I discovered Margaret Amatt’s writing more recently, but I am absolutely here for each of her books. This Glenbriar series has already brought me great pleasure and I’m invested in seeing how each character develops and following their story arcs. If you’d like to read my earlier reviews, you can follow these links: Two’s Company at the Forest Light Show and Snowdown at the Old Schoolhouse.
I’m grateful to Rachel Gilbey of Rachel’s Random Resources for the blog tour invite and for providing my digital review copy in exchange for my honest review. You can read my thoughts below.
Synopsis
Luckless Lilah Clarke needs a big break, but getting caught wrecking a stall at the Glenbriar Fair was not what she had in mind – especially when the man who catches her is as hot as a summer’s day and sends her heart racing.
Charity campaigner Aidan McBride has returned to Glenbriar after a long absence to discover the love of his life dating his cousin, his cottage in tatters, and his beloved bees gone. When he catches Lilah destroying his mum’s stall and discovers the reason, he sees something in her he can’t explain – or resist.
Feeling sorry for her, he offers her a job, and she reluctantly accepts. What other options does she have? Now, it isn’t just Aidan’s new bees that are buzzing. Lilah dreams of Aidan being hers, but for someone with a background like hers, he’s well out of her reach.
Still stung by the loss of his ex, Aidan struggles with his ever-growing attraction to Lilah. But if he doesn’t spit out exactly how he feels about her before her past catches up with her, he stands to lose the real love of his life.
Review
Being back in Glenbriar is always a treat, and meeting new characters is the icing on the cake. Lilah and Aidan may be my favourites so far. Lilah had come from a really difficult background where she had to live on her wits with no support from her impoverished family who seemed to bounce from one scam to the next. Right back to her schooldays, Lilah was judged and treated with contempt and that background eventually takes its toll on even the strongest of characters.
Returning from his yearlong trip to Canada, Aidan is surprised to learn that his girlfriend has moved on to the arms of his Cousin, Finn. That news stings more than he can handle, and he sets his mind to avoiding any contact with the pair but living in a small and tight community like Glenbriar, may prove more difficult than he initially realises.
I really liked the dynamic and slow friendship that formed with Lilah and Aidan, and genuinely rooted for them from the earliest pages. His determination to repel all the criticisms that his family and friends directed in Lilah’s direction was honourable and it was no wonder that Lilah soon acknowledged the massive crush that she was harbouring for the lovely Aidan.
Of course, Margaret Amatt likes to make her readers work for their happy endings, and it takes several setbacks before there’s any glimmer of anything more than friendship forming between them. As their characters developed under their friendship, it was a pleasure to observe their relationship strengthening and new shoots of hope appearing between them both. Both characters were damaged by the turbulence of life but were willing to strive for the happiness that they desired.
Lilah is a complex character and has been damaged by years of familial neglect and verbal abuse at the hands of people like Aidan’s sister. Thankfully, Aidan’s not prepared to judge so easily, and he soon gets support from his cousin Hayley to help discover Lilah’s confidence.
There’s a wonderful environmental message in this story that runs alongside the gentle friendship that forms between Aidan and Lilah. I cannot recommend this book more highly and hope that you’ll also fall for the charms of this gorgeous community.
Author Bio
Margaret is a bestselling Scottish author and chocolate lover who has been writing stories for over twenty years (possibly more if you count her primary school efforts). Her early works will never see the light of day and are locked in dusty vaults on some old floppy disks. But after all those years of practise, Margaret released her first novel in 2021. It was the first of a ten-book series set on the gorgeous Scottish Isle of Mull.
Margaret is also the author of the acclaimed Glenbriar Series, based in the fictional Scottish town of Glenbriar. This is an on-going series with more books coming in 2024.
The stories are unashamedly romantic but with lots of drama and an eclectic mix of characters. Each
book can be read as a standalone but followers of the series will enjoy catching up with the characters.
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Book Escapes with BabsW67 
The setting and characters sound wonderful.
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You’re right, I loved everything about this book
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