The older I become, the more I appreciate romances like this one where the relationship takes time to be forged. This is my first Karis Walsh, but it will not be my last. I enjoyed getting to know Kassidy and Paige, not to mention seeing their story unfold.

I enjoyed Love on Lavender Lane. A good romance novel. You learn a lot about a business consultants job and about the variety of Lavender plants. The two main characters were likeable and they had good chemistry

A+ wonderful read and I found myself wanting to just keep on reading it all the time. Karis Walsh is a new favorite author for me.

Stevie‘s review of Love on Lavender Lane by Karis Walsh
Contemporary Lesbian Romance published by Bold Stroks Books 12 Mar 19

One thing I love about Karis Walsh’s novels is the way the setting is as important an aspect of the story as the characters. Then again, the non-human characters generally make a good effort at upstaging the human ones too. This time the setting is an idyllic valley in rural Oregon, populated by a range of small-scale farmers and crafters. Our story begins, however, in the city of Portland, where one of our heroines lives and works.


Paige Leighton has made a career out of her inability to figure out what she wants to do with her life. Instead of setting up in business doing any of the possibilities open to her, she advises other business people on how to make their endeavours more profitable. On her latest assignment, the CEO has been rubbing her up the wrong way, and this irritation is exacerbated when he denigrates his daughter’s much smaller enterprise: growing lavender out in the aforementioned valley – a venture he is certain will soon fail – and then hires Paige to carry out an assessment of the farm with the agenda of showing up its faults and shutting it down.

Paige takes the job – she quite fancies a holiday, and one of her friends lives in the area – but is prepared to keep an open mind as to the potential profitability of the farm until she’s seen it for herself. Before visiting there, she attends a party with her friend and is horribly embarrassed at inadvertently insulting the farm’s owner, Kassidy Drake.

Things don’t get much better the next day, when Paige’s unruly dog tracks mud into Kassidy’s pristine home. Kassidy doesn’t feel she needs telling how to run her farm – and certainly not by some big-city consultant – but agrees to let Paige look around if only to avoid upsetting her father. And in spite of a rocky start, the pair hit it off. Paige is soon deeply involved in the life of the valley, and Kassidy agrees to go along with some of Paige’s ideas, even though that means stepping out of her comfort zone and interacting with the visiting tourists far more than she’d like.

I really liked the sense of community in this book and the way Paige was able to bring people even closer together by finding ways for the farmers and crafters to work together and market each other’s goods. I was also charmed by Paige’s dog and by Kassidy’s acceptance of his bad behaviour, and loved the way Paige throws herself into community activities, dragging a reluctant Kassidy along with her. I’d have liked to see Paige become more involved in the work of Kassidy’s farm than she ultimately did, but maybe that’s a story for another book.

Grade: B

This novel was written as a third person omniscient descriptive story. The characterization was done indirectly. The conflict was a mixture of internal and external as characters battle themselves, other characters and society. The popular themes that were used included love, prejudice and individual versus society. The theme that was also use mostly was LGBT.

Paige Leighton is a corporate consultant who was a big city girl all about making a profit but she is our protagonist. She has a hard time attempting to grasp her newest project of helping a lavender farmer either sell or encourage sales. She is a round character who goes through a group of different changes. Kassidy Drake is a lavender farmer who is all about remaining in the background and keeping her privacy. She prefers keeping a few close friends and not being drawn out of her own little area. She is the complete opposite to Paige's character and also goes through a group of different conflicts. Kenneth Drake acts as a stock character but as foil to his daughter's and Kassidy's personality but brings the girls together. The story is based around Kenneth's idea to bring his daughter back into the city fold. Paige has previously worked miracles on other businesses but doesn't know much about the agricultural world. Her biggest problem is her attraction to Kassidy but also the fact they both want things different. Paige and Kassidy have a need to learn to be balance of the past present and future.

The story followed great organization and ideas in a logical and effective order. We were able to follow the story without any difficult words or confusing metaphors. Yes, I would recommend the book. It would be good for those looking to try out a LGBT writing or looking for a love story based off of a unique meeting. I would not recommend it to those who are against LGBT or non-steamy romances.

This book was ok. It was a perfectly fine romance but I felt it was missing a few things.

The chemistry. The chemistry! I didn't feel it. Both characters were very likeable, but I didn't feel a connection. I kind of wish the had been more of adversaries in the beginning. Kassidy was pretty much totally ok with everything that was suggested. They got along a little too well. I don't love a ton of angst, but this could have used a bit more.

