The community at Love Heart Lane welcomes you back in this feelgood story. It is lovely to meet up with the characters again and to find out more about Isla and Drew's life. It takes time to get to the reason behind their arguments and along the way there are some obstacles to overcome. Behind the story you realise that there are some serious issues to deal with. The story may have a cosy feel but some parts of life are difficult and can't be avoided.

There are also some humorous touches throughout the story. The characters are all well drawn and relatable and you get to see how the generations relate to each other. Isla's relationship with her grandmother may have its ups and downs but you get a real sense of family and belonging as well.

A story to delight the reader.
Thanks to the author for a copy of the book.

The second book in this series, but it doesn't matter if you haven't read the first.

Isla and Drew are married with 2 young children. They are starting to argue, and Isla knows Drew is unhappy but he won't talk about why. A series of events lead to them almost losing the farm - can Isla save the farma nd her marriage?

A good read in a great setting

A great novel, beautiful depiction of the characters with some tense moments thrown into the mix. Will definitely pick more books by this talented author.

First of all I want a baby alpaca! Such a heartwarming and heartbreaking story A real and raw look at marriage. I am such a sucker for a small town story especially when it’s set in the UK! This is the second book in the Love Heart Lane series and it was absolutely full of heart! Christie Barlow has a way of making her characters pop off the pages. She completely draws you in with her words and won’t let you go until the final page of the book. By the end of the book I felt as though I was friends with these characters and had visited this small charming Scottish village. This book can be read as a standalone, but why would you deprive yourself of the first book?

Isla and Drew have the perfect life, a strong marriage, beautiful children, a lovely home... or do they? Isla is starting to feel overworked and under appreciated by husband Drew. Isla is lonely and struggling with the long days alone taking care of baby and the distance between Drew and her. When she realizes that Drew has been keeping things from her how will she regroup and begin to rebuild her marriage? This book Addressed some pretty serious issues and did it with a gentle and loving hand. It was refreshing to read a book about a real couple facing real problems. Also love the sense of community in the story, so many amazing characters banning together to help out each other. A truly lovely story, the perfect addition to your summer reading!

*** Big thanks to Harper Impulse for my copy of this book ***

I hadn't read a Christie Barlow title before, but I've already bought the first title in this series and can't wait to catch up with the others. Although there are many positive events in this book to enjoy it was also moving to find the message regarding mental health, in particular men's mental health that it's okay to not be okay weaved into the story. It was also intriguing having a little bit of mystery to follow as well. This is a title with much to offer and definitely should be added to your TBR pile.

Six months ago, I discovered Love Heart Lane in the village of Heartcross, a lovely Scottish village which had been at the centre of Christie Barlow's first novel in what is turning out to be a series. Back with familiar faces and the spectacular scenery of the highlands meant I knew was going to be in for a treat. 

I first got to know Isla in the last book and we were all there when cut off from the mainland due to the weather, Isla gives birth with her husband by her side. 

However it has not been plain sailing, for Isla since we last met. She feels lonely, her husband Drew is working all the hours on their farm and he seems to be sniping at every opportunity. The strong bond they had seems to be weakening and Isla cannot understand why and Drew will not talk to her. 

When the unpredictable weather strikes again at Foxglove Farm all of Isla and Drew's problems are suddenly in the foremost of the whole communities mind. Like every good community they all pull together and help, with the milking, the lambing and bringing the dreams of Isla to fruition as well as getting Drew, literally back on his feet. 

Throw into the mix some alpacas, handsome strangers, criminals and a few old campervans and all of a sudden you have a story that you have to stay with come what may. There are some funny moments that made me chuckle and some beautiful heart rendering ones which made my heart break and sing in equal measure. 

Such is the quality of the plotting and the writing that you can be swept away to this little village in the highlands and know that you could fit right in. 

Not afraid to tackle some real issues and also to move away from a new romance, a common feature in women's fiction, the author focuses very much on the romance that is in all good relationships this book is for anyone who wants to perhaps some more substantial than light and fluffy. 

