Have I Told You Lately by Beth Moran is a heartwarming tale of self-discovery, love, and friendship set on the fictional Isle of Siskin in England. Emmie, raised by her devoted aunt after her mother’s death, embarks on a journey to uncover her identity after finding mysterious letters tied to her past. On the island, she discovers warmth and friendship with the Hawkins family and her love interest, Pip, while facing unexpected challenges and unraveling secrets about her mother’s sacrifices.

This story beautifully captures themes of women supporting women, personal growth, and the importance of community. Moran’s relatable, imperfect characters, vibrant island setting, and mouthwatering descriptions of food (including pasties) enrich the narrative. With elements of mystery, romance, and personal transformation, it’s a heartwarming and multi-layered story about embracing change and finding oneself.

Beth Moran is a must read. She masterfully weaves sliding doors-esque stories. This one revolves around Emmy, pasty girl, and Pip, hot farmer, whose lives are linked by so much more than passing moments in the airport where she works.
A great read with a charismatic bunch of characters, Flora and Blessing being firm favourites for me. Thank you netgalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Second book I’ve read by Moran. Emmie Brown had always known she was adopted but she could never have predicted how life was going to unfold. It all starts with a letter - what could go wrong.

Beth Moran- great writing style. Enjoyed it

3 Stars
One Liner: heartwarming, but didn’t like the ending

Emmie Brown knew her mum, Nellie Brown, adopted her as a baby and gave her the best life she could. Now, two years after Nellie’s death, Emmie is begging to feel the burnout of the routine she still follows. Running Parsley Pasties at the airport with the same menu and no inclination for a social life starts to weigh her down.
An impulsive decision reveals a box in her mother’s wardrobe and a stack of letters from someone named G from Siskin. Emmie does the unexpected and travels to the Isle of Siskin, a beautiful island with around three thousand population. Pip Hawkins, the handsome agriculture student, and her crush may also be a reason for this trip, but Emmie wants to find out who G is.
Can this trip help Emmie find her true self as well as some answers?
The story comes in Emmie’s first-person POV.

My Thoughts:
This is my first book by the author. I quite enjoyed most of it, especially the descriptions of the island and Emmie’s growth up to a point.
Though there’s some crushing and romance, this is not a love story. It is women’s fiction focusing on the MC making changes to her routine and learning to be herself.
Despite the rigidity and routine, there’s no denying that Emmie’s mum loved her. It’s evident throughout the book (and there’s a valid reason for why she became this way).
The way the letters were incorporated into the narration is beautiful and just right. The letters are spaced apart and provide character backstories and support the plot.
Some of the side characters are cool. I just love the kids and their diverse personalities. We also see how not everyone being nice to someone is a good person and vice-versa.
There’s a sort of mystery where the FMC is targeted by someone with a grudge. This blows up quite a bit, and therein lies my problem.
The last 20% covers months of progress, while the first 80% deals with a couple of weeks. This doesn’t really help, but okay. I can see why it was necessary.
However, the last chapter doesn’t sit right with me. It’s like all of Emmie’s growth has been overshadowed by a side character. Where is consent? What about setting boundaries? What about letting someone make up their mind even if it took them a few months? Ridiculous!
This might have still worked if the drama wasn’t exaggerated in the middle. Acting like nothing’s happened after that level of unhingedness is insanity. How would she even feel safe with them? How to trust someone like that?
The rating was close to 4 stars, but the way we reached the conclusion, I cannot rate it more than 3. I’m surprised no one (until now) found it odd. I love HEA more than anything else, but not like this. It needs to be better. And there’s no epilogue either, so we don’t know how they handled it afterward.

To summarize, Have I Told You Lately has a lovely premise and some good themes to think about, but it left me dissatisfied with how the issue was handled at the end.
Thank you, NetGalley and Boldwood Books, for eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

Another heart warming story from Beth Moran.

Since reading my very first of Beth's books, Christmas Every Day, she has become a definite auto-buy author for me. And I'm yet to be disappointed!

Her characters are always relatable, not perfect, but definitely loveable and there was no difference with Emmie in Have I Told You Lately.

It was a story of loss and grief, finding one's true self, love, friendship and family. I loved the multiple aspects of this story. Besides the unfolding (slow-burning) romance between Emmie and Pip, I enjoyed the mystery element. How Emmie has unravelled her adoptive mum's past and with that her own.

