A Good Year for the Roses
Books | Fiction / Women
3.8
Gil McNeil
Life hasn't been a bed of roses for Londoner Molly Taylor lately. Newly divorced and struggling to find a new home and a way to support her three boys, she's stunned when her beloved Aunt Helena dies and leaves her Harrington Hall, a three-hundred-year-old manor house on the Devon coast, where Molly grew up. But does Molly really want to run a bed-and-breakfast in an old house where the only thing that doesn't need urgent attention is Aunt Helena's beautiful rose garden? Or care for Uncle Bertie, an eccentric former navy officer with a cliff-top cannon? Or Betty, his rude parrot that bites whomever annoys it? Yet Molly's best friend Lola is all for the plan. "My heart bleeds. Your very own beach, the beautiful house, and Helena's garden. All you have to do is grill a bit of bacon."But with Molly's conniving brother running the family hotel nearby, the return of a high school flame with ulterior motives, and three sons whose idea of a new country life seems to involve vast quantities of mud, this is not going to be easy. And then Harrington Hall begins to work its magic, and the roses start to bloom...Warm, witty, and chock-full of quintessential British charm, A GOOD YEAR FOR THE ROSES is a story for anyone who has ever dreamed of starting over...with or without bacon.
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Author
Gil McNeil
Pages
384
Publisher
Hachette Books
Published Date
2014-07-01
ISBN
1401341918 9781401341916
Community ReviewsSee all
"http://anurseandabook.blogspot.com/2014/08/a-good-year-for-roses-by-gil-mcneil.html<br/><br/>I received a copy of A Good Year for the Roses from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. This is my favorite kind of book to read. I love books about regular women who just happen to live in the English countryside, complete with gardens that I would never have the patience or knowledge to tend. <br/><br/>I had never heard of this author before, but I will be looking forward to reading her other books now.<br/><br/>She was like a mix of two of my favorite English authors, Jane Green and Rosamunde Pilcher.<br/><br/>Molly is a recent divorcee, but not extremely unhappy about this turn of events. She is dealing with the havoc of raising three boys on her own and selling her home when her great-aunt passes away. To the disappointment of her hotel owning family, she is the sole recipient of the her aunt's country estate, but it comes along with her eccentric great-uncle, and the cook and gardener that live on the property.<br/><br/>The thing I really liked about this book was that there was no dramatic plot twist, just the story of how starting over isn't always bad, and how families can adjust and thrive in a new environment.<br/><br/>I also liked that Molly didn't get taken in by the local smooth talking developer, who is faking an interest in her just to help her brother get his hands on the property. As a single mom of three kids, I could certainly relate to Molly's dread of having to take time out of real lift in order to get dolled up to go out on a date. People find it hard to believe you can just be happy when you are busy and surrounded by family and friends. This is where she was more like Rosamunde Pilcher than Jane Green - because Jane Green always wants true love to prevail.<br/><br/>This book was relaxing chick lit at it's best. Loved it.<br/><br/>"
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Marcee Feddersen