I am excited to learn that there will be another trip back to Heartcross but I am also jealous of anyone who has yet to read this book and the first, you have such a treat awaiting you.

I think I forgot between reading the blurb and starting this book that it wasn’t about Polly. Actually, now that I think about it, I’m not 100% sure I did read the blurb… I may have just seen it was the sequel to Love Heart Lane and jumped on board.

After the initial shock and “damn I’ve been jibbed” feeling upon discovering that our couple for this book was in fact the married Isla and Drew. I jumped into reading to see what could be in store for them. And I can tell you it was quite an adventure!

I smashed this book out in about a day sitting by the fire while my partner finished his book. When he finished his book and wanted to put Netflix on I was like “ahhh… how’s about you put something on that you wanna watch so I can keep reading?” How sociable am I? For a Saturday night you’d think I’d put in more effort than that!

But no! Foxglove Farm was more important. Isla and Drew seemed to get hit with problem after problem and it was tearing their relationship apart. So much so that I was starting to wonder how this could possibly be a romance given the genre typically means a HEA is a requisite.

I mean, the only romances that haven’t ended with a HEA are ones where it’s one in a series following those two characters. I’ve never seen it with a stand alone or in a series where you swap characters every book.

By the time I got to the end of the book in bed on the Sunday morning (yea the partner slept through another like 2 hours of me reading) I felt emotionally relieved for Isla and Drew that their story was over. I mean WOW! Kudo’s for them for getting through all that given how societal “norms” almost broke up their marriage.

I loved the fact that Isla stuck by him even when she hated him because she knew him well enough to know more was going on. And I loved how blatantly Christie puts these issues out there. Mens health is something that’s definitely not talked about much (especially among the men I know) but it’s so important. I’m not sure about your own countries, but I know in Australia suicide is the leading cause of male death between the ages of 15 and 44.

That to me is a sobering fact and one we should all be working to fix by normalising talking about your emotions and everything that’s weighing down on you. I hope over time more writers will include this in ways that works towards normalising it. And I hope we all do our part to help normalise it for the men in our lives.

I’m sorry to end on a sad note but I really liked and appreciated Christie throwing this in and talking about. Even if she didn’t mean to make a statement it resonated with me.

Wow what a lovely read, the Scottish highlands, foxglove farm, alpacas and vintage camping what more could you want?
Isla and Drew from foxglove farm are experiencing difficulties financially and emotionally and life is a constant daily struggle, this book tackles many subjects and it is good that male mental health is highlighted and in a positive way. When things seem really bleak following a barn fire, near death experience and financial ruin, Isla with the help of the close knit family and local community manages to reverse their fortunes to bring about a lovely happy ending! A real feel good comforting read that you don’t want to end.
Thank you so much net galley for this copy to read and enjoy xxx

By Christie Barlow

Another great preview read from NetGalley. Thank you to HarperImpulse for allowing me the pleasure to read this.
First off, what a cover! I love a great cover that catches your eye and this certainly does. It belongs up on the romance shelf and it's only a month or so until it's published so not long to wait BookLovers.
Well, what a story. I loved every moment. Christie kept me swept up in Isla's emotions the whole way through. Isla and Drew own Foxglove Farm, inherited from Drew's father and keeps them both very busy indeed. They have two children, Finn and a fresh three month old, Angus who Isla looks after full time. We are thrown into the story with an argument between Isla and Drew and it looks like their marriage is on the rocks. I feel for Isla, especially being in a similar position to her myself and wanted to envelop her into a massive cuddle, just like her friends do. Barlow takes us through life on the farm and the issues between Isla and Drew. Something is going on, although it takes a fire which hospitalises Drew and his work hand Fergus, to bring everything to a head. And boy does it! So exciting. The fire scene was exhilarating. Loved every moment. And the ending was heart warming and made me beam. I loved that the romance here was a rekindling between a husband and a wife and not a fresh new romance. It proves love does last forever when you have found the right one.
We also get side stories with lots of other characters in HeartCross. Isla's grandmother turns up and she is a character and a half. Young at heart and full of cheekiness I love her! I wish I had a Gran like her!
Also Felicity and Rona, who own the Teashop, have a side story of their own. I would love to read more about them.
Cleverly weaved together into a heart-warming soul-hugging read I can't wait for the next one to come out and to visit the HeartCross community again.
Thanks again Booklovers. Let me know what you think of it too x