It took me awhile to get invested in the story. It was well written, but I felt it was a little boring. Also, the dreaded late in the book conflict happened a little too late (80+%). That didn't leave a lot of time to tie things up. All of a sudden it was two months later.

To conclude, this was an ok, yet safe, romance.

I went in with low expectations - no idea why - that this would be fluffy, overly sweet insta-love kind of story. Maybe I've become to cynical after reading too many mediocre romance novels.

Instead I found this to be a well written and satisfying romance - a nice blend of character, plot, and humour that left me with a smile on my face when I finished the book and is now one of my favourite romance reads this year.

This is a sweet romance - but not saccharine sweet. The two main characters, Paige and Kassidy, are smart, witty, successful but still realistic and easy to relate with. You can't help but like them both - and they really are a great match. The romance itself is more of a slow burn with enough flirting to keep things interesting. There's no real angst or villains (maybe a self-absorbed parent or two) but nothing that impedes the ability to immerse yourself into the story and just enjoy it.

Walsh manages to weave a lot of humour throughout the book - through dialogue and situations - but doesn't fall into the trap of trying to hard to insert humour through pratfalls or farce or at anyone's expense. It kept me engaged and laughing along with the characters and set a nice tone for the book overall.

Really enjoyed this one and would recommend it.

This was a very enjoyable read. The main characters, Paige and Kassidy have a wonderful relationship from beginning to end. It was a delightful roller coaster ride that kept my interest the entire book. I would highly recommend this book for anyone looking for a classic story and superb writing.

Took off slowly but once it did, this delivered plenty of laughs.

What I liked best about this book was how relaxed and funny the dialogue was. It seemed like there was a genuine rather than a forced interest, and it felt like this was closer to real life than a lot of other books which I have read.

3.5 stars

This was a gentle, well written novel which was a pleasure to read. The main characters are likeable with interesting personalities that work well together. The setting was unusual and there was some good free business advice in there too!

The supporting characters felt a bit flat but apart from that I enjoyed the story and will definitely read more from this author.

This is an enjoyably sweet love story.

Paige is a self employed consultant that evaluates struggling corporate businesses to provide proposals that should repair and cultivate future success. One client commissions her to evaluate his daughter Kassidy's farm with the intention of getting her to admit it is a failure and sell it so she can go work for him.

The best aspect of this book was the slow build of feelings. We get to understand how the main characters are feeling as they develop emotions. I felt the giddiness of falling in love along with them.

I liked all the characters. There was fun and realistic dialogue. The main characters were flirty and had some snarky banter.

I was interested in the lavender farm. But the book slowed down for me a bit when they got too heavily into conversation about the details. I understand that a large part of this book is about providing ideas for improvement, but it felt a bit weighed down by it.

Overall, I recommend this to those who like to read about romance, farm life, family issues, cute dogs, and crime scene tape.

<i>I received an ARC from Bold Strokes Books through Netgalley for an honest review </i>

Okay. I have to get something out of the way before the review. I don't like Lavender. It's nothing personal against the pretty plant, but, the smell gives me a helluva headache.

The book on the other hand did not give me a headache.

It's about Paige and Kassidy. Paige is a corporate consultant. She comes into a business and sees ways to improve it. One of her clients gives her services as a birthday present (sort of) to his daughter. That's Kassidy.

Kassidy owns a Lavender farm that is doing okay, but, not so okay that she's rolling in money. So, Paige and her very cute dog Dante travel to the farm and try to convince Kassidy to let Paige do her magic and make Kassidy's farm even better.

Of course, at the same time the two women are getting closer personally as well, and that makes everything complicated.

I liked a lot of the book and the story. I really liked Dante too. And I wish that we'd gotten to see just a bit more of Kipper.

But, the end seemed a little rushed to me, and I felt like there were a couple of story threads that sorta got lost at the end too.

Overall, though, it was a fun and fast read and I didn't have to smell lavender!

I received this book via Netgalley thanks to Bold Strokes Books.

For me, Love on Lavender Lane is a great book. Karis Walsh is one of the best. The writing here is very good and easy to read. I always love description that makes the setting come alive and here, I can still see and smell the lavender fields, hear the bees, and imagine being at Lavender Lane Farm!
There is humour and wit here too, and Paige and Kassidy, along with the hopeless but loveable mutt, work well together. Perhaps the romance could have moved along a bit faster, but that’s a minor thing.
Overall a solid five-star book. Very enjoyable and recommended.

