a new prologue going back in time and then the story moved on. There was what seemed to me a mini recap at the beginning of each new instalment which with the full length book I felt wasn’t necessary but I could see the need for it if you were reading this as each new part was published. Aside from these minor issues which really aren’t major faults of the book more so what I felt at the time of reading the overall story is very good and it is an enjoyable read which I dipped in and out of as my attention span is not great at the moment.
Set in the city of Edinburgh, the author does a fantastic job of bringing the setting to life. I’ve never been to Edinburgh but having read this book I feel like I have walked the streets with Fraser as he conducts one of his ghost walking tours. I’ve explored the sights and sounds and the history of the city be it ghostly fiction or reality and it made me want to visit there. The scene is set when we first meet Maura as she attends a six month school reunion. Life has changed for her since she left uni and she is now somewhat successful in her work as a potter. As she takes a breath of fresh air outside the venue out stumbles the golden boy Fraser Bell who is a bit of a drunken mess. Maura had noticed him around the campus but they inhabited different worlds. She liked to remain on the outside and inconspicuous where as Fraser was bolshy and a full on drama student who liked partying. Secretly, though Maura had subconsciously fancied him. A drunken kiss is shared and that’s it until 18 years later when Fraser comes back into Maura’s life and things take many an unexpected turn both personally and professionally.
In the present day we really get to know Maura and my initial thoughts were she is just plodding along in life. Yes, she is doing what she loves her pottery/ceramics in the little studio she has set up beside her apartment in Thistledown Lane and she has her students on a weekly basis and is working away on her own stuff. But is her world the one that she may have wanted so many years ago. There seemed to be no fire or excitement within her or her personal life. She has been in a relationship with Jamie for several years but when a chapter focused on this, there was a distinct lack of true love coming across to me. I detested Jamie from the outset. I think he took Maura for granted and never provided her with what she longed for which was stability, romance and a solid future. Drinking and partying with his rugby mates seemed to be top of his agenda and Maura appeared to be pushed to the side with pathetic excuses for his behaviour and manner constantly being offered. I desperately wanted Maura to get rid of him but felt she was settling for comfort and familiarity and didn’t know how to get out of the hole of acquaintance rather than love that she had established for herself.
Maura wanted and needed more for herself in order to have a better life. I even wondered whether the pair had ever truly loved one another? I found it so frustrating that she took so much from Fraser but couldn’t gather herself together to give him a push but I suppose when we are all in something that is routine and comfortable we are reluctant to let go and make ourselves break free and make a change. It takes great strength which Maura needed to build up for herself. Don’t get me wrong here as I’ve made it sound as if Maura is a bit of a wimp and can do nothing for herself. That’s not the case at all. It’s just when it comes to her relationship I knew she could do much better for herself. As a person she is kind, generous, clever, skilled, dedicated talented and passionate when it comes to her work but the personal sides she certainly needed to work on and become firmer.
So how does Fraser come back into Maura’s life? Having had moderate success as an actor he has become disillusioned with his career. Taking a gamble on things he has moved back to Edinburgh and set up a walking tour of the streets telling ghost stories and things are going well in that respect. Similar to Maura, I felt Fraser was in a relationship that might have suited his London lifestyle but things with Naomi now were not great. She came across as spoilt and a bit of a princess who loved glamour and glitz and this new lifestyle was not for her. I didn’t think that their relationship was on the same level as that of Maura and Jamie in terms of put downs etc but just that the pair weren’t suited for one another. Fraser certainly wanted different things. Fairly, early on things took a turn for them and I was glad this wasn’t dragged out as it opened up other avenues/plots for exploration. Fraser buys one of Maura’s ceramic pieces from her website and comes to collect it and that meeting after so many years although not electric a such with major sparks and chemistry flying between them I did feel a little potential glimmer of something although Maura being in a relationship means if things did ignite they couldn’t truly be explored and developed.
I loved Fraser as a character. I thought he was ambitious, generous, handsome and someone determined to make a good go of things. He remembers snippets of things from university regarding Maura. Both their worlds had orbited each other’s and I could see given the opportunity he would like to establish more than just a friendship and business partnership with Maura. The pair seemed to dance around each other a lot with lots left unsaid and misunderstandings and some dramatics occurring which made me want to get to the end to see what would happen. There is a curveball in the last few chapters which would have been brilliant to happen a little earlier to add a bit more drama to things as at around the midpoint and slightly after I did think there were some lulls with nothing much happening. I thought Fraser was clever and astute to get Maura making clay ghosts to sell to tourists who partook in the walking tours. He knew she was talented, and he was given her a stage which would open more opportunities but as this was taking off things take a dramatic turn for Maura which has her questioning everything. Just what that is you’ll have to read and discover for yourself.
Overall, Healing Hearts on Thistledown Lane was an enjoyable read which takes you through the lives of the characters as they have to navigate challenges, their heads and hearts and unstable relationships. Love can grow when given the opportunity but whether Maura or Fraser would allow that to happen is what keeps the reader turning the pages.
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