Having read Let It Snow last year, I also loved the cameo appearance of Bea Armstrong.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of Have I Told You Lately in exchange for my honest review

This is an absolutely gorgeous, moving read
Truly heart-warming, just what we all need.
A story in which it is delightful to spend
With a superb, emotive end.

Emmie was adopted, she's always known
By Nellie Brown, with whom she's grown.
But when Nellie dies,
Emmie gets a huge surprise!

A bundle of letters, a hidden photo, too,
A romance from G, Emmie searches for a clue.
Sleeping through her alarm on day is the start
Of Emmie deciding to follow her heart.

Taking a break, her first holiday for years
Following the clues and a man she holds so dear
To the Isle of Siskin, with a one way ticket there
And nothing else sorted, somehow she doesn't care!

A rescue, a family, and mysteries galore
All make this the kind of read that I adore.
There are secrets from the past, hidden away,
Will they ever once more see the light of day?

Family dramas, romance and angst along the way
With Pip and her getting closer every day.
But who is causing troubles for Emmie, too?
And what should their interference cause Emmie to do?

A lovely read where friends prove helpful in romance
And family members sometimes deserve a second chance.
When all is lost is sometimes when things start to work out
And family dramas can help bring this about.

For my copy of this fantastic book I say a huge thank you
As I share with you this, my honest review.

Since her late mother Nellie’s death, Emmie hasn’t had much of a life outside running an airport kiosk selling their famous pasties.
One of her regular customers is Pip, a good-natured guy who has caught her eye as he always stops in for a snack on his way back to the island of Siskin. On a whim after winning a bit of money, Emmie takes a holiday to the island, hoping to find out more about a man Nellie once exchanged letters with.
But Pip’s family take it as given that she’s with him. Except someone is not happy at all about a blossoming relationship.
This is another of Moran’s heartwarming stories with an amiable leading lady but it’s far from my favourite of hers. Emmie seemed a bit too naïve and it was a very hands-off romance. The ending also took longer than necessary to arrive.

This is the first book by Beth Moran that I have read and I really enjoyed it. I really enjoyed the writing style and how the characters were really realistically written. I loved the journey Emmie was on when she discovered the letters.

I think Moran has written a really great book for any season. Whether you're looking for a cozy read by the fire or a nice summer read, I think you should choose this book. As a fan of Kate Morton, Santa Montefiore, Darcy Boleyn, and Jojo Moyes, I loved this book! I have nothing negative to say, I am keen to read another one of Beth Morans books.

This was the book I needed to read to get me out of my slump.
Emmaline had worked in her mom’s pasty cart at the airport half her life. Her mom passed suddenly two years ago, and she really does not know what else to do but to continue with the cart.
An opportunity presents itself for her to take some time away, so she decides to go to a small island where it so happens, that this one guy lives that she has noticed at the airport. She ends up staying with his family all the while she is figuring out her mom’s secretive past.
I like that this author details the simple life of living on a farm. I felt I was there. Although, I knew where the story was going, I loved reading this story.
Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy.

Have I Told You Lately  by Beth Moran was indeed a heartwarming story. Once I was into it I couldn't put it down. It's set in England mostly in what I think is the fictitious Isle of Siskin.

Emmie is in search of herself. She has led a rather straight life under the care of her step mother/aunt. She has been loved and cared for but upon her mother's death she really doesn't know who she is.

On a whim she takes off leaving her business behind and flies out to the Isle of Siskin. It's a place to travel to, a man, Pip, who has caught her eye lives there and it also appears her adopted mother has some links to this place.

In Siskin she finds warmth and friendship from Pip's family but also some very strange things happen. There is mystery and it turns out Emmie seems to come off second best. When things go very wrong who do you depend on. Well Blessing to the rescue, a good friend who just knows what is needed.

This is a low key romance, but more its the journey of Emmie becoming who she really is.

I really enjoyed the book, the family and friends aspect, the business aspect and the lovely setting of the Isle of Siskin.

After her mother’s death, Emmie has taken over the legacy of running the coffee shop at Sherwood airport. She leads a routine life and is on the verge of a burnout. Thanks to her friend, Blessing, she decides to break the norms and try new things.

Besides that, she also discovers a photograph and letters which were kept by her mother. I enjoyed the unraveling of the mystery through those letters. The parallels between the letters and what Emmie is going through keeps the pace interesting.

