I have really been enjoying catching up on Christie Barlow's Love Heart Lane series and this one didn't disappoint. I really enjoyed Libby's story and the twist around the Wedding prize that was being offered by Starcross Manor. I look forward to more from this series.

Another absorbing, brilliantly written romance from Christie Barlow. I loved the characters, the twists and turns and the sense of community this book and the others in the series evoke so well.

Like all of Christie's book this one brought all the feels finished off with a big hug. A winter wedding sees the Castle being prepared for its first ever wedding which could make or break the venue...but all is not as it seems.

I loved the drama in this book, out of all the Love Heart Lane series I have read so far I feel like this one has the most tension as you suspect something isn't right reasonably fast.

I love Christmas and Books set in the winter and this felt like a nice hot chocolate topped with marshmallows and cream in that it was comforting, it was very much enjoyable and more importantly it was the perfect read for a winters night by the fire.

If you haven't read any of the Love Heart Lane series I cannot recommend them enough!

I finished A Winter Wedding at Starcross Manor last night, and a tear or two may have been shed.
Beautiful and emotional storylines, some dirty tricks played, but all set in the most stunning place.

I adored Libby and Guy, and the chemistry was something else, all thanks to Pickle the dog. You can tell there is warmth in the village and strong friendships.

Did I get the winter/Christmas feels? Yes, I did, to the point I want to get my Christmas tree up immediately and get Hallmark films on the TV.

The ending was perfect.

Also the book perfectly matched my wedding bouquet from @pageandbloom

Christie Barlow’s "A Winter Wedding at Starcross Manor" is a heartwarming and festive romance that perfectly captures the charm of a cozy, snow-covered manor. The story follows the enchanting preparations for a winter wedding, filled with love, laughter, and a touch of holiday magic. Barlow’s writing is warm and inviting, with vividly drawn characters and a setting that sparkles with seasonal cheer. The narrative beautifully balances romance and family dynamics, making for a delightful and uplifting read. "A Winter Wedding at Starcross Manor" is the perfect book to curl up with during the winter season, offering a delightful escape into romance and celebration.

Starcross Manor is in the Scottish Highlands and owned by Flynn. It's hug eand elegant and Flynn is looking to put it on the map as the venue to have the ultimate winter wedding. He has a wedding planner and photographer all set and he's set up a contest to give one extraordinarily lucky couple their dream Christmas Eve wedding free and use the video to advertise the Starcross Manor to pump its ratings right to the top. Exit the wedding planner as she's nowhere to be found and won't answer texts. The show must go on though as Flynn's sister, Libby a famous fashion designer agrees to step in and help the couple have their dream wedding just the way they want it. After meeting with the couple multiple times something doesn't seem right, and they have some pretty odd requests for their wedding. When Libby decides to help, she's staying at a cottage on the grounds and Guy the photographer is staying at a cabin nearby. Neither is in a relationship; Libby's ended some time ago and Guy is no longer with the mother of his child an adorable tot. Sparks fly but with all the wedding planning and other dramas happening will there be time for a romance. I enjoyed Guy's character he seemed like such a nice person. The book has down to earth characters with regular day to day problems. I enjoyed the setting and descriptions a lot. This book has a warm friendly feel and I'll be reading mor in the series.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

I find it difficult to keep up with series that have a lot of books in them but while I haven’t read enough of the books in this, the Love Heart Lane series, I was thrilled to get back to it with the warmth, romance, drama and gorgeous settings it always signifies. Really enjoyable! Thanks to the publisher for the advance review copy

Lovely story and a perfect wedding setting.

I love Love Heart Lane and meeting new characters form the town.

