Rumours - Freya North

'The trouble with rumours, thought Stella, is that once the seed is planted, roots spread and the whole thing rampages like ground elder.'

Stella Hutton is starting her new job working at her uncle's estate agency. She previously worked in the art world but due to the recession things have taken a downturn, and she's starting afresh after her marriage has ended, embarking on a new life as a single mum and standing on her own two feet. Her young son Will lives with her in a house owned by Stella's brother Alistair. She meets with suspicion initially at the agency, with most of the other estate agents taking a dislike to her due to her lack of experience, and the fact she has got the job through family connections. So Stella has a job on her hands to prove her ability.

Xander Fletcher lives in the lovely old village of Long Dansbury in Hertfordshire, renting one of a row of three cottages which are part of the large Longbridge Hall estate which owns a lot of the land and property in the village. Xander grew up around Longbridge, his mother having worked at the Hall, and it is a place close to his heart. After his previous long-term relationship with partner Laura ended, Xander has been avoiding love and commitment in favour of short-term fulfillment.

An unwelcome rumour begins to circulate amongst the worried residents of Long Dansbury that Longbridge Hall, home to the ageing Lady Lydia Fortescue and to generations of her family since 1790, is going to be put up for sale. Xander immediately dismisses this as nothing but idle gossip and nonesense. He loves the place and would hate to see it sold to an outsider, or worse, broken up. He cherishes many memories of the place. But then he sees the estate agent around that he has previously, literally, run into, and beings to wonder if there is truth to the rumour. Sure enough, Stella has been asked to evaluate the estate with a view to it being sold. 

This is the first novel I have read by this author; although I was aware of her novels I hadn't yet picked one up to read. I'm glad I read this one - it is a heartwarming romantic read, with a well-developed storyline and very likeable main characters in Stella and Xander. There is a lovely supporting cast of characters who add to the story and bring the places described to life; Lady Lydia 'the irascible dowager' who lives in and owns Longbridge Hall, is ostensibly an old battleaxe, but beneath the surface, there lie secrets which explain why she has developed her tough exterior. Then there is Mrs Biggins 'the cantankerous housekeeper', and Art at the Hall, Xander's old friend Caroline, Stella's brothers and their partners and offspring, and the other agents at the estate agency, plus other residents of the village. They are all wondering what is truth and what is rumour:

'And so the rumour mill swung fully into action, grinding down the tiniest nibs of information into a powder so insubstantial it was carried easily on the prevailing gossip winds of Long Dansbury, where fiction mutated easily into fact and fed the tongues that wagged.'

Xander is an appealing romantic lead; he has imperfections but comes across sympathetically, and as a good man. The romance, when it comes, is lovely if rather inevitable, offering two people who have both been hurt before, a wonderful second chance at love. There is a clear passion between them, and there are a few sex scenes between the two lovers which go into detail. Ultimately it becomes such a feel-good story, but it is entertaining to read how it develops along the way, especially the first few encounters between the two. 

The depictions of the village and the large house and estate are detailed and conjure up the places vividly, with the various outbuildings and craftsmen working there giving a taste for how old estates like this used to operate. The charm and character of the place is evident, and is something which makes a strong impression on Stella the more time she spends there, until she realises that it is 'so much more than bricks and mortar.' I liked the rather bawdy, amusing opening sequence to the novel which took us briefly back to 1790 to meet the original Lord Fortescue, whose statue presides over the Hall in the present day, and has a slightly magical element to it whenever Stella is around! There is tension in the story, as we wonder what will happen to all the inhabitants if the estate is indeed sold. I enjoyed the mention of many locations in Hertfordshire that are familiar to me.

There are some delightful turns of phrase employed by the author, two in particular I liked: 'But Top End had always been know as such because here the finer, larger houses sat spruce and proud, like dapper Georgian gentlemen keeping an eye on things.' And 'It was as if Longbridge Hall had sat down so firmly, so emphatically, directly at the the centre of the village, that the road to either side had been pushed upwards; rather like a portly old unlce settling himself right in the middle of a sagging sofa.'

