Advanced copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Starcross Manor is the latest book in Christine Barlow’s Love Heart Lane series. This book is centered around Julia Coleman, the local B & B owner in the village of Heartcross who once again crosses paths with Flynn, a millionaire hotel owner.

I'd not read any of the Love Heart Lane series before this and it is my first Christie Barlow novel but after reading Starcross Manor I can't wait to go back and read more stories from this picturesque village as well as this author. I really enjoyed this book, it can be difficult to start a series by the fourth book, but it was easy, I didn't feel like I was missing something. and it made me feel like I didn't have to read books one, two, and three before diving into this one. I wasn't lost and it was pretty easy to follow, I feel as if reading this one made me want to go back and read the three previous books in this series.
I loved both Julia and Flynn's characters', their banter and thoughts, when they cross each other's paths, made me want to move to a small village that has the same aesthetic and vibe of Heartcross and fall in love with the town. the way Heartcross was described made me feel as if I was there. I really appreciated the fact that Julia turns forty in this book, as heroines of older age arent always portrayed in the mainstream. As someone who reads novels where the characters are younger than thirty, this book was refreshing and it made me want to read more books with the main characters whose age may be older. This is such a sweet, funny feel-good read and Flynn turned out to be the sweetest. I was very invested in the storyline from the very beginning, and just only wish there was more of it. I would love to read more books in this series, but for now, I might just go back and enjoy the first three books.

This is a brilliant addition to this fantastic series, a delightful book which shows that sometimes even your best friends can fool you and you should always try to see things from more than one point of view!

The community of Heartcross had no idea what is planned for Starcross Manor until B&B owner, Julia Coleman meets the ex fiancé of her best friend, that man who broke off their engagement on their wedding day, breaking her heart. She doesn't trust him, especially as he ruthlessly purchased her grandfather's property for a bargain price . . . . When she finds out he's converting the old Manor into a luxury 5* hotel, she's anxious about the impact this will have on her business and that of others in the community. What she hadn't realised was just what the reaction of the members of the community would be - Flynn is in for some surprises!

This is a heartwarming read, a story where the truth is revealed, Julia and her guests are rescued, new romances blossom and there's even a fabulous birthday party as well as plenty of surprises for so many people - including Julia. The community is amazing, their support for each other practical and instant, their characters superbly portrayed. I'm really loving escaping into Heartcross and this story is no exception - I can't wait to read more about the antics, escapades, romances and community in future.

I requested and was gifted a copy of this book and this is my honest review after choosing to read it and thoroughly enjoying doing so!

Wow Christie does it again with this latest instalment in the lives of the residents and visitors!! Of the village of Heartcross. I think this one may just be my favourite so far. Whilst we catch up with the previous characters these very much take a supporting role as the book tells the story of Julia and the B&B. You could read this as a stand-alone, although I’d fully recommend reading the whole series if you haven’t, there are references to previous storylines.
Julia, the lovely owner of the B&B comes has everything going for her, she plans to extend and business is good Until a face from the past appears, one she’d rather not see or speak to. The village is normally so welcoming but when Julia finally finds out why he’s in Heartcross, the villagers come together again to fight his plans that could affect their lives and businesses. Will the villagers drive him out of their tight knit community Or will he be able to win them over with his charm.
I could have read this in one sitting if I’d had time, thank you Christie, can’t wait for the next in the series.

This is the latest book in the Heartcross series of books. It can easily be read as a standalone novel, but the other books in the series are lovely, so I would definitely recommend reading them first.
For readers who are familiar with this series, we catch up with some of the previous characters, although this book focuses on Julia from the B&B. The sudden appearance of Flynn, a foe from her past puts her plans for expansion at risk, as well as the rest of the Village Business owners.
This is such a sweet, funny feel good read. I would say that it's my favourite book so far in the series. Although all of the books in the series are wonderful,
they go from strength to strength, with each book more even more enjoyable than the previous one. There is romance, but it is slow burning and gentle.
If I have any criticism of this book, it has to be that I now have to wait a few months to read the next book. I can't wait to read it.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for my ARC.

I really love this series, and this one was a fab addition to it! Flynn and Julia were great characters, enemies at first but after a series of events, grow closer and work through the distrust they had for each other! So great to catch up with old friends and meet new ones. My only criticism would be that it felt to short, the ending was a bit abrupt

Starcross Manor by Christie Barlow is the fourth book in the Love Heart Series. It presents the story of Julia, the owner of a small town B&B, and Flynn a millionaire hotel owner.
It was my first book by Christie Barlow, and it can be tricky to start a series by the fourth book, but it was easy! I didn't feel like I was missing something. I could follow the story without feeling lost. So it was nice.
The story itself was pretty nice! I loved Julia, and Flynn turned out to be a sweetheart. I also loved the fact that Julia turns 40 in this book. Romance usually presents the story of younger people, and it was nice to see someone a bit older.
The only problem with this story, for me, was that the love story itself took a long time before happening. The fall in love in the last 15% of the book.
But otherwise, I really liked the book. It was funny and cute!