This book concentrates on Isla and Drew who live with their young sons on their idyllic farm in the Scottish countryside. However, all is not well on Foxglove Farm. Isla feels that Drew is hiding something from her. He’s unusually snappy and tired, and she’s determined to find out why. With Drew’s birthday approaching, Isla decides to take a huge leap of faith and give Drew a present he will never forget! Will he like his unique and quirky present or has Isla made a massive mistake?

Isla is far from alone with her troubles, she has a supportive group of friends, some of which we have already met in Love Heart Lane, and her grandma unexpectedly turns up, back from her travels. Martha is an eccentric pensioner with a massive heart and she adds some lovely comedy moments with her complicated love life and vibrant energy.

I think the message (without giving spoilers) of this story is that “it’s ok not to be ok” but people need to talk to their partners for relationships to succeed. Men especially need to express how they’re feeling because you never know what’s around the corner.

This is an uplifting, engaging read, it has some serious subject matter teamed with delightful characters and a great plot. I honestly found it hard to put down and highly recommend Foxglove Farm to anyone who loves a heartwarming read.

I'm so sorry, I'm afraid I disliked this from the start. The row at the beginning was upsetting, the characters both seemed to me to be selfish and unlikeable. As I read on I became less and less engaged with what was happening. Perhaps my fault as I had expected a jolly, light read going by the cover and the title.

I didn't care enough about what happened to these characters to finish the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

To the outside world Isla and Drew Allaway have the perfect life; a happy marriage, two wonderful children and a thriving business, but Isla knows something has changed. Her once passive, loving husband has become distant and prone to flying off the handle when asked even the simplest of questions. As a result, the communication between the pair has become practically non-existent leaving poor Isla with a whole host of scenarios dancing across her mind as to why her husband has morphed into someone she no longer recognises. 

Struggling to understand where things have gone wrong Isla has to draw on her inner strength to try and hold her family together, that is until a tragic accident reveals the truth behind Drew’s behaviour. At her lowest ebb Isla needs the help of her nearest and dearest to avert potential ruin and salvage not only her relationship but her whole livelihood. 

I have been so excited to immerse myself again in the Heartcross community and discover more about its inhabitants and this latest book certainly delivered everything I wanted and more! Whilst the focus of this book is on the Allaway family I really enjoyed the updates about the characters I fell in love with in Love Heart Lane which are littered throughout. Having said that Foxglove Farm also works as a standalone novel as lots of historical events are recapped sufficiently so you aren’t left with lots of questions or blanks to fill in. 

Christie Barlow has an amazing talent for creating relatable characters that display their human flaws for all to see which is so refreshing as I personally get bored of reading about ‘perfect’ lives, let’s face it it’s just not realistic. I love how in this book Barlow has taken the somewhat taboo subject of male mental health and chosen to put it in the spotlight, highlighting the realities and struggles sufferers face, which she has executed in such a wonderfully sensitive way.

 I’ve read plenty of books with female protagonists who struggle with mental health issues, but this is the first one I’ve found that focuses on offering the male perspective and it’s definitely something I think we need to see more of in the book community as these kinds of problems do not discriminate in any way and everyone is vulnerable. 

Foxglove Farm leaves you with an uplifting, feel-good factor as you close its final page thanks to the wonderful community spirit and pulling together during hard times by the residents of the small village of Heartcross. However, this story isn’t all light-hearted and in fact deals with some serious, pertinent issues too which is something Barlow does superbly well, combining the highs and lows to create a real page-turning read. 

