Lovely read that had me captivated and wishing I had read it sooner. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review

This is a charming romantic story set in an idyllic English country village. The characters are vivid and realistic. The writing is above average.

As gorgeous inside as it is outside! Victoria never disappoints and this book is just perfect!

The cover initially drew my attention to this novel. As a member of the National Trust, I often visit beautiful gardens and historical houses around the UK. I live in Sussex and there are a couple of beautiful gardens that has either a castle or a manor house and could easily be an 'Orley Court'. Next time i go, i shall remember this book! A book that i very much enjoyed reading. As usual, i will not write what the story is about for fear of spoiling for others, but will say that i do recommend. It is the first time that i have read any novels by this author and i'm sure it isn't going to be the last.

My review can be found on Goodreads.

My thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers.

A heartfelt story of two very different families sharing a house and their lives. Very touching sweet story of grief and pain. Bringing people together .

I love Victoria Connelly’s books so was very excited to begin reading Love In An English Garden and I wasn’t disappointed. I was immediately hooked into the story and I couldn’t put it down!
A lovely story set in wonderful garden, I enjoyed how the character’s stories become intertwined. The garden descriptions are vivid and I could almost be there! I was really drawn into the story of each character and I loved them all. I loved the friendships made between unlikely characters. It is a story of second chances and taking risks.
A wonderful book (as are all of Victoria’s novels), which has stayed with me since finishing.
Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review.

When rising costs force a family to share their home, anything might happen between the residents. But will their hearts be open to what could be in store? A great story of loss and love. Highly recommended!

I've enjoyed each book I've read by Victoria Connelly, and this was no exception! It was a gentle, easy- reading book that I looked forward to picking up each night. As the title implies, the gardening aspect is a big focus in the book (but isn't off-putting), as is romance. You won't disappointed with anything here!

**Many thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union books for an ARC for review purposes**

A beautifully setting for this heartwarming story, and the author has a way of making the loveliness of the garden feel so tangible so it seems like you are there with the sun on your bare arms. I loved the story and the exploration of the characters too.

Lovely storytellng and a charming cast of characters made this a darn good read. There's nothing twisty or difficult, the setting is nice, and while it might be a bit predictable, this is the sort of multigenerational novel you want when you just want to turn the tv off. Thanks to Netgallery for the ARC. I enjoyed it very much and bet you will too if you enjoy British family novels.

Vanessa has been lost since the death of her husband Oliver and to make matters worse the costs of running Orley Court, the beautiful Cotswold manor house that his been in his family for generations, are spiralling out of control. The only option is to split the house and sell of the north wing to someone else. Vanessa's mother-in-law is dead against this, as she is with anything that Vanessa does, but with the support of her daughters Orla and Jassy she goes ahead and sells to Laurie and Marcus

Orla is a musician but there has been some problem in the past which we gradually learn about and she befriends Laurie who tries to make her face up to her demons - I did find him a bit annoying and far too pushy towards someone he has just met - but will she be able to get over her past and start again

Jassy is autistic and shuts herself away in the oast house painting most of the time, but she makes an unexpected friend in Marcus, Laurie's father, and the two of them seem to help each other

The house has beautiful gardens that have been neglected in the couple of years since Oliver's death and when Vanessa decides that something must be done with the old walled garden she meets Jonathan and takes on his band of gardeners - a group of offenders who he is trying to get on the straight and narrow - much to the disgust of Dolly of course!

A lovely story with romance blossoming in the garden and for someone like me who loves gardening great descriptions of the work being done there

My Thoughts

‘These old houses might not seem to change over the decades, but they do. People come and go and leave their marks, their memories.’

Victoria Connelly fans will be very happy with her latest instalment. If you love stories set in England, with a manor house and a good ol’ English garden, then this is the book for you. This slow and sentimental journey, told at a very relaxed pace and calm manner, is much like taking a trip to Orley Court and its gardens.

The story has a variety of storylines, but mostly focuses around two families and how they deal with loss, love and country living in a modern day manor home. The setting is wonderful with rich descriptions of the home and the rejuvenation of the gardens. There are three generations and each have their own tale to tell and it’s lovely to see how they all interact together and slowly but surely, overcome that final hurdle to have their happy ever after.

I did find it at times a little too slow and somewhat repetitive, characters getting bogged down of their own making. The upfront honesty of Jazzy proved a welcome relief amongst the blunders of other characters. However, for a reflective read, take some time out from your busy life, much like Laurence did, and take a trip to Orley Court.

Now, each morning when his alarm clock shook him out of sleep, he would wake with a groan. ‘And that is no way to live,’



This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release

This book put me in a good mood. As another reviewer had said, this book had a calming effect, I couldn't agree more. It was just a sweet and simple story and, yet, it had such an impact on my attitude. I don't know much about gardening or names of flowers/plants but I appreciate the beauty in a garden, especially those English gardens. I cannot imagine the effort it takes to maintain them. There was a lot of talk about gardening and everything that goes with it but I never was bored with that. Instead I imagined sitting on a bench admiring all the beauty the characters were talking about. I would love to have that garden in my back yard--what an excellent place to be able to read!!