Starcross Manor is the latest in the Love Heart Lane series, it isn't essential to have read the previous books, but you will have a history of some of the characters we meet in this one. but it is well enough written to stand alone. From the first page I was back in the village of Heartcross a beautiful sounding place with a supportive close knit community and a great mix of characters. When Julia Coleman, the B&B owner, sees an unwelcome face from the past in her local pub, it brings up unhappy memories and she starts to worry what his appearance here means. An absolute must read.

My first Christy Barlow book and I'll be going back to read the rest of the series!

A lovely, easy read about fresh starts, new beginnings and moving on from the past.

Enjoyable and well written. A perfect summer read.

I loved this book, in fact it’s going on my ‘Favourites of the Year’ list.
The Love Heart Lane Series has been fabulous.
This is book 4 in the series. I also recommend reading Love Heart Lane, Foxglove Farm and Clover Cottage (which were equally fabulous!) to get the full back story of the people in the small village of Heartcross.
It can be read as a stand-alone as the focus is on different characters, but it was great to catch up with the locals of this beautiful area. When I’m reading a Christie Barlow book I feel like I’m living in the village and watching it all go on, just so immersive.
Full review to follow on publication day.

Not once so far in the brilliant series that is Love Heart Lane has Christie Barlow disappointed in any way. In fact each book just gets better and better and I can’t get enough of them. I’m gutted that I race too quickly through each story and am then left waiting many months for the next book to arrive. Starcross Manor is book number four and each book is written so it is easy to read as a stand alone but in my opinion you should start at the beginning and work your way through them just to appreciate the overall picture Christie has built up of the picturesque and close knit community in the Scottish Highlands that is Heartcross.

Every time I read one of these books I wish that the village was real and not fictional so that I could visit and meet all the characters who have become almost like friends. Each story focuses on a different character and I love how we are expanding out of the village itself into the surrounding areas so that we are really getting a flavour for all that Heartcross has to offer in terms of the wide variety of characters, the different settings and the overall ambience and warm and cosy feeling that it creates.

Julia Coleman runs the guesthouse in Heartcross and it is something that she thoroughly enjoys. She studied tourism and hospitality in college and has put her skills to good use. She thrives on providing the best experience that she possibly can for her guests and gets so much satisfaction from good reviews and seeing the happy smiling faces of everyone that stays. She managed to buy the guesthouse with the proceeds from the sale of her grandfather’s house but she feels selling his house was a decision that she was railroaded into by property developer Flynn Carter. She knows the property was worth more and it held such special memories for her but it was a cash offer which would see her dreams become a reality so she accepted.

Due to his shady business deal and the fact that he dumped her best friend right on the morning of their wedding Julia really has a thing against Flynn. So when several years later he makes an appearance in Heartcross that seems to be more than just fleeting Julia is shocked and really can’t bare to look at him nor to have any dealings with him. She hopes to avoid him at all costs with interaction if necessary, to be minimal. I could totally see where Julia was coming from in relation to her stance regarding Flynn. She had been hurt on a personal level as her grandfather’s house had meant so much to her but she was also angry on her friend’s behalf. She feels Flynn provided her with an opportunity to make something of her life but in doing so he also took advantage of her. But on the other hand I thought why is Julia holding on to such animosity. Maybe she should let the past stay in the past and perhaps Flynn is in the village for a good reason and might have a justifiable reason for his actions. Maybe a leopard can change his spots?

Heartcross itself is booming as it made headline news in recent months, the reason for this was the main story of one of the earlier books, and everyone from Julia’s guesthouse, to the pub, the tea rooms, the glamping site and farm are all doing well but news reaches the villagers that is not very pleasing. Julia in particular is really aggravated. Even though Eleni who works for her in the B&B tries to calm her down and see things from a rational view, it seems she has a bee in her bonnet, strong opinions and a history that means she refuses to let certain things happen. Why Julia feels this way is that she discovers Flynn is renovating the nearby Starcross Manor in order to turn it into a luxury hotel with all the mod cons and your every little need catered for. Not to mention the Boathouse he plans to turn into a watersports area. Julia is traumatised when she discovers the plans and rightly so. Everything she has worked so hard for and all the time and effort getting her business up and running and making sure it was successful could all be for nothing? Why would tourists want to stay with her if they could have a wonderful experience provided by Flynn?

