3.7 Stars
One Liner: Needs patience in the first quarter

Firstly, my thanks to a Goodreads author-cum-reviewer friend (Sally) whose review prepared me to give the FMC some leeway. It helped a lot since the book is from the heroine’s first-person POV, and she is annoying until we know why.
I wish the reason was revealed sooner at least to the readers. While there are some subtle hints, none of them lead to a concrete presumption.
I won’t call this romance though it does have some elements. This is more of women’s fiction with a focus on the characters learning to be something beyond their pasts. The past takes a long time to be revealed and then we wait more for them to start to move on, so the love story as much occurs only in the last quarter. (closed door/ fade out)
I enjoyed the little random snippets from different timelines (though these seem like they don’t impact the plot, there’s a reason for their presence). Halfway through, I noticed the pattern and realized that the truth is something else (this is revealed towards the end). As someone who likes folklore and understands the importance of preserving the oral stories from the past, I know why it matters.
Even when I disliked the FMC’s attitude, I empathized with her determination to not let the past be wiped out. We already lost so much (and much of it has been misappropriated by invaders who went on multiple conversion sprees). We cannot afford to lose more.
For a short book, the repeated arguments about the Fairy Stane got a bit boring. I can see both their points and agree to an extent with Rowan. But the way she handled it didn’t make it easy to side with her.
The MMC is easy to like almost throughout. I find his backstory quite interesting. Not something we often see in this genre, so it does feel refreshing. I also like how it’s tackled with sensitivity.
I was quite surprised by the repeated mention of the MMC’s Catholic upbringing. Somehow, many elements were woven with this piece of information, so it ended okay.

To summarize, The Start of the Story is a book about second chances, moving on, acceptance, and the importance of protecting our ancient stories. It’s not a heavy read but not super light either.
Thank you, NetGalley and Boldwood Books, for eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
*******
Links to be updated after the tour.

The Start of a Story, the lead characters are Folklorist and Historian. This is the kind of story - a little whimsy, a lot of passion in its characters is what made me love the author's writing. It reminded me of her earlier books and I absolutely loved reading it.

Rowan is a folklorist. Connor is a visiting historian at the University of York. They come to blows over their perceptions of a site on the moors. But somehow Rowan offers Connor her spare room for six months. She is coming to terms with losing her husband and he with a bad break-up. Gradually they develop an understanding of each other - and a realisation that their historical perceptions are both wrong.

Rowan, whose doctorate specialises in the study of folklore, lives in a remote cottage that she and her late husband restored. In particular she is studying a stone which is said to cover the entrance to Fairy land, but this is then put at risk by an Irish professor who is looking for a lost roman settlement.
The location sounds wonderful but bleak, and very lonely for a grieving young widow. Her study of folklore sounds fascinating and different to the archeology that study of the past brings to mind. Connor, the Irish history professor, is a complex character also grieving the end of a relationship. There also flashbacks to the past that gradually make sense as the story develops. The romance side is a very small part of the story, with the more professional interplay between the main characters taking centre stage. With a twist at the end that I didn't see coming this is a gentle book that I did really enjoy.
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley, however this did not influence my review of the book.

I thought this was an interesting book and it moved at the perfect pace for the characters. Rowan has a PhD in folklore. She enjoys working in her tiny office with only one assistant. She lives in remote isolation in a restored cottage that she and her late husband had lovingly restored. She has put up barriers to ensure her isolation. Her special place is a stone where folklore says fairies and other little people lived underneath. It's within walking distance of her home

Connor is a visiting professor who is looking to determine if there had been a local Roman outpost. He's on a temporary 6 month assignment. He's focused on wanting to lift that special stone to see if it has any indication of Roman occupation. We find out that he's in North Yorkshire for a totally unrelated reason.

When Connor can't find housing, Rowan's assistant suggests that Rowan offer him lodging until he can find other accommodations. Rowan isn't pleased at all, but can't come up with a good excuse. She's snarky, nasty, and difficult with Connor, but he keeps his good humor and good manners.

Their attraction is slow to develop and I would almost say this isn't a romance, but instead a story of growing, learning, accepting, and leaving the past behind.

I truly enjoyed this book. I would give it 4.5 stars if I could.

NetGalley gave me a copy of this book to read and review and I am so grateful. This book is about grief with death and grief with loss of relationships. Rowan has lost herself after the death of her husband and being pushed into having a lodger was her worst nightmare. Connor has come to the moors to research a stane but also to run away from Ireland after a failed relationship. The communication in this book was lovely and a relationship forming with full respect of the past was beautiful to read. Roman and Connor deserved a happy ending 💜

There is something quitely beautiful about this book. The beauty isn’t obvious as I started reading and somehow it snuck up on me and I sighed in pleasure as I got to the end and the truth was explored. Rowan is a bit ornery, a bit awkward and is a young widow. Connor is bright and engaging and has just had his own heart broken. The two don’t get on and fight over the Fairy stone out on the moors. There is a great learning about folklore and fairies which goes alongside the slow romance and the healing that happens as the tale progresses.