Trigger Warnings
This book contains:
• Cheating spouse
• Family betrayal
• Health concerns with a parent
• Fraud.
Characters
Libby is the younger sister of Flynn who was introduced back in Starcross Manor as the protagonist. While we’ve never met her before, she was a breath of fresh air that was very much needed. While she’s got her emotional walls up high, she’s incredibly sweet, hardworking, and she wants to be there for her family in any way she can while she’s building her career.
Guy is a videographer used to being out shooting nature documentaries. He’s been incredibly hurt emotionally but won’t share what’s going on to anyone. While the people who knew him before he came to Heartcross describe him as someone who’s happy, always smiling and laughing – it’s clear that’s no longer true.
Storyline
Flynn is left without a wedding planner, right when he’s got a couple arriving to have their perfect Christmas wedding planned and paid for as part of a competition Starcross Manor is hosting. In a bid to keep the wedding from being a disaster, he asks his younger sister to help him while she’s got down time before heading to New York to start her dream job.
Overall Thoughts
I absolutely loved the white Christmas and magical wedding vibes throughout this whole book. Right from the get-go, Heartcross is covered in beautiful snow and Libby is on a mission to create the most magical Christmas wedding she possibly can.
While I can’t imagine jumping into a hot tub in the middle of winter, it certainly made for a hilarious intro for Guy. Their instant connection draws you in, and yet what sucks you in is the knowledge that Libby will be leaving the country in a matter of weeks.
Then, as the story unfolds and we begin to learn about Guy and everything that’s going on with him, you’re drawn in more and more trying to figure out how this could end in happiness. It’s a romance novel, so it must end in happiness. But how that could possibly happen with every barrier that comes up is something that feels impossible with everything that we learn.
All the way until the end, I was theorising different ways they’d be able to stay together. While I was pretty close with one of my theories, I still had a nice little surprise about how it all turned out in the end which is always nice with a romance novel.

My first Love Heart Lane book and I want to devour them all!

Libby, a fashion designer, comes to her brothers aide, to plan the perfect winter wonderland wedding for guests at his hotel, Starcross Manor.

Things don’t go to plan and Libby asks gorgeous videographer Guy Hart for help, not his usual gig but how can he say no to Libby.

I want to get remarried here, have Libby design my wedding dress and stay in the lodge for my honeymoon, idyllic!!

Set in a magnificent hotel and grounds, next to woodlands and water, amongst a great community.

I do love this author. She did not disappoint me with this book. It was wonderful. I want to move to Heartcross. The authors use of descriptive writing to describe this place was fantastic.. she set the scene to perfection. Lovely plot that plays out very well. Very well written too

Swoon. I love this series and enjoyed this Christmas addition. The setting is awesome and I love the town of Heartcross. It was good to see old characters as well as new.
Many thanks to Harpercollins UK and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I always love returning to the village of Heartcross, I get just a little bit excited to discover a new novel in the Love Heart Lane series is being released, and A Winter Wedding at Starcross Manor was no exception. It's like wrapping yourself in a cozy, familiar blanket as you revisit old friends, and make new ones. Libby Carter is a fashion designer and Flynn's sister. Flynn, as owner of Starcross Manor, finds himself needing a wedding planner last minute, and Libby agrees to step into the void to help him out before she heads off to pastures new to start her new job.

As you would expect from any Love Heart Lane novel, this novel is full of friendship, a little bit of intrigue and mystery, and good dash of romance.

Very happy to recommend! Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review!

A Winter Wedding at Starcross Manor was an enjoyable read. I would recommend any book written by Christie Barlow. Happy Reading!

I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely.

I absolutely whole heartedly adored this book! I haven't read the others in the series but I definitely will now. I didn't want it to end and loved every second of it.

I absolutely loved this book from the very first page to the very last. This felt like the ultimate feel good book and it had me with a natural smile on my face throughout the book. I had not read the other books in the series but that didn’t spoil my enjoyment of the book at all - however I will now be wanting to read all the other books in the series.

This was the ultimate love story of two people who had been through the mill with a previous relationship breaking down that led to them withdrawing from life. It was good to seem them slowly come out of that situation and to see their rebirth and awakening. Throughout I was totally invested in the characters. I also like the way their story was wrapped in a wider story that again was excellently written.

I loved also how the setting was almost a character in itself and that is what will make me want to read the other books in the series.

If you want a good romance set against a Winter and Christmas backdrop I cannot recommend this book enough. A must read.

