Published By: Boldwood
Pages: 337
Released On: 16/06/2023
When high flying, workaholic Katy Smith is suddenly made redundant, she needs to find a job fast! After mistakenly answering an advert online, she quickly realises that the rundown railway station in sleepy Cranfield isn’t the 5-star London hotels she’s used to working in!
But a job’s a job. Right?
Chef Ryan Connelly is having a crisis of confidence after his Italian dream turns sour.
Returning home to try to pick up the pieces of his parents broken marriage, he soon discovers that his family home, the railway station, is close to financial ruin
Can Katy use all of her skills and find a way to save the railway station?
And can Ryan rediscover his passion of cooking once more?
As winter in Cranfield begins to sprinkle its magic, perhaps Katy and Ryan can find their very own new beginning on Railway Lane.
*****
Thanks to Boldwood for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
Ooh I’ve never made it a secret how much I adore Alison’s books and I’m always excited when I see a new one is out. I didn’t know this was in the same series as Heading Home to Lavender Cottage, which I really enjoyed.
I may have preferred Heading Home to Lavender Cottage a smidgen more because I fell in love with the characters and I have more interest in the lavender fields than the trains in this book, but this is an extension of the first book and is still wonderful. Alison has this knack of creating recognisable and familiar characters and scenarios that just have that little added extra, that little spark of magic bout them.
No matter the subject matter, I always have a smile on my face when I read a new Alison Sherlock book. She has a way of creating a romance story that you feel jealous of but admire. Like a true fairy-tale romance but with heavy doses of reality peppered through.
I’ve discovered I’ve only read 4 of her books which I can’t really believe. It feels as if I’ve been reading her forever. But on the good side, it means I have many more to catch up on and enjoy.
I wasn’t a big fan of Ryan to begin with, but he was thrown into the deep end so I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. And then he quickly became the dashing hero every good book needs. Katy was an interesting main character. She’s clearly built some walls up around herself and feels the best way to get through life is to just get through it, without getting attached to anything or anyone. So it was interesting to read whether she would have those walls tested by her new surroundings. Ryan’s brother Ethan didn’t do much for the storyline for me, he was more of a background character, but their dad Bob was excellent. The sadness and fear, obsession and desperation – it could have strayed into the pantomime but he was excellently created and developed.
There is always a sense of family in her books and it’s no different in this one. Family isn’t always blood relatives, and blood relatives aren’t always family. We make family out of what we can. Out of friends and colleagues and sometimes eve strangers.
I am very much a country girl. I live in a town just outside of London which is getting busier and busier, and I don’t like busy cities. I want the little cottage out in the countryside. And that’s what this book offers. And it was interesting to see the countryside through Katy’s eyes, someone who prefers the busyness of London.
What I really enjoyed about this was the collective desire to revamp the train station and get it going again. I know it’s on a large scale, but we get so used to throwing things away, that it was lovely to see a group of people determined to give something new life rather than simply walking away from it.
Like any book series, you would get more out of it if you’ve read the first book, as you’d get to know the characters and the setting. But this is perfectly readable as a standalone novel.
It’s a small point but I loved the chapters set at Christmas time. If you’ve read my previous reviews you’ll know that I am a Christmas obsessive and there’s something about reading cosy festive scenes in a cosy rom-com during the heat of May that just gets me all warmed up.
It is such an uplifting, heart-warming, cosy, beautiful, bubbly, gorgeous, happy, funny, human story and I loved it. She’s definitely got another hit on her hands and I’m hoping there will be more to come in this series.
Books By Your Bedside 