Rowan Thorpe is a folklorist who is passionate about her work. She is investigating the stories that surround the Fairy Thane, a large flat stone which is on the Yorkshire moors. The stories warn that if the stone is lifted then all the "little people" will escape and cause chaos. Her work has sustained her throughout years of grief, a time where she has pretty much withdrawn into her own world.
When an Irish history professor named Connor O'Keefe turns up in her office demanding that he be allowed to move the stone, Rowan is mortified. She is also less than friendly. That doesn't stop her assistant from suggesting that maybe Connor could temporarily stay in Rowan's small cottage, just for a short time, when he needs somewhere to stay.
Connor has his own reasons for being in Yorkshire. Professionally, he is there to look for a Roman villa and he just wants to lift the stone and see what it can tell him. Personally, he has some issues that he needs to deal with in his own way, especially away from his large, meddling family.
Rowan does the bare minimum to make Connor welcome in her home, but he proves to be a good guest, and slowly relations begin to thaw, especially once they get snowed in for Christmas. Soon they begin to understand each other, until they begin to believe that maybe they can forget the past and look to the future, if they let themselves
This is a slow and steady romance, carefully nuanced to reveal the true story of each of these two wounded people.
Interspersed through the story are short glimpses of some of the people who have visited the Fairy Thane over a period of 200 or so years. This was so cleverly done as when the reason was revealed I was quite surprised and yet it all made perfect sense.
I find the idea of the conflict between folklore and history fascinating. After all, there are so many intersections. Folklore is often based in history but handed down through oral history, compared to the history where the historian looks for evidence to help prove the story.
Whilst this book is based in Yorkshire, which in itself is unusual, I was reading the book while travelling through Scotland. The folklore might be different but Scotland has its own fair share of folklore so it felt very fitting.
I've read a couple of Jane Lovering books now, and very much enjoyed them. Her writing is very smooth and she chooses to tell stories with interesting settings and characters.
I am sharing this review with the New Release Challenge hosted by The Chocolate Lady's Book Reviews. Be sure to check out other stops on the tour shown below. Thanks to the publisher, Netgalley and Rachel's Random Resources for the review copy.
Rating 4/5
About the Book
The Start of the Story
Rowan Thorpe can be forgiven for living with one foot in the past.
Since having to say goodbye far too young to the future she had planned, moving on still feels a daunting task. So, when historian Connor O’Keefe strides purposefully into her office and life, looking far too handsome for his own good and threatening to undermine the local legends she holds close to her heart, she is more than a little unsettled.
Connor has a past too, and his own reasons to keep his heart under wraps. But when a combination of fate and an unexpected snowstorm mean that Rowan and Connor have all the time in the world to swap stories, it may finally be time for an end and a new beginning.
Purchase Link - https://mybook.to/startofthestorysocial
About the Author –
Jane Lovering is the bestselling and award-winning romantic comedy writer who won the RNA Contemporary Romantic Novel Award in 2023 with A Cottage Full of Secrets. She lives in Yorkshire and has a cat and a bonkers terrier, as well as five children who have now left home.
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