Read them all for the community spirit, the fabulous setting of the village of Heartcross, the true and heart-warming friendships and also the brilliant storylines which make this series a real page turner and one you will relish.

From the minute the book starts, Grace was a character that captured my heart and my sympathy, and I was with her on her journey throughout the book. I’m looking forward to reading the others in the series, and I don’t think I really grasped who was with whom and what businesses they ran so should be OK with potentially having read all the spoilers for the whole series!Thank you to Christie Barlow and Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to be a part of this fabulous blog tour, and for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. Although their are some emotional subjects included in this book such as financial issues, physical and emotional abuse, trauma mutism, surrogacy and miscarriages amongst other things. As a single mum of three, Grace has no idea what she’s going to do with it – but who can say no to a roof over their kids’ heads and a chance to get away from past hurts?

Having said that there was no way I could miss participating in the blog tour for the Christie Barlow’s latest book in the Love Heart Lane series as it’s one of my all time favourites! Devastated to have got it so wrong, Andrew will do anything to make it up to her – but is she willing to listen? Heartcross Castle is yet another book filled with relatable, flawed characters that create such a wonderful sense of community that for me it genuinely feels like coming home when I throw myself into each new story. The Love Heart Lane Series is one of my all-time favourites and somehow Christie manages to up her game for each new release by adding even more characters to her already diverse cast.The heart cross community are loving characters, each with their own secrets and hardships, who you totally feel yourself taking into your heart. It is the community that will give her the support and rekindle the lost friendships because this is what this community does best. But will the castle will prove a valuable lifeline for her and the boys now when they need it the most? This isn’t just your typical romance story though, it has some added plot twists featuring her family and secrets from the past that kept me reading and rooting for Grace and her lovely boys as they adapt to a completely new way of life.

It was really heartwarming to read just how loved and missed Grace was and that her friends don’t hesitate to help her which just shows the wonderful community for what is really is – a family. The three boys also provide plenty of comedic but also heartfelt moments and I found myself laughing at their antics, the boys have lots of fun and become settled and really go back to basics and nature especially as the grounds of the castle prove fruitful. She’d arrived a naive sixteen year old and had fallen in love with a man she thought would protect her against all odds - and hadn’t. Time is honestly money there and someone had to pick up the tab to reshoot that whole segment her kids ruined. When we fast forward a number of years we find Grace a single mum of 3 boys and in a loveless and violent relationship.Their interactions brought me to the verge of tears several times because the way they interacted was just so lovely. At first scant details are supplied as to what actually happened that made Grace flee the castle but as the story unfolds and develops all becomes clear and you can see why Grace escaped but that doesn’t make up for the fact that the guilt remains that she never made amends with Marley. When Christie isn't writing she enjoys playing the piano, is a keen gardener and loves to paint and upcycle furniture.