I absolutely loved this whimsical, romantic novel about how powerful daydreaming can be for healing and moving on. Lucy writes from the heart which is such an admirably quality.

Thanks to Aria &Aries fiction and NetGalley for a copy of this fabulous novel in return for an honest review.

💕The use of imagination and playfulness in this book is what makes it so wonderful. Capturing our inner childishness, the author has thrown off any thought of what is expected of an adult and encouraged the dreamers to be released. The story is described as 'whimsical' and that is a perfect word to use.
The tale follows the life of a family who were torn apart by a tragic event. It uncovers the reason behind it's main character's need to run from the real world. Florence is considered 'different' and finds it hard to fit in, but she still believes in magic and hopes that one day, she will find somewhere to belong. When she trusts her Nanna's advice and takes a trip back in time, she meets Jo. Can he help her to overcome her shyness and bloom?
Jo and Florence are unique, book-loving adventurers who find their happiness in daydreams and escapism. Who amongst us hasn't wanted to return to our carefree childhood adventures, fighting sea monsters and slaying dragons or imagine ourselves as Princesses and Princes, Pirates and Wizards? This book allows all of those dreams to come true.
This book is different from the author's other stories, but nonetheless wonderful. I love that Lucy has reached out and done something different with her writing. It's perfect and an absolute joy to read, which makes it worthy of a 5⭐️review.

What an absolute smasher of a summer read! Take all the nostalgia of a perfect childhood summer holiday, add a couple of unique and quirky characters, a pinch of tension, a handful of literary references, lashings of potential and you have a shimmering cocktail of delight.
What I truly loved most about The Little Barn Of Dreams was how Florence is not your typical leading lady, she's clumsy, bookish, introverted, sensitive and gets lost in elaborate daydreaming, yet her defences are high and she carries a lot of trauma; this made her captivating and so interesting to read, to see what lies beneath the surface and what could make a difference to help her find her happiness again.
The psychotherapy link between trauma and the lasting impact on our interactions with the world and daydreaming was a really good hook and I think for anyone who spent time, as a child or adult, living in a dream world or with a. cast of imaginary characters as comfort, this is a book that speaks to that inner child; encouraging us all to be that little bit kinder, be your true self and nurture creative self-expression.
I don't want to give too much away but there is a café featured in this book that is my absolute dream of a place and I adored the characters that work here, I'm hoping they will have their own story coming at some point as there's certainly a lot there to explore.
An all-round adorable read to enjoy right as we need a little bit of escapism & hope!!

Another gorgeous book by this incredible author. Lucy writes the most heartwarming stories and I always look forward to reading new books by her

Took me a few chapters to get into this book, as it seemed to have a slow start but then I couldn't put it down.

There's quirky, and then there's just plain weird! The main character, Florence is definitely quirky, but the story, for me, just became a bit too strange and odd. Sorry to say that I did not enjoy this book.

The Little Barn of Dreams - Lucy Knott

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Aria & Aries and I am leaving this review voluntarily

Can two dreamers find love in the real world?

When quirky bookworm Florence Danver loses her job, she knows it's time to make some serious changes. Nanna Margot encourages Flo to spend a week at Camp Calla Lily, where she hasn't been since she lost her parents. Her return is filled with bittersweet memories... until she meets Jo Hadlee.

Soon enough, Flo and fellow dreamer Jo are inseparable as they connect over books and build castles in the air. But when Jo leaves suddenly for his job in London, the fantasy bubble bursts and real-life comes roaring back in.

For Florence to turn her fairy-tale summer into a happily-ever-after, she'll have to dive head-first into real life and all its chaos.

I found this to be a very enjoyable read and read the majority of the book in one sitting. As a book blogger, I totally connected with Florence, the bookworm who can quite happily get lost in a book.

This is the first book I have read by Lucy, but it left me with a warm and cosy feeling so she is definitely an author I will be on the look out for future releases. A quick and easy read that I would definitely recommend for an escape from reality.

Rating 4/5

I think this book is a bit like marmite you either love it or not. For me the day dreaming storytelling was annoying it did nothing to enhance the actual story of Florence and Jo just pages to skip. I did feel empathy towards Florence for everything she had been through and wanted her to find happiness but don't think that was enough to keep me really happy enthralled in the book.

Unfortunately, this book just wasn’t for me. While I thought the premise was interesting, I had a lot of issues with the way the main character was treated, and honestly found myself wanting to put this book down and not pick it back up. My personality is very similar to Florence’s, and I feel like it was seen as ‘less than,’ especially by her best friend. I honestly couldn’t stand Olivia, right from the beginning of the book I thought she was a terrible friend to Florence and it really took away from my enjoyment.

I can absolutely understand why this book would be a great fit for others, since everyone has their own preferences about characters. But this one just didn’t work for me.

Thank you to Aria & Aries, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

“Perfect for book-lovers everywhere”.
Florence, who always loves to read works in a company, but doesn’t really like what she does. She loses that position and now, she has to make some changes. Find something that she loves to do.

Her Nanna, Margot, tries to persuade her to spend a week at Camp Calla Lily. But Florence hasn’t been there since her parents were taken away from her.

But she goes, and upon arrival, she’s filled with memories, happy ones and sad ones. Then she meets Jo.

Pretty much straight away, they are both together all the time as they share a love of books 📚.

Suddenly Jo’s gone back to London and the happy bubble that they existed in has burst, for Florence it’s time to ho back to the real world, find a job and look after her Nanna.

Florence, is wishing that her summer, which was like a fairy-tale was or could be her happily-ever-after. But for that to happen, she’ll need to enter the chaos in her real-life……..

Another enjoyable read from Lucy.

Recommend it,

I won't lie i didn't like this book, it was really hard to folkow and the main character was annoying i never finished

Wow wow wow. At first I was not sure but then bang it just took me away. Read in less than 24 hours. One of those books that you were thinking about when you were not reading it. The main characters Florence and Jo were lovely.. Gosh you felt for Florence. I loved how books helped her escape. I loved the camp and Florences grandmother. An amazing read. A story of trust, love and faith. Absolutely brilliant. Read it

Thank you NetGalley, Aria & Aries and Author for this advanced book copy!

An odd bookworm Florence loses her job she decides enough is enough!
when a.sweet lady named Nanna tells Flo she should.go and spend some time at Camp Calla Lily. But only one
Little issue with that is she hasn't been back there since she lost her parents
When she returns her emotions are all over the place until she meets Jo.
They become close and connect instantly but when Jo leaves suddenly for a job in London Flo's life come to halt and she's is devastated!
Will Flo be able to find her happy ever after!?.

I just loved The Little Barn of Dreams it was so full of life, I found myself smiling like alot throughout this story!
This book makes you feel all warm and cozy. Loved it from start to finish in fact I finished it in one sitting!
Great character development! The characters were simply amazing! Loved them all!
Overall this was a quick, cute fun read!