Anyway, yes there was a lot of garden talk but there was so much more. All the characters were trying to move on from some loss in their life. Moving or living at Orley, they were all able to grieve and find life again. I just really enjoyed this book--I guess that's all I really want to say.

**Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A wonderful story set in the English countryside. Orley is a huge estate house, that is slowly failing with all the upkeep that is needed. The family decides to sell part of the house that they do not use, and end up selling to a young man and his father. I like the side stories that are running throughout the story, as it doesn't just focus on one romance. Here you have several, but the sweet story of dreams found and lost. A rich story, full of wonderful characters and writings by a great author. It is easy to get totally lost within the story. Highly recommend this book and author.

A huge estate is expensive to maintain. Because of the expense and lack of sufficient income it doesn't look as good as it shoud, the garden is going to pieces and the house is generally falling into disrepair. Vanessa decides to divide the house in half and sells it to Lawrence who brings his father with him. Things begin to look up for everyone in the house, the original owners, the new owners, the property. The description of the gardens are marvelous. More, please.

I enjoyed reading Love in an English Garden. The author does a wonderful job describing the beautiful old house & gardens, as well as introducing the characters to the reader. Two families struggling with their own issues, a gardener with his band of "misfits turned right" & all's well that ends well. A quick, enjoyable read & I look forward to reading more. Thank you!

A beautifully written book. I loved the concept for the storyline and the great group of characters. I absolutely loved this book

I enjoyed this romance set in a garden. Realizing that she cannot pay the bills, Vanessa Jacobs and her daughter decide to sell half of their house. Along comes Laurence, who buys the other half of the house. He is looking for a place to get away from the city and start over. His father (who is mourning his wife's death) also moves into the house with him.. All the characters in this story have suffered some kind of lose in their lives. As their lives intersect, they start to heal from their loses and move forward with their lives. This is a romance, but it is also a journey about what happens in life. Also, I enjoyed the beautiful garden setting. Read it! You won't be disappointed!

This book was so beautifully written that it drew me into its pages and had me lost in the garden descriptions so well that I could imagine that I had actually visted Orley Court and met everyone who lived and worked there. You could picture perfectly every flower that was planted and the walled vegetable garden. I loved this description

" There was something very special about the countryside at dusk; it seemed to be breathing out, relaxing into itself after a long day."

I totally felt as though I'd spent glorious days wandering around the gardens and was sitting at a bench at the end of the day just reflecting on the blissful day.

I loved the characters - Vanessa lives at Orley court with her dragon of a mother in law and her two daughters. Both are very arty girls- one loves painting and the other had a spell as the latest singing sensation. When Vanessa is made to realise that they need to sell part of the house to ensure it stays in their family, some very hard decisions have to be faced. Her mother in law particularly takes it badly as it didn't happen under her 'reign' as lady of the manor.

The romance throughout the book is very sweet although you are wondering exactly what secrets are going to be revealed at some point. I loved the youth offender group working in the garden and the fact that there are wonderful people in this world who try to help those who may have made a bad decision at some point and help them to let their future not be blighted by the past.

The friendships between unlikely characters is heartwarming and adds extra dimension to them. I think my favourite was between Jassy and Marcus. I found her fascinating because she is on the autistic spectrum and some of the things she says are so believable- as they say it as they see it! I could imagine my daughter coming out with some of her phrases. I could also imagine her art studio in the oast house as if I was sitting with her- I wanted to look through the canvases.

My favourite flowers are white roses- so I also particularly loved this description " White flowers are magical at night aren't they?" Jonathan said."It's like they've captured the essence of the moon in their petals and are shining it back at the heavens". White roses will always make me think of this phrase from now on.

Connelly only had to whisper the words “Orley Court” to have me hooked. Anything to do with old English manor houses, courts, castles, is already a must-read on my list. This novel is every bit promising as the synopsis sounds. Connelly is an exceptional writer who has a power with words that very few authors seem to possess these days.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author so I can’t compare it to her previous works. However, Connelley’s sensational ability to intertwine characters and plots to deliver what stories are really about is rare and astounding. The characters’ backgrounds were so varied which made the novel so much more interesting, displaying the power of the author’s imagination.

The only thing about this novel was in the middle and towards the end when some of the writing seemed rushed. Dialogue was sometimes emotionless bar the odd bit of punctuation, and there were passages with detail so little that I, as a reader, couldn’t quite envisage what the author wanted me to. But the worst of the poorly-written parts are still better than many of the better-written parts in other novels, and this is what really stood out in the book for me.

I would definitely recommend this novel to anyone who’s interested in the mysterious workings of the world and how sometimes stars align, people meet in all the right places, and the world could be ending but everything just works out.

Loved this totally wonderful calming book. It was the perfect read for de-stressing your day