This is a really sweet enemies to lovers romance. This book was really good, though I found it a bit confusing at first after reading a blurb and then being in Yorkshire, England. I quickly settled in and kept reading and found myself really enjoying the pacing, as well as the characters. I love the backstory with the folklore of fairies and the history, and loved the descriptions of Rowan's cottage. Connor is a visiting professor, and oh how I loved his humor and how well mannered he was even in spite of everything. All in all I found this to be a pleasing read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Jane Lovering for this e-Arc!

In this charming, heartwarming romance novel, readers meet folklorist Rowan Thorpe in her charming cottage in the Yorkshire countryside where she researches local legends when Irish historian Connor O’Keefe arrives and threatens to undermine local legends and remove the fairy stone at the heart of her work. Both