This pressing issue forms the main plot of the book and I just love how Christie always has a dilemma/conundrum that must be dealt with. It’s always something that affects so many people within the village and their need to resolve it or fight against it shows their true community spirit, their passion and the bonds of friendship and solidarity really coming to the fore. It demonstrates the village means so much to everyone and friendship, support and community will always shine through. But has Julia gotten the wrong end of the stick? Should she have questioned further to find out finer details before she jumped the gun and had the entire village on Flynn’s back.Literally giving him the cold shoulder and trying to stop the renovations.

The minute that Julia laid eyes on Flynn again with his movie star good looks and oodles of charisma I felt the fizz of chemistry between them and this was evident in every scene that they featured in together. But I think Julia had such preconceived notions about him and what he was trying to achieve, and I could understand why given their history. Yet at the same time I felt she really walked herself into the big situation that develops by not telling the truth to the villagers. She’s not the kind of person that would want trouble to befall others so I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough to see how she was going to get herself out of trouble. If she succeeded in this, would Flynn be willing to forgive her and listen to her? To be honest I would have found it difficult considering what she did but Flynn was just the most brilliant of characters that I really just want a Flynn all for myself. Deep down he is a good egg and Julia needed some convincing to see this and the way he sets about doing this was just wonderful and so sweet.

Of course there has to be lots of drama and not just in the relationship department in this series and it comes in the form of something devastating happening to Julia. It was awful what happened to her but it provided opportunities for other avenues to open within the overall story and led to lots of surprising developments. The majority of which I was really glad to see happen. Said event also meant that the residents of Heartcross got to show their community spirit and that its never forced or all an act. They really do care for each other and will help anyone out in anyway they can in times of need and show that out of something negative will always come a positive.

Starcross Manor is just the most wonderful of reads and it’s one you’ll easily sit and read in one sitting, but be aware you’ll be gutted you did so, so try and savour it as long as possible. It’s impossible to stop reading once you start as you get so caught up in Julia’s story and just really care for her as a character and want nothing but good for her. At the same old familiar faces make an appearance and I love that this continually happens and that we get to see a different aspect to them as they are not the main character featuring but still, they are not gone and forgotten. I couldn’t recommend this book enough. The story that awaits you inside is a joy to read and the little clues as to may feature in the next book dropped in towards the end. Well they are just tantalising but thankfully Christie is not leaving us waiting too long to discover the answers as The Lake House will be published in December 2020 and in even better news there will also be another book Primrose Park to look forward to in 2021.

A really brilliant read, it has a few twists and turns that I wasn’t expecting and I am really hopefully we get a follow on so we can follow the story of starcross manor.

I would really recommend this books

Book 4 of the Love Heart Lane series.

When Julia learns that a friends ex-fiancé turns up in the village of Heartcross, Julia worries that with the take over of Starcross Manor by Flynn, he who dumped her friend on their wedding day will put her out of business. Julia rally’s the troops with some disastrous consequences! Can Flynn Carter change Julia and the villagers minds about him?

Wow brilliant! Read in one sitting! Grab a cuppa and put your feet up. A book you don’t want to miss.

Well, I started this lovely lovely book this afternoon, and finished it 5 hours later! Just was completely enthralled by it.
I have followed this series and each one is just a lovely window into the character's lives.
This one has a particularly decadent story, which is perfect for the moment and left me with a warm feeling.
So looking forward to reading the next book.

The latest instalment in the Love Heart Lane series brings newcomer and gorgeous millionaire Flynn to the village. Flynn is opening a 5 star hotel at Starcross Manor. But Julia has met him before and doesn't trust him as far as she can throw him. As disaster strikes at Julia's B&B and the villagers fear for their livelihoods when the new hotel opens, Flynn has a job on his hands winning everyone (especially Julia) over. Misunderstandings, friendship, surprises, community, romance... It's all here.

Another brilliant book by the all start author Christie Barlow. This is part of a series ( Love Herat Lane)but can you read it as a stand alone book? Yes you can. This is the fourth book in the instalment and i cannot wait for the Fifth. Each book concentrates on others friends and their relationships and if you wish the read them from the start, then i suggest you do that because there are sections that go back to previous books, such as her last book when the bridge between Heartcross and Glensheil fell down and the community came together- my favourite book!
We begin by sitting in the local village of Heartcross, sunny highlands, the sun is shining and our main girl Julia is running the villages B&B but then a newcomes arrives to open up a manor house which everone believes wou;d be a retirement home. Problems occur with this new venture because the man who is doing this renovatiopn work is only the man who dumped one of her friends on her wedding day. Julia doesnt trust this man at all and it is very cautious to him- Flynn. Before you know it, Julia and the other villagers have stopped all contractors working for Flynn and by this time theres is a catasphophy with the B&B and its fully booked, where will all the guests go?
Julia comes to an agreement with Flynn and as they start to forget the past then work forwards in helping each other with each other buisnesses and everyone else in the village, Flynn seems to have changed his ways! or has he? I am not going to give you the main body of the book because it is just brilliant, theires untrusting people, sexy man and he cant be trusted but how this plays out is simply brilliant. The story is brilliant and flows so easily like all of her books. Curl up by the fire pit in the garden and enjoy the book, i didnt take long to read this but i couldnt put it down. My attention these past 2 years have been quite poor but christie books always gets my attention and helps me... anyone is a sticky time of their life, pick up one of her books and enjoy!

