Clover Cottage (Love Heart Lane, Book 3)

Christie Barlow

Mar 2020 · Love Heart Lane Book 3 · Sold by HarperCollins UK

About this ebook

A page-turning new cosy novel in the bestselling Love Heart Lane series – perfect for fans of Katie Fforde, Phillipa Ashley and Milly Johnson!

Love Heart Lane – where friends are there for you no matter what.

When Vet Rory Scott inherits ramshackle Clover Cottage in the quaint village of Heartcross, Allie MacDonald just knows this is their happy ever after. A place to call home with the man she loves – it’s her dream come true!

Until Rory drops a bombshell. He loves Allie but he has dreams of his own to follow – to live and work in Africa. Clover Cottage will have to wait just a little longer...

Allie can’t imagine life without Rory, but she loves him too much to hold him back. And as he embarks on his adventure, Allie begins to rethink her own plans. She loves Rory and knows she wants him in her life, but maybe she can follow her own dreams too?

And always there, nestled in the beautiful village of Heartcross, surrounded by the people she loves, will be the place that will always bring them back to each other. Their forever home, Clover Cottage.

Readers are loving Clover Cottage:

‘Christie Barlow has fast become one of my favourite authors! Her books are a ray of sunshine when you read them, even if sad things happen’ Sinead

‘A lovely romantic story that will make you smile and god knows we need it’ Tara

‘I absolutely adored this book...gave a warm feeling as you read each page’ Suzanne

‘There's pretty much nothing I want more now than to escape to a small Scottish town and live in a cottage... sweet and cozy and a nice escape from the wild reality we are all currently living in’ Nicole

‘A cosy and heartwarming read, exactly what I needed now’ Anna Maria

‘Christie Barlow has rapidly become one of my favorite cozy romance writers’ Mackey

‘I loved Clover Cottage...This series is quickly becoming one of my favorites!’ Kristin

Ratings and reviews

I was about 3 pages in when I started to recognize the writing style, and sure enough, I’d read another of this author’s titles a couple of years back, and have several of her titles in my TBR pile. Characters that are both compelling and engaging, a story that is full of hope and change, and a few little hiccups in the road to keep everyone on their toes. And Allie and Rory have the hiccups but it is the strength of their relationship, and the friends they both have in the little village of Heartcross. Allie is a ‘one place’ kind of girl, after her early childhood of moving frequently, landing in Heartcross where her parents own the pub was the best thing ever. Roots, friends, a place to belong – she’s dug in and never thought of more. Except when it comes to Rory. Friends since childhood, they’ve been dating for a while now, and Allie is ready to start the next chapter. But an opportunity in the form of a famous actor and documentarian have come to stay in town, and he’s using the downtime to regroup before heading to Africa for a year to film a Lion Conservancy project among other things. When his dog is hit after the town’s festival, Rory jumps into take control, as the local vet with his father, he’s managed the dog’s care, setting her leg and finding notoriety and some new opportunities in being that close to the ‘famous’ spotlight. With a short ‘day in the life’ series made at the veterinary clinic, and opportunities to travel to Africa (a lifelong dream) the relationship with Allie is, in her mind, all gone pear shaped. Rory wants to travel and experience new things, Allie is much more the country mouse and wants to be home. We’ve got plenty of friends all adding their two cents, some revelations for Rory from his own parents and a cottage that, as Allie sees it, is perfect for the two of them to move forward in their relationship. But everything is thrown to the winds as the two need to sort out the ‘what next’ and Allie comes to terms with Rory’s dream of Africa, and her own little bit of meddling to offer him an opportunity. There are friends, family and love galore in this little village: when all comes to climax, Allie has learned to take (and look forward to) new opportunities while remaining grounded in her own little village and plans for the future with Rory. A lovely story that will make you want to trek to Heartcross simply to take in the atmosphere and meet the people, looking to befriend everyone you meet. I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

I’m was a bit slow on the uptake but I’ve caught on to the fact that Christie Barlow excels in writing about appreciably flawed yet well-meaning couples in flux, or amid critical transitions, and/or brain-slapping wake-up calls. And with this in mind, Clover Cottage was definitely on-trend. Throughout most of the story, the main character of Allie was rigidly in her mindset of establishing a home and family and forever living in her small little village with her boyfriend Rory without ever venturing far from their little hamlet’s boundaries. Whereas, Rory had other long-held dreams and aspirations as well as a significant case wanderlust. While it wasn’t tense conflict, their differences were rising to the surface and placing them at odds with each other, in addition to other real-world issues and emotional peaks and valleys intruding on their energies. I was invested in the storylines and quite taken with the unexpected twists and intriguing surprises that popped in as subplots. I’m already eager to see what Ms. Barlow has in store for her next installment with hints of a possible snake in the grass with nefarious intentions shaking up the sleepy village. I adore Ms. Barlow’s unique and vibrant sparks of creativity and felt her conception of the precious little alpaca competing in a dog show as a “pacapoo” was ingenious, as was her heart-squeezing and thoughtful ‘jar of memories.’ Sigh. More, please.

Took a while to get momentum, but made up for it near the end.

About the author

Christie Barlow is the number one international bestselling author of seventeen romantic comedies including the iconic Love Heart Lane Series, A Home at Honeysuckle Farm and Kitty's Countryside Dream. She lives in a ramshackle cottage in a quaint village in the heart of Staffordshire with her four children and two dogs.

Her writing career came as a lovely surprise when Christie decided to write a book to teach her children a valuable life lesson and show them that they are capable of achieving their dreams.

Christie writes about love, life, friendships and the importance of community spirit. She loves to hear from her readers and you can get in touch via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Twitter – @ChristieJBarlow
Facebook – Christie Barlow Author
Instagram – christie_barlow