I'm relatively new to Karis Walsh, but she has quietly become one of my favorite authors. Her books are so dependably good and each is so different from the others. I really enjoy low-angst "day in the life of" stories, especially while the world feels so turbulent. The main characters were fantastic and the setting was so perfectly described that I could envision myself there. Gorgeous cover as well.

Paris Walsh is one of those authors that you can rely on to give you a good read and this book doesn't disappoint.
The premise, Paige is a business consultant sent by Kassidy's father to Kassidy's lavender farm to see if she can make the farm more productive. Paige is such a likeable character, she has a great sense of humour and always positive. Kassidy on the other hand is very laid back. Between the two characters, there is great dialogue and Walsh's humour shines through in Paige and Kassidy's back and forth banter.
What I like most about this book is the slow burn and Walsh does it so well. What I didn't like is the rushed sex scene, I was wanting so much more and it made me feel a bit disconnected from the characters during the scene.
Overall this book is well worth your time.

Love on Lavender Lane is about Paige, a consultant who helps businesses improve profit margins, and Kassidy, a lavender farmer whose dad pays for a consultation from Paige. Though Paige is more accustomed to working with bigger companies, she relishes the chance to get away from Portland, work in the countryside for a bit, and get her hands dirty. Kassidy, on the other hand, doesn't exactly care for her estranged father's gift, and she thinks Paige will advise her to sell the farm. Their attraction is pretty immediate, and although I wouldn't categorize it as insta-love, part of me wish they'd spent longer in the almost-rivals stage.

I'd definitely classify this as a soft story. Not a lot big happens, and I'm very okay with that. The characters are the main focus here, and Paige and Kassidy are both lovely. I liked Paige a little more because she was more outgoing and funny, but I connected with Kassidy more because she's more reserved and likes to stay in her comfort zone. They spend a lot of the book learning about each other, and they both deal with past baggage in a believable way. My biggest complaint about that is the black moment was a little too dramatic. I had some trouble following Kassidy's logic there and wish the characters would've talked it out more.

This book also features a loveable dog named Dante, who was my favorite character--hands down! I only wish Kipper the cat had featured a bit more, too, but Dante stole the show. Although it didn't blow me away, this was a pleasant read with an interesting premise and an even lovelier setting.

Loved this book. I think it is one of her best. Reallly engaging characters. Lovely setting. I thought her writing was really top notch in this book. Some really beautiful descriptions. Witty dialogue. Great story. Perfect novel to read curled up with a cup of lavender tea. This is one I will read over and over again.

The only reason why I was interested in reading this book initially is due to enjoying Karis Walsh's previous books. The Synopsis for the book didn't really pull me in at first so I was surprised to find I really enjoyed the read and storyline.

In the first chapter I did feel Paige was portrayed in a light to be stiff and serious. When she went down to see Kassidy's farm it felt like she had a whole new personality which I really liked but seemed to keep thinking she would come back to the person she was from the first chapter, which I don't feel she did.

I took a bit to warm up to Kassidy, due to issues from her past she was very guarded an not overly nice. However Paige had a way of making her seem much warmer and brought her out of her shell. I felt that this worked well for the chemistry between the two and I did really enjoy the interactions between the two.

I found it to be a nice romance that I always looked forward to picking up the story and continue to see where their journey would end up.

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review.

So far I’ve read all of the books offered by Ms Walsh and enjoyed all. Having said that I can honestly say that this one, Love on Lavender Lane is one of my favorites. A lovely easy read. Paige Leighton, corporate consultant has been hired by a client she is already working for to help his daughter, lavender farmer Kassidy Drake grow her business or as it becomes quite clear the father really wants his daughter back in the city working for him. Kassidy’s father left the family when Kass was only six, right after her mother gave birth to twins. Unfortunately Kassidy’s mother, like many other women suffered with depression and was clearly not able to look after Kass’s little brother and sister. All of that fell on Kassidy’s young shoulders. She doesn’t want anything to do with her father. Paige was born to a couple of high school students who always made her feel that but for her their lives would have so much better. They would have excelled in school and been on every sports team going. Both have their baggage and seem to have nothing in common but even with a rocky start it’s fun to read how everything comes together. We know there is a path they have to follow to be able to bring their very different lives together. A lovely read that I very much enjoyed.
ARC via NetGalley

This was such a refreshing story. I enjoy this where the main characters are up front about their attraction to each other from the beginning. Of course, that doesn't remove the possibility of angst, but at least they're not mooning over each other, scared to tell the truth.

This was also neat in the way they dealt with their vulnerabilities. The vulnerabilities still got in their way, but not permanently.

Another great read by Karis Walsh.