The Isle of Siskin sounds lovely and so beautiful. I wish I could visit! Overall, I truly enjoyed Emmie’s journey towards finding her own happiness and finally learning to fight for what she wants. Blessing is truly a blessing to her!

Beth Moran does it again!!! Another great, delectable, heart warming read.

Emmie is still mourning her mother's passing. Her whole world turns upside down when she discovers hidden letters in her mother's room that talk about an ex-love and also ex-husband. She doesn't hesitate to board a short plane ride to Siskin where the "hot farmer" Pip, whom she may or may not have a crush on, lives. While there she searches for her mother's long lost love, meets Pip's family and changes her whole life around when she realizes that she has isolated herself from family, friends and love and she is actually lonely.

Have I told You Lately will warm up your heart and take you back to the memories of the greatest love of your life.

Thank you Netgalley and Boldwood Books for this emotional roller coaster of a book!

I love Beth Moran's writing as her stories draw you in and make you care for the characters. I was so invested in Emmie and her story as she finds herself and learns more about her mother's life before she arrived. This was a heart warming and joyful book. More please!

Such a heartwarming, beautiful story. I loved how the tale unfolded, as we followed Emmie to unravel this mystery - which I won’t spoil for everyone here. Just a lovingly told story, what a joy to read!

This is another wonderful, heart-warming book from Beth Moran.
Returning to Sherwood Forest, we meet a new character, Emmie, who runs a pasty van at Sherwood Airport. Emmie's life, whilst good, has been devoid of excitement and love. Travelling to the Isle of Siskin on a whim, Emmie's life changes dramatically as she uncovers her mum's story and falls in love with the island.

As always with a Beth Moran book I have been taken on a very heartwarming journey of discovery which has both surprised and delighted me in the telling of the tale.
Heading back to Sherwood Forest is always a lovely part of this authors books as I never know which characters I’ve met before will pop up for a cameo. This story was no exception with quite a few of them being mentioned, it’s good to know how they are getting on!
I really enjoyed the path that Emmie put herself on once she decided that she wanted something different from the life she’d shared with her ‘Mother’ and had kept living for the two years since she had passed. Seeing her open up to possibilities of including so many of the things most of us take for granted into her life and how she incorporates everything into what she wants is joyous.
Obviously things don’t always run smoothly for her but overcoming and moving past those obstacles give us readers a very entertaining book to enjoy!

“Have I Told You Lately” is a lovely story with closed door romance.
Thank you Boldwood Books and Netgalley for an advance copy of the book.
Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

As I liked other books from Beth Moran I know that this will also be good. Most of the book is about Emmie’s journey to find her past. After she finds some of her adoptive mother’s old letters she decides to find out more and goes to Isle of Siskin. It doesn’t hurt that her crush Pip lives there and her past is connected to his family.

Emmie is a very kind person and I loved to see her development after she decided to change her lonely life. There is also a jealous ex-girlfriend, meddling family and a sweet love story.

Overall this is heartwarming and enjoyable to read.

Reading a Beth Moran novel seems like a vacation, a trip to a small island off the coast of Wales. in the Irish Sea. Emmie Brown, the adopted daughter whose mother recently passed away, has inherited her mother's pasty shop at the airport in Sherwood Forest. (You will become educated in pasty preparation. Emmie works more hours than there are keeping it profitable, until one day she just can't.

Off we go to Siskin Island, the home of the "hot farmer" Emmie is very attracted to. He has a large family. There is a secret, of course, that Emmie hopes to unravel. Unusual and unpleasant events lead her to decide that someone means her harm. Meanwhile there are lovely descriptions of island life scenery, weather and its denizens. If this sounds like your cup of tea, go for it. Have I Told You Lately will leave you as refreshed as a bucolic holiday.

Thanks to the; publisher and Net Galley for this ARC to read and review.

Another delight from a delightful author. I always know I'm going to be going all in with my heart in her books.
This books is written with such tenderness. It covers really emotionally charged moments. It's covers loss and grief but also change and hope.
I love the way she gave Emmie this chance to find her place, or her next place in the world after the loss of her mother. It was so descriptive and so moving. There was always a deeper soul meaning to her words and story. Loved this one.

5 stars

It's a second-chance romance, so it's already a plus in my book. I like how it's easy to read, but every word is chosen with a deep message. It's deep and light-hearted at the same time.