A very enjoyable read. I look forward to reading more of her stuff in time. Will definitely be recommending this title.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. I have chosen to write this honest review voluntarily and it reflects my personal opinion.
This is the first book I have read by this author although I've read several in this genre from the publisher.
I thoughts characters were pleasant, and the writing and descriptions clearly evoked the scent of lavender within beautiful countryside. I didn't like the writing style which i found very simplistic: there was an explanation of what a station master does and I don't think the reader needs 'lavender spa' every single time - we know lavender products are used and it's not the name of the business. The romance was predictable but it's nice to have a happy ending.

I have always enjoyed books by this author and was delighted to see a new series pop up. Returning to the same area but down the road this time, this book follows the same yet, successful formula as before. It was perfect summer time escapism.

In Cranfield, we find a very sleepy village with not much going for it. A disused railway station, a failing farm and a generation that has moved out for more successful employment. When Harriet returns to clear out her aunt and uncle’s cottage, she finds she takes on more than she realises, especially as coming back to Cranfield is more like returning home.

I loved the meet-cute of Harriet and Joe. It is clear that this pair will get together before the end of the book and I found their first meeting to be delightful. As the story progresses, I enjoyed watching Joe’s transformation from corporate business developer to someone interested in local communities. It is this that is at the heart of the novel.

Harriet is determined to save the lavender fields that her uncle once lovingly tended. Chaining herself to a tree in an attempt to protest at the development draws attention from the locals who all start to pull together and defend their village. There is a lot of community spirit in this novel and it was lovely to see everyone work with the same united goal in mind: save the lavender fields from a ghastly industrial warehouse. Furthermore, Sherlock makes it all the more realistic because not every idea that Harriet has is an immediate success. I enjoyed seeing how Harriet doesn’t always get it right straight away; she is on a learning curve about what she can achieve in relation to the skills she has. It made the characters more relatable and the story even more enjoyable.

Some familiar characters from Sherlock’s Cranbridge series make an appearance in this book but it is certainly not essential to know about them. It adds to the spectrum of characters and I thought the sub-plot of Flora’s farm added an extra dimension to the novel. I hope that this will feature in a later Cranfield book.

This story is heart-warming and brimming with optimism. I loved the community spirit and how the different characters stepped up, especially when the lavender fields become more popular than Harriet ever envisaged. There are plenty of set-backs along the way and I enjoyed the journey that she and Joe undergo as their attitudes alter towards Cranfield and the lavender fields.

With thanks to Boldwood books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Alison Sherlock brightens up your day with an uplifting and enjoyable contemporary romance that will steal your heart: Heading Home to Lavender Cottage.

Harriet Colgan heads back to the village of Cranfield and to the only home she has ever known in order to sell her beloved uncle and aunt’s cottage. Harriet has always loved the lovely rural village and she has fond memories of the time she had spent there – so she is appalled when on arrival, she discovers that there are plans afoot to turn her uncle’s lavender fields – his pride and joy – into an industrial warehouse. With nothing much else to do, Harriet decides to do whatever she can to save her uncle’s legacy and protect the village, so she rallies the troops and begins to organise protests in order to change the developer’s mind.

Workaholic Joe Randall never envisaged that his plans to build an industrial warehouse would cause all this upheaval. He had thought that his plans for Cranfield would go off without a hitch – but he hadn’t counted on having to contend with angry locals baying for his blood willing to do whatever it takes to upend all of his well thought-out intentions. Joe fully intends to forge ahead with building this industrial warehouse – until he meets Harriet, who quickly gets under his skin!

Can Harriet show Joe that there is more to life than work? Will Cupid’s arrow strike in the most unlikely and unexpected of places? And will Harriet manage to save her uncle’s lavender fields – and find a love that could last a lifetime?

It’s always a delight to curl up with an Alison Sherlock romance and Heading Home to Lavender Cottage is another wonderful page-turner I struggled to put down. Sprinkled with warmth, magic and heart, this enchanting romance has got it all: a heroine you would love to have as a friend, a brooding hero, a delightful cast of supporting characters, a beautiful village I’d love to live in and humour, wit, pathos and drama aplenty that kept me reading way past my bedtime.

An engrossing, emotional and enjoyable romance perfect for Jane Linfoot and Phillipa Ashley fans, Alison Sherlock has written another winner with Heading Home to Lavender Cottage.

This book was sent to me electronically by Netgalley for review. Thanks to the publisher for the copy. What a fantastic book! The author has a great gift for characterisation - nuanced, interesting, believable people!Thanks to a great author we have warmth, wisdom and emotional intelligence, this book was a huge pleasure to read!