A Winter Wedding at Starcross Manor is the twelfth book in the Love Heart Lane series by Christie Barlow and I adore it as much as the day I read book one back when it was published in 2019. With the announcement of a new series in the not too distant future it makes me think that my visits to the wonderful village of Heartcross may soon come to an end so I better make the most of what is potentially left. This new book was another fabulous read, not specifically a Christmas book although part of the story does take place around the festive period. It’s set more in the winter season and the lead up to a special event. Again, as with all the Love Heart Lane books, this can be easily read as a standalone but the stories are so good and plant themselves firmly in your heart and mind that you’ll want to go back and read them all. I envy anyone who is only discovering this series of books now because to have the opportunity to go back and read them all in one go would be magical.

Returning to Love Heart Lane provides comfort and familiarity and you know a good read is always in store as Christie has the ability to write stories with some important issues being tackled. Alongside, the more serious issues is the perfect blend of escapism, fun and excitement which always makes the books real page turners. There are plenty of familiar characters who make a reappearance and that’s half the enjoyment of reading these books as you find out how people you had a connection with are getting on now but also there is the fun element of spotting potential new characters and storylines.

This time around I readily lost myself in Libby’s story as she faces a new and exciting chapter in her life but she is taking some time out before starting her dream job as a fashion designer in America. She plans to spend Christmas and New Year with her brother Flynn who runs Starcross Manor. Flynn is engaged to Julia who runs the local bed and breakfast in Heartcross. Julia would love nothing more than to have her dream winter wedding but they are so busy that they haven’t had time to plan anything or set a date. Libby has a painful past but has come to terms with it and is at a reasonably good place in her life and with a new stage in her successful career about to happen she feels nothing but excitement. Getting a chance to chill and relax at the wonderful space that Flynn has created at Starcross Manor will see Libby fully fuelled and ready to head away in the New Year. But little does she reckon on Flynn needing her help.

Flynn wants to promote the hotel as one of Scotland’s top wedding destination venues and to this end a competition has been run where a couple could win the wedding of their dreams. Libby agrees to be the wedding co-ordinator when the person in charge suddenly leaves the position. I loved how she stepped in to help out Flynn as it showed how loyal she was to her brother and wanted his business venture to continue to be a success. She plans on organising the winter wedding of the century and boy was I there for all the preparations as all things festive and Christmas came into play as the wedding was to be held on Christmas Eve. As Libby sets about planning everything it soon became apparent that this wasn’t going to be the usual dream wedding and that Libby was given a lot more than she bargained for. I loved how this strand of the story was developed as it added plenty of drama and twists and turns. It was only around the three quarter mark that I twigged what was going on and it could have just turned into something that petered out pretty quickly. Instead, Christie turned things full circle and it really did bring a smile to my face.

Yes, the wedding does form a significant part of the story but alongside this we get to know Libby much more and we get a glimpse into her heart and mind. She questions whether she will ever allow herself to be loved again which really made me wonder what had happened to her in the past to have her feeling this way? When the exact details are revealed I think a lot of readers will have great empathy for her and hope that her mindset can be changed. I loved how despite the way she feels deep down that she was able to push her insecurities, hurts and feelings aside and do a good job for Flynn with the wedding planning. You could see that she had so much to give to someone but what she feared most was meeting the man of her dreams and being rejected again and all because of a painful secret that she carried. You just want to be able to embrace her and say have faith in yourself and in the fact that there is someone out there that will accept you for who you are. When Flynn employs a filmmaker to document the planning of the competition winners wedding Libby is thrown into working with Guy and in doing so is taken on a journey that she hadn’t bargained for.

From their slightly uncomfortable first meeting, which really was quite funny for the reader, Guy and Libby do hit it off. Guy is dedicated to his work and very easy on the eye but yet there is a certain sadness behind his eyes. He has an adorable dachshund named Branston who has adds cuteness and comedic value and I mean who doesn’t love an adorable animal in a book? Guy doesn’t really want to be there doing the project and Libby overhears him saying he wasn’t looking forward to the next few weeks. Which made me question what was he doing there in the first place then? Libby decides she is going to make this the best job that Guy has ever worked on and bring a smile to his face. She feels comfortable in his presence and like she has known him for years and yes you can see a little spark ignite between the pair the further the story develops.