Cozy, sweet story about second chances and letting go of the past. Rowan is a young widow who studies folklore and lives in a small cottage on the moors. She is interested in a "fairy stane" which is a stone that is supposed to be covering the entrance to a fairy world. One day a handsome historian from Ireland named Connor shows up and has an interest in raising the stone to look for a clue to an ancient Roman village. Rowan is angry and becomes even angrier when it turns out Connor has no where to stay and she has to offer him a room in her small cottage. We also get scenes from the past where we find out many people have visited the fairy stone and left flowers or trinkets behind. The romance is a slow burn one and nothing much happens until a cold, snowy Christmas when Rowan and Connor are forced together and secrets from the past are shared.

I loved the cottage setting at Christmas with the evergreen boughs and roaring fire. I also really enjoyed the scenes of the different people who lived near the stone over the years and the ultimate reveal about the stones' purpose. I did find Rowan to seem like she was a lot older than she was and she came across like a cranky old lady much of the time. I would have liked a bit more about why Connor was attracted to Rowan since she didn't care about her appearance and was rude to everyone and appeared to have no interests besides work. Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for a copy of this ARC for review.

I take it as a sign of a good book when you have strong feelings about a main character.

I am fascinated by history and folklore so the romance mixed with the discoveries of stories and history was the perfect read for me.

The characters were well developed and interesting. Heroines like Rowan always make me so annoyed but I think it’s because I’m a chronic people pleaser. A great story I would recommend!

Beautiful slow burn romance that focuses on the heroine, Rowan, as she finds love again after the death of her husband. The forced proximity with Connor allowed them both to heal and gradually find a new life. Beautiful.

I realöy love books with a dual timeline so this book was just what i like. It was heartwarming and I couldn’t stop reading it an one point. I just wanted ro listen to all the stories and secrets

Looking for the perfect romance novel? Check out The Start of the Story by Jane Lovering. I loved it!

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this arc!

What a cute book. I really enjoyed it. This was my first by this author and will not be my last. Great writing style! A fun and easy read.

Enjoyed this book. One minute I was
Crying the next laughing! Thank you for early read.Net Galley. Will be recommending

A great book for love/hate relationships, romance and humour. The storyline and engaging characters kept me turning the pages from start to finish. A brilliant enjoyable read.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review.

Rowan, an English folklorist grieving her husband's death, avoids new relationships by focusing solely on work. Her life changes when Connor, a historian with his own past hurts, arrives to research a folkloric site, challenging Rowan's comfort zone. When a snowstorm traps them together in a cottage, they share stories and slowly begin to heal.

Jane Lovering's novel masterfully balances humor with the deep themes of grief and healing. Rowan's complexity and Connor's gentle patience create a touching dynamic as they help each other move forward. The story's dual timeframes add mystery, while the slow-building romance is both sweet and heartfelt. This is a beautifully written tale of loss, remembrance, and new beginnings.

The Start Of The Story by Jane Lovering, The story is a Romance it starts with Dr. Rowan Stone and Professor Collin O’Keefe who is visiting Britain on a six month dig from Ireland. Dr. Stone is a folk loreist and Professor O’Keefe is a historian. He wants to prove Romans visited and built a city in Yorkshire but there is a fairy stain in the spot where he wants to dig and this is why he comes to visit Dr. stone. They immediately get off on the wrong foot things only get worse or better… When he is forced to stay with her as to a lack of accommodations in the little town. They both have passed hurts, hers is the loss of her beloved husband and his is being left by the woman he thought he loved. The longer they’re forced to be together of course the closer they become, but will they wind up together? This is a very very slow burn romance and I do mean slow not to mention I really got tired of hearing about her moaning the loss of her husband in so many times I thought one was going to confess mainly him their affection for the other but the author definitely makes you wait for it. I also found it weird her going to the B&B and spending the night with Asher and I get that she also suffered depression and everything involved in that storyline I just don’t think that something a normal person would do for many reasons I don’t like slow burn romances as much as I dislike Insta love because by the time they get together it feels like I am expelling a breath I didn’t know I was holding and as I said many times I thought it was going to happen and it did not. I also thought the author took the grumpy sunshine trope to the ingthe degree because they were antagonistic the whole time and I will say the book did have some very funny moments in it but they weren’t so funny that made reading this very long drawn out romance enjoyable. I shouldn’t use the word enjoyable I just wish it would’ve been much much shorter.#NetGalley, #BoldwoodBooks, #JaneLovering, #TheStartOfTheStory,

Read if you enjoy:
-academic rivals/enemies to lovers
-folklore & fairytales
-forced proximity
-cozy romance

A pretty slow paced story with heavy focus on Rowan’s grief from the loss of her husband. I loved Conner as a character and felt like his backstory was very well written.
I loved this story and the little snippets of the past with the dual timeframes we got to see. I do wish we got to see more of their lives together after they got together. I would definitely pickup a book by this author in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I had no idea what to expect from this book but I absolutely loved it and could not put it down once I started it.

Rowan is living quite a lonely single life - but she has her reasons. Her planned life has not materialised (TW of death) and she has no plans to change the way her life has gone. Until her peace is h shattered by Irish Connor entering her life - a man with a past of his own.

This book made me laugh and cry.i will be highly recommending it.

I didn’t know about this one at first. It seemed like it was going to be about an uptight English folklorist beefing with a visiting hot Irish historian over some rock that may be hiding fairies. BUT I’m so glad I stuck with this. It was a fantastic story of said folklorist and historian dealing with different types of loss and finding friendship and more. This was at times sad, but always maintaining hope and search for joy. This slow burn, closed door romance is worth the read.

Thank you Boldwood Books for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.