Enjoyable, easy read. Lovely to catch up with some familiar characters but refreshing to shift the action to a nearby village. The writing just transports you to sun drenched lavender fields in summer. Just bliss!

Thank you Netgalley

I must begin this review by stating that I have a few types of narrations that do not appeal to me. I might enjoy the story, but the way it is presented changes my impression. It is something I am dealing with audiobooks as well, as some appeal to me more. This is in no way an objective take - but highly subjective. I will leave this here in the beginning and use the rest of my space to talk about the book itself.
Harriet, our leading lady, is someone who has only been on the same wavelength as her aunt and uncle. Her own parents do not understand her lack of drive, and she does not find their lifestyle appealing in the least.
The Lavender fields next to Harriet's home are under threat, and this has spurred her into action, with the help of everyone around her, including the very man who set the ball rolling for the problem in the first place. I actually like Joe Randall's voice a little better than Harriet's, but the whole interaction felt a little formal, even at the most informal of times. The plotline is quite different from the ones I usually read in this genre. There is a plan of action, followed by people coming together to act on the same. The book takes time to set the foundation and provide all the details of the amount of research the individual characters put into saving the Lavender fields.
The ending was highly believable, without a utopian finale. There are tough times in between the smaller and larger victories.
I would recommend this to readers of this genre, mostly because of the active plotline.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

An enjoyable read with likeable characters. I'm hoping there will be more stories to tell in a series. A sweet, warm.read!

A sweet, easy read. Hopefully there will be more books in this series as there are some other characters who would have a good story to tell

Anyone who reads my reviews will know I’ve read a number of Alison’s books before, the one’s set in Cranbridge. So it’s not going to be a surprise to see I’m reviewing this book, set in Cranfield which is Cranbridge’s neighbour.

I love Alison’s books. They are always a delight to read and never fail to put me in a better mood even after only a few pages. This one is no exception to that. Here we follow Harriet, and Joe, who are in different places in their lives but have one thing linking them, the lavender fields.

I liked that there were links to Cranbridge, it gave some familiarity to the village and the story. I liked the characters in the village as well. It was a good mix of people, and it worked well with the story. The other thing I like about these books, is that even if a character’s circumstances aren’t great, or something bad happens in the book, the overall feeling remains one of hope and optimism that things can get better and will improve, even if it doesn’t seem possible in that immediate moment.

This was a fantastic read that compliments the Cranbridge books well, but equally can easily be read on its own. Perfect for whenever you feel the need for a pick me up.

"Heading Home to Lavender Cottage" by Alison Sherlock is a heartwarming book. It is lovely to read the characters' descriptions of the lavender fields and you can almost smell the lavender as you make your way through this delightful novel. A lovely book to curl up with by the fire.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Lovely story as her previous books. I have been very lucky to read some of her previous series and this one is just as good. We have someone who is dealing with the death of her aunt and uncle who she loved like parents and now they have died and left her there cottage. So where can her life go know.

I absolutely adored this book! I was in a terrible reading slump before I picked this up and it's just what I needed. I loved Harriet and her determination to save her Uncle's Lavender fields. The whole community of Cranfield is described beautifully and full of wonderful, warm characters. I can't wait to visit Cranfield again!

This was a delightful start to a new series. Harriet, the central character, turns out to be a thoroughly sympathetic person who is feeling rather lost at the beginning, following the closure of her business. You realise that she has always felt inferior to her successful parents and siblings. The relatives she stayed with in the past in Cranfield gave her the security and love she felt was lacking in other parts of her life. Her aunt and uncle's cottage seems a little bit sad when she returns to it but she still feels a real connection with the village and her home there.

As Harriet works out what she is going to do next, the Lavender fields nearby seem to have a healing effect not just on her but her friends and neighbours, who begin to see new paths they can go down in the future. Joe also seems to sense that Cranfield has much to offer him and he too is looking to change his life and find more satisfying ways of living. He has a strong sense of responsibility towards his father but knows that he has to make changes in his life. I enjoyed seeing the community coming together and the area rejuvenating. It is an uplifting read and a promising first novel in the series.

In short: an heart-warming story of a community coming together.
Thanks to the publisher for a copy of the book

I’m a relative new comer to author, Alison Sherlock, but I’m loving what I’ve read so far.
Heading Home To Lavender Cottage, is a very sweet and heartwarming read.
There is a wonderful mix of characters. Harriet is likeable and despite carrying sadness in her heart, she still has a bit of spark about her.

Joe has always towed the family line, but the village of Cranfield changes him and he finds a peace that brings his softer side to the surface.