Back North of the border to the village of Heartcross and to meet the residents once again. If you have read the previous three in the series you will recognise some characters, but this book is easy enough to enjoy without that prior knowledge - though I recommend reading them as they are simply fab books!

Julia Coleman is the owner of the B& B and with her colleague Eleni they provide bed and wonderful full breakfasts to hill walkers and people passing through Heartcross as it has become more popular on the tourist trail thanks to the event of the previous books; floods and celebrities.

Everything is going well for Julia and with planning permission granted to extend her B&B her business is flourishing.

That is until she bumps into Flynn Carter - a face from the past and now the owner of Starcross Manor. Julia knows he should not be trusted but there is a chemistry between them and they seem drawn to each other.

When Julia finds out that Starcross Manor is not going to be a rest home but a luxury five star hotel, all she can see is that she was right not to trust Flynn Carter and that her business along with a number in the village are going to be affected.

Flynn is not out to cause trouble but when the renovations of the manor come to a sudden stop - it seems that the village has plenty to say about his plans.

Julia horrified at what she might have done, but when her livelihood is threatened and she has to rely on Flynn Carter to bail her out, she knows that she needs to forget the past and think about the future.

And just maybe Flynn is trustworthy and shouldn't be judged on his past?

A book to devour in a couple of sittings as you are simply swept away with the loveliness of it all. Sometimes that is all you need with a book.

Knowing what you are getting with an author and story is sometimes so reassuring that it doesn't matter what they write. However, with this author what she writes is always superb and deals with some real issues with care and tact.

I am off to pack my bags to visit Heartcross and I hope you pay a visit soon.

It was so good to be back in Heartcross again. This is such a wonderful village filled which such lovely characters. Whilst the village is very idyllic, the residents aren’t feeling quite the same with the threat of a new luxury hotel threatening the local businesses.

Flynn Carter, wow what a character! I could feel myself having a fictional crush coming on. I mean, a good looking, single and rich man. What isn’t there to love about him? The more we get to know him, the more in love with him I got and oh how jealous I was of Julia.

I love the authors writing style. It instantly draws me in and I can easily visualise the area as well as Julia’s B&B and Starcross Manor. If anything I felt like I had been sucked into the pages as it was all playing out in my head and I felt like I was there with the characters, experiencing everything they were for myself.

Starcross Manor is filled with hopes, dreams, friendships and romance. It is the perfect escapism that I didn’t want to end. With each book, the story focuses on a different character so that although part of a series, all the books read great as standalone’s. The chemistry between Julia and Flynn had me totally enthralled and I so enjoyed the anticipation of whether these two would become an item or not. Of course to discover that, you will need to read it for yourself. Loved it!

I've enjoyed the other books in this series and jumped at the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley, however this did not influence my review of the book.
This time the story is around Julia, who runs the local B&B, and Flynn, who Julia knew previously with a not too good outcome. She finds out that he is developing a luxury hotel in the village, which she worries will adversely affect her and other small businesses in the village. She calls a meeting where she explains what is happening, which suits local resentment against Flynn. Can he turn this round and will they start having feelings for each other.
With a series set in one location there is the opportunity to have storylines around the different characters, so you can follow their stories as each new book comes along. I felt for Julia and the risk to her B&B, I always have trouble with alpha male as I'm definitely not one myself, but the author manages to give him redeeming features and, as usual, you hope for a positive outcome to their relationship.

Such a heartwarming book, I couldn't put it down. I have not read any of the other books in this series but it worked well as a stand alone and has made me want to look up the other books prior to this. It was also my first book by this author and certainly won't be my last! I fell in love with the little village of Heartcross and the characters in the story, especially Flynn Carter who I found to be so intriguing from the onset. I was rooting for him and Julia as the story progressed! The atmosphere between these two characters was electric and they were both so endearing The descriptive writing in the book was beautiful and I really got swept away with the glamour and extravagance of Starcross Manor. I highly recommend this book, it was a welcome bit of escapism in the current climate and was a beautiful story.

Another fantastic read from heartcross, what a magical place with wonderful characters. Each novel focuses on a different member of the community and this one was the best yet! Can’t wait to read the next instalment.
Real feel good novel with a few surprises along the way.
Highly recommended