The author writes with real warmth and humour about life, relationships and people, and has crafted a sweet love story featuring appealing characters. This is an enjoyable, entertaining romantic novel with a depth to the plot; this would be a perfect light and entertaining book for summer days in the garden or an engrossing read on the beach; it whisks you away to discover the rumours rife in the village of Long Dansbury and offers a little taste of the past served with a large helping of modern romance. 

Published by Harper on 21st June 2012.

Thanks to the publisher for kindly sending a copy of this novel to read and review. 


You can visit Freya North's page on facebook to find out more, and visit her own website here.


4/5


****

FREYA is visiting DAVID'S BOOKSHOP in LETCHWORTH GARDEN CITY on Tuesday 19th June at 7pm - The event is organised by WE HEART LIBRARIES, a campaign to champion local library services in North Hertfordshire - click here for more details re this event - also for more details re the Bookshop click here.  - This is two days before Rumours is released so you may be able to get a copy before it released, and get is signed!

****

Escape - Barbara Delinsky

'Have you ever woken up in a cold sweat, thinking that you've taken a wrong turn and are stuck in a life you don't want? 

Emily Aulenbach suddenly realises one morning that her life isn't what she had hoped it would be, and she needs to escape, both from her career and from aspects of her relationships that aren't bringing happiness. In fact, she is deeply unhappy and decides she must make a change. She walks out of the law firm she works at in New York there and then, hurriedly grabs some of her things, and drives out of the city. But the place she ends up in, Bell Valley, brings with it's own faces from the past, and doesn't provide an answer to everything, and she has to work out how to deal with her life now, and determine what she really wants for her future. 

Emily is 'having a personal crisis'; she has been on such a continuous daily treadmill and feels in need of escape and of rescue. She loves her husband James but bitterly regrets the fact that due to their incredibly demanding jobs as lawyers, they hardly ever see each other, and even when they do have time together, they are exhausted from their long working hours. Their attempts at starting a family have so far been unsuccessful, and what's more, Emily feels that the friendships she has in the city are not genuine. She wonders if we aren't all similar in some ways: '...searching for what we wanted, not quite knowing what it was until we stumbled on it.' 

After getting away, and taking time to become involved in the community with old friends and new in Bell Valley, Emily begins to realise what, and who, is most important to her in life. There is a interesting legal sub-plot involving one of the characters in Bell Valley, which builds to a climax towards the end of the novel. Nature also plays a significant role in this story. Whilst Emily is living in Bell Valley, she revisits the woods where she spent time in her past, and observes the animals, most significantly the coyote. She feels no fear in it's presense; rather she feels a kind of connection to it. 

The author writes really well about relationships, and about real-life situations, creating a character for us in Emily that it is possible to identify with, and having her ponder all of the things that can make or break a happy life depending if they are happy or miserable - career, family, friendships. I really think Emily's position is one that many people will be able to relate to, to some extent; heading from school to University and then onto a career ladder, marriage and a home with a large mortgage and so on, with no chance to stop for a moment and take a breath. Equally readers will understand the need and desire to make a change when life feels like it is running away from you and nothing is what you had imagined it might be when you were younger. It's an emotional journey and I enjoyed accompanying Emily through this and finding out how things might change for her. At times the story surprised me, in a positive way, as it took a different direction to what I had perhaps expected.

The author acknowledges that this act of breaking away, of escaping, is far from easy, and there are no guarantees that you've made the right decision. Equating the pieces that may make up her future life with baking, Emily muses: 'If life was about getting the recipe right, I had to figure out the ingredients before I could tinker with proportions. The problem, of course, was that I couldn't do a test batch in the kitchen one afternoon.'

Published by new imprint Canvas, part of Constable and Robinson, on 5 April 2012.


You can visit the author's website here to find out more.


Thank you to the publisher for sending me a proof copy of this novel to read and review.