The descriptions of the quaint village and especially the Lavender fields, are just gorgeous.
You could almost smell the lavender, and it has made me look forward to spring.

#HeadingHomeToLavenderCottage is a well written, cosy and gentle read.
I was definitely left with a squishy ahhh feeling.
Best of all, we have more to look forward to from the village of Cranfield and it’s stunning Lavender fields, as this is book one in a brand new series.

A sweet and gentle 5⭐️ read.

Thanks to Netgalley and Boldwood for a figital arc of this title.

My Review: Such a beautiful story of two lost souls drowning in grief and expectations. Alison introduces us to Harriet and Joe who bump into each other at the beginning of the story, both on their way to a small village called Cranfield.

Harriet is busy rebuilding her life, she has stunning green eyes that are matched with red hair. Sadly, her mother and father had always been too busy for her, which meant her bond was with her aunt and uncle who have sadly passed away. Joe is still grieving for his sister who passed away 15 years ago. Since her passing he has been holding himself back from life, the loss of his mother meant that he has been entirely set on supporting his father and his business to the point of self sacrifice.

Harriet's close friends Flora and Libby, as well as Flora's Grams aka Helen feature heavily in this beautiful and well told story.

There's gorgeous community spirit, love, good banter and a fight to save the lavender field from being built over into a warehouse. Will love and nature win out?

If you have enjoyed any books in the Riverside Lane series or just enjoy women's fiction with a wonderful community setting, some drama and some romance then you cannot go wrong with this start of a new series!

There were many sides to this story that touched me, even the dog's story was touching! The way the community comes together help Harriet try to save the lavender fields was just heart- warming, but then there was also the added drama and the romance side of things with Joe that made the story one you just escape with and forget everything else while you dream of spring.

I enjoyed getting to know all these new characters and dreaded any more reappearances from Dodgy Del. I can't wait to return to Cranfield.

My Thoughts: I absolutely loved this one, Harriet was such a likeable character she was confident, fun & knew how to go after what she wanted, she had her flaws though, she went back to Cranfield to clear the house of her late Aunt and Uncle with plans to sell it, although that was really the lady thing she wanted, Cranfield was her happy place, the place that held the best memories for her..

On the way there she runs into Joe Randall, or rather he stops when he sees her pulled over on the side of the road having a dance 😂 little did she know at the time that this man was about to try and tear all her dreams apart… or maybe help her achieve new ones?

This story had a real sense of community which left me feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.

Having recently lost my dad, the amount of loss in this book was difficult to read about, but it was important to the story and helped to change the priorities of some people within the story.

A true lesson about not being afraid to go after what you want ☺️

The descriptions, especially those of the lavender fields were so on point that I swear I could smell lavender as I was reading.. that might have something to do with the fact that lavender is my favourite scent but still!

I would 100% recommend this book if you’re looking for something lighthearted and fun.

🐧❤️

Thank you to Rachel at Random Resources for my invitation to the blog tour and to Boldwood Books for my copy of the book via Net Galley.

Harriet spent holidays happily with her Aunt and Uncle in the village of Cranfield, Harriet was born into a successive family and has always felt like an outsider but in Cranfield she felt content.

She made lifelong friends Libby and Flora and when her business fails she heads back to Cranfield to sort out the cottage of her now deceased Aunt and Uncle. She is really sad that she will have to sell the house that she felt was a sanctuary to clear her debts.

She arrives in spring time and one of the things that was really poignant for Harriet as a child was the glorious lavender fields close to the cottage, but when she arrives they are a shadow of themselves.

Someone else who is also in Cranfield is Joe, he is on business for his father who owns Randall Enterprises and Joe is in limbo, grieving for his sister and mother. His father has thrown himself into his work and has dragged Joe into this life also. Successful and well off however Joe feels like something is missing in his life.

He has come to the village with the intention of buying the fields but does not know the emotional connection the fields have for the local people and Harriet. Will the villagers save the beloved fields or will Joe press on with his plans ?

I really enjoyed this lovely book, it was a perfect escapist read for a cold wet January and I was transported to the idyllic village with it’s warm community and warm summer months. The characters were really likable and real and it was a wonderful comforting read. Paddington was also a very welcome addition to the story ! I really enjoyed how the characters develop throughout the story and how we learn their backstories too.

A joyful read !

5 Stars *****

This is such a heartwarming novel, feels so real and authentic. The family and friendship dynamics feel so natural and the characters are easy to relate to, I was rooting for Harriet to find her "home" from start. I liked the enemy to lovers trope too their obvious chemistry jumped off the page. I loved this book so much I am glad this was a series starter and I can't wait for more of Harriet's adventures in Cranfield.