I absolutely loved this book and read it in only a day as I was unable to put it down! I’ve been reliably informed that this isn’t going to be the last offering from Heartcross with the next book Clover Cottage already in the pipeline. With such a wonderful cast to characters I’m sure there will be many more opportunities to jump back into the Highlands life and discover more about both familiar and new faces along the way. I certainly can’t wait to see what happens next and I’d highly recommend the Heartcross Series if you are looking for something new to read.

It’s great to be back with book two of the Love Heart Lane series, this time focusing on Isla and Drew. It reads perfectly well as a standalone, but I really do recommend you read the first one, I mean why miss out!

With certain authors, I read their books without checking out the blurb. I feel if I’ve loved one of their books I should generally love them all and Ms Barlow is one of them. Even when I started Foxglove Farm, I had no clue what it was about and from the opening pages I was hooked and well I did not expect that start! I had to quickly re-read my review for the Love Heart Lane and it refreshed my memory of who was who and it was great to see old faces again! Plus the introduction to new faces was fabulous, although not all were good faces to have!

With an intense start to the book, in which you felt like you were intruding on a private moment with Isla and Drew, we follow them as they literally hit rock bottom. Watching them struggle and rebuild was hard but it just goes to show how far a bit of communication can go in a relationship and a marriage! It was really quite refreshing to show marriage in this realistic light, two people lost their way and need to work their way back to each other.

The village is its own little character with its natural disasters! However, the comradery of the villagers is enough to bring you to your knees. The way everyone rallies around to support Isla and Drew made me stop in awe. Nothing was too much and everyone pulled their weight willingly without any grumbles! I want to live there!!

I was told (by Rachel) I would be in for a treat with this book and she was right. It is so easy to get lost in Ms Barlow writing, as she writes as if you were having a cup of tea in the cafe and catching up. It flows so easily and you feel like you are right there with the community. I must admit I love the village and I love the idea of living somewhere where everyone knows everyone. It’s quaint and it’s friendly, welcoming and rather endearing! They support each other through hardships and celebrate the good times.

Love Heart Lane and the author are new to me, yet I quickly embraced this close-knit Highlands community with a delightful bunch of locals adding support and quirky diversions to the narrative.

Isla and Drew Allaway own and run Foxglove Farm where they live with their young sons. Both are busy with responsibilities and as a consequence has forgotten to devote time for themselves. When it becomes obvious something is wrong, neither seem capable of communicating. With each bad-tempered exchange, the rift widens within their marriage causing their relationship to deteriorate further. Can they find a way to turn things around?

For a change, I enjoyed reading about an already established couple who love each other but somehow have lost the spark which ignited their relationship in the first place. I'm sure many readers will identify with Isla and Drew and the issues they have. While the narrative focuses on problems any couple can face, the turning point wasn't. After a catalogue of errors, luckily, things start to get back on track again-hurray!

The protagonists are both relatable and likeable, so much so, you want to knock their heads together to make them see sense, at least in the beginning. Both have their flaws exposing themselves to potentially life-changing consequences. However, in the end, things turn around and work themselves out leading to a happily-ever-after for them both. Of course, there's plenty of neighbourly help and support from a warm and friendly group of friends and acquaintances. An honourable mention goes to the eccentric and generous Martha Gray...she's a ray of sunshine.

The overall atmosphere of the narrative is positively 'feel good' even though the main plot's centred around a struggling family. I've read a few similar novels to this and Foxglove Farm definitely stands out in the crowd. The author has written a lovely flowing narrative with plenty of things happening but not in an overwhelming way.

***arc generously received courtesy of HarperImpulse via NetGalley***

Foxglove Farm by Christie Barlow

Foxglove Farm is the second in Christie Barlow’s new HeartCross series, with the first one being LoveHeart Lane.

This book was just lovely from start to finish. Isla and Drew have been happily married and have two adorable sons. However Drew is not acting himself and this pushes a wedge between them.