But Guy does come with baggage and it’s not his lovely little girl Sophie. He has a heavy mental load and he is eaten up by anger and bitterness and when he reveals the reasons for this you could fully understand and appreciate why he feels the way he does. It was an awful thing to happen to him and I think Libby was quite shocked aswell. Guy was a person who had spent his whole life avoiding confrontation and trying to keep the peace but in the end this was doing him no good at all. What had happened to him had meant that he had been broken to the core and anxiety and trust issues play a huge role in deeply affecting his mental and emotional state. Is Libby the one who can break through the barriers that he has erected around himself all because of such pain, hurt and anguish?

Libby knows that she only has a few weeks and then she will be away to New York so keeps her emotions in check and gets on with the job at hand. Yet, at the same time she wants to help Guy as they have become close through working on the wedding together. As the reality of moving to the other side of the world starts to sink in for Libby not to mention the unusual occurrences and strife that start to occur she comes under pressure and starts to grow scared. Can she navigate the bumpy waters ahead and at the same time help Guy? Read this captivating and entertaining read to discover all the answers. As long time readers will know Heartcross is a place to mend broken hearts and get lives back on track. But will it work for Guy and Libby and will the wedding be a successful or failure?

A Winter Wedding at Starcross Manor was a heart warming story and the most perfect Christmas and winter read. It was a joy to read and once again Christie has sprinkled her magic through the pages and made me desperately hope that the book wouldn’t end nor would the series as a whole. All her characters have such distinct voices and it feels as if they have become firm friends by now and the thoughts of the series ending is just heart wrenching. That sounds pathetic to say as Heartcross is a fictional place with fictional characters but Christie has been onto a winner from day one with this series and I know many other readers feel the exact same way. There is another book due to be published before the end of the year. The Library on Love Heart Lane, which was previously published as Evie’s Year of Taking Chances, which I have already read but it has been rewritten and improved so it will be interesting to see how Evie and her story fits into Heartcross.

This is apparently one of a series, but I haven’t read any of the previous books and can honestly say this can stand alone, although you won’t have any idea about the myriad of characters and their back story (it doesn’t matter)..

This is a good, light read. This is very Christmassy - cheesily so. There is a plot, but there is no major twist - it is really obvious from the off where the novel was heading. However, that aside, we have girl meeting boy and falling in love, no stressful storyline and a happily ever after.

An entertaining, lightweight read.

A Winter Wedding at Starcross Manor by Christie Barlow

Another book from the Loveheart Lane series. It was so nice to go back there.

This was the 12th book in the series and I have read number 11 and 4 before. They are all standalones as they focus on different citizens of this cozy town.

Flynn is the owner of Starcross Manor and has big plans for it to become one of the best Wedding venues. He decides to hold a contest and the prize is a wedding of the winning couple's dreams in exchange for them filming it all and using the footage for commercial purposes. He hires the gorgeous but grumpy single-dad and videographer Guy Hart for the footage and due to some unexpected disappearance of his wedding planner he needs help from his sister Libby.

The winning couple is far from anything they could ever imagine, and they all feel it's something fishy in the air. But what could it be?

Libby and Guy try to make the best of the situation they are in, while sparks fly between Libby and Guy.

This is such a heart-warming story perfect for your winter and Christmas read. I loved almost all the characters in the book and I can’t wait to read more of the earlier ones and look forward for new books in the series.

Thank you to HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

This book was a comfort I didn't know I needed. I didn't know the author, but I'm glad I read this book because I loved it. Reading this book was like curling up in a blanket with hot coffee in hand. It was like watching a Hallmark movie, but reading it 🥹

The author has done an excellent job of writing a story that transports us to Starcross Manor and makes us fall in love with each of the characters, except for Miranda and David...

Libby is the kind of character I love. Always thinking of others and her family and who ends up falling hopelessly in love with Guy. And let me tell you that this relationship is full of mistletoe, hugs, kisses and Guy's wonderful daughter. Yes, we have a single dad in this book and it was just another wonderful relationship that the author brought us 😍

As I said, I didn't know the author, but I've already added the first book in this series to my goodreads 🤭