The Hidden Secrets of Bumblebee Cottage

this is book 10 in a series, but can be read as a standalone, I had not read the other books, and it was an easy read. love the characters and the setting.

I love Love Heart Lane! This latest novel introduces new character Jinny, running out on her London life, but also brings back all the old familiar ones too. A change of lifestyle is just what Jinny needs to get away from a cold father and a job she hates, and it was fun to watch her learning how to cook chutney and look after bees, while also starting a tentative romance that was not without its problems.

I lobe this series and this book adds to the collection. Loved the story and the background and how it all it interlinks with the town and characters!

Can't believe this is the tenth book in this lovely series of books and the latest one is no exception. Hoping there are more to come.

Oh my gosh. A perfect book.
Each one I read in the Love Heart Lane Series I say it's my favourite.
And I think this one is definitely my favourite.
Fabulous setting, great characters and that brilliant community spirit again.
It definitely is a place you don't want to leave. A place I now know so well that I feel like I'm living in the book. I know the people and all the places.

If, like me, you love Scottish set romances then this is a must for you. Every page is a delight and the sort of book where you keep saying to yourself “just one more chapter” and then before you know it youre at the end. Pick this up for yourself or as a gift for a friend, you wont be disappointed.

This was a wonderful warm story with a few ups and downs along the way but I'm sure Jinny and Gabe will go from strength to strength in love and business oh, and mustn't forget Donovan

It was lovely to be back at Heartcross and catching up with the villagers old and new. I do love all the characters and learning about their lives and loves. I was hooked from the beginning, It was a beautiful and comprehensive story especially Gabe and Jinny. Jinny's risk to apply for a job so far away from her home in London was a great story in itself as was Gabe's story. Another wonderful book from Christie.

A quick, easy and adorable read with perfect pacing, a heartwarming storyline and well developed characters. I loved it

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

We’re back in the beautiful village of Heartcross.

Jinny, who worked as a journalist in London with her father, has decided to leave that life and do something different. So she applies for a job as a chutney maker in Heartcross.

Jinny was someone who you could relate to. The father, daughter relationship hadn’t felt good since she lost her mother, and it was understandable why she had to leave her job to move away from that lifestyle.

It was also great to meet our other friends that we’ve made throughout this series, reading about Jinny, felt as though she’d been living there forever.

I loved the descriptions of Bumblebee Cottage, the gardens and the car.

I recommend this book.

May as well start with the housekeeping … read the series and do not look back. You are missing a treat if you don’t and really, who doesn’t like treats?

I loved this book. Won’t lie – to took a little while to warm to Jinny. It wasn’t an immediate affinity as it has been with some of the other characters in the series, but when i say a little while, I mean only a page or two. Maybe one chapter. The more we learn about her, about her past and her desire to step out of the shadow of her father and his dubious approach to journalism, the more I liked her. And then, as the book progresses and it is clear just how determined and yet hideously out of her depth she is taking over a jam making business, the more of a smile she brought to my face. Jinny is refreshingly honest, eventually, and a little accident prone in a way that will make anyone laugh, especially, it seems her new colleague Gabe.

It’s maybe not quiet love at first sight, but it’s a pretty close run thing and you know from the very moment they meet that there is a spark between the pair. Christie Barlow excels at pulling us into the thick of these relationships, making the meet cute moments pack a punch, and setting us up for what will be the highlight of the book. And what a pair they make too. Not because of the obvious either. Both of them are nursing secrets. Jinny disguising her identity and hiding any link to her father’s legacy. Gabe … well his is an entirely different story, one which Jinny’s journalistic instinct drives her to get to the bottom of.

Neither life, or love, seem to run smoothly for Jinny, a few little hiccups adding emotion and a touch of conflict to her story. But there is no denying that she means well, especially when she determines to put Bee’s Knees on the map by winning the Summer Fair’s best local produce competition. She puts heart and soul into her entry, despite a few heartbreaks along the way, set on repaying the trust that Molly and Cam placed in her, and honouring the memory of the businesses founders, Dixie and George Bird. It echoes the warmth at the heart of this book, and the final chapter really encapsulates the joy that is the Heartcross family.

There is a brief shadow cast over this story though, one that links back to Jinny in unexpected ways. Far from a random town in a remote part of Scotland that was meant to be an entirely new start for her, she actually finds herself caught up in a truly tragic story which has an air of authenticity about it and is very reminiscent of a not too distant event that has been back in the headlines not too long ago.

Christie Barlow has done a great job of drawing attention to the integrity of celebrity journalists and the lengths some people will go to in order to get a story, not matter what the cost. The consequences in this case are far reaching, and emotional, but not too a point that will overwhelm the story. The author is too skilled for that, giving the storyline just enough gravitas to leave a mark but bookending it with the warmth and acceptance that comes from the very heart of Heartcross.

Another beautiful, heartwarming and sometimes thought provoking story and a wonderful addition to the Love Heart Lane series. Fans are going to love Jinny and Gabe, and just get swept up in their story. Personally, I’m left wondering whether or not the author is going to publish some of these recipes she seems to like taunting us all with throughout the series. With so many great chefs and foodie types in Heartcross, a Love Heart Lane cookbook doesn’t sound like a bad idea now, does it?

Jinny has become tired of working at her father's newspaper where headlines are more important than morals. On the spur of the moment she answers an advert for a job as a chutney maker in the Scottish village of Heartcross.
I can guarantee that I'll enjoy a book by Christie Barlow and I do love reading a series set in a small community such as Heartcross. You have that sense of continuity, but it brings in freshness with the new characters. Jinny comes across as very brave, taking up a new career in a totally new location, winging her way through the interview whilst keeping her previous occupation secret. Gabe, who looks after the bees at Bumblebee cottage, helps Jinny settle in but also has some secrets of his own. Add in the previous characters from the series and you have a heartwarming story, as do the others in the series, great for reading on a winter's day.
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley, however this did not influence my review of the book.