When Isla’s granny Martha turns up it puts even more pressure on Isla as she realises she will have to let her move in with them.

Drew’s behaviour is very worrying and raises the subject of men’s mental health. All too often men are told to man up and get on with it but sometimes they need a little help to get through certain worries.

This story emphasises how things can go from bad to worse because sometimes men are reluctant to talk about what’s worrying them. I think this was done very sensitively and showed how both parties can become isolated from each other which can cause relationships to break down.

I thoroughly enjoyed my return to HeartCross and could imagine the beautiful view of HeartCross mountain from Foxglove Farm. I also enjoyed the community spirit as everyone rallied round after a disaster.

I loved the underlying story of dodgy characters and criminal activities, I don’t want to say too much about that though as it will reveal the plot but I was completely immersed in the story.

I have to say my heart was stolen by a herd of Alpaca’s that I completely fell in love with, especially a little one called Mop.

This was such an original story that drew me in, hugged me tight and refused to let me go. I loved it and am now looking forward to the next one in the series so I can drop back into HeartCross and see how everybody is getting on.

Once again I was taken in by the cover. As I have been reading a lot the past couple of days, I thought I would slow down with a light and happy story about a farm and its inhabitants. This had a lot more conflict and stumbling blocks thrown into this than expected and was not exactly the light read I was imagining it to be. That may be the only reason I rated it lower than anyone else reading it would.

Isla wakes up one day to find out her life is not as rosy as it seemed, she is a stay-at-home mom to two boys, one still in the gurgling stage. She has a close-knit set of friends who are all interdependent in terms of staying afloat financially as well as mentally. On a single day, a lot of things go wrong, there is a question about alpacas, a storm and bills (a lot of them) as well as a surprise guest (or two). Isla and her family try to talk and work together and beat the odds. It contains a lot of detail in terms of the struggle that they go through.  There is a mystery as well, parts of which I guessed and others that surprised me. More than the mystery it showcased the daily struggles of anyone in the farming industry and how easy it is to go into losses and be afraid for their daily ways of living. It is an encouraging and overall positive read and something which shows the light at the end of any struggle. 

I would recommend this to readers of this genre and who like stories about people and their friends.

This is book 2 in the Love Heart Lane series but don’t worry as it’s a completely different set of characters who are spotlighted in Foxglove Farm, although we do catch up with some old favourites so don’t worry if you wanted to know how some of them are getting on. I actually enjoyed this even better than the first book as I thought the plot worked well with a few little twists and turns that I hadn’t been expecting! I do like to be kept on my toes!

Isla and Drew run his family farm together along with their two young sons. But Isla is worried that her previously loving and caring husband is keeping secrets from her. He is moody and reticent which is affecting their happy family time home. When Isla tries to do something special for her husbands birthday, it sets off a series of incidents that she could never have expected and that may lead to some serious life changing events.

I loved meeting more of the Love Heart Lane characters in more detail here. I loved Isla especially and the way in which she worked hard at both her marriage and life on the farm. The sense of community between all of the characters shone through above everything else and I felt such a huge part of their lives. This was often down to the brilliantly described settings within the village which created a location that I was able to picture perfectly in my head. So I’m highly recommending a visit to Foxglove Farm for all fans of romantic comedy! It’s fun, heartwarming and as close to coming home as you can get without actually being there!

So much good stuff to love about this book. From being to end it is a marvelous story. You will love every second of reading it.

Isla doesn't know what's wrong with Drew. Her husband has always been a steady hand, especially on their farm, but now they've got a new baby and he's gone off somehow. Turns out there's financial problems and there have been for a while. That propels Isla into action. This is a lovely book about the power of pulling together. It's nice to be back in Heartcross and to see Flick and Fergus again (don't worry if you didn't read the first book, this is fine as a standalone) even if it's only for a bit. Thanks to net galley for the ARC. A good read and I'm curious if Barlow plans more in this series!

Loved this book. Great characters, easy read, uplifting, funny, romantic and charming. A really nice story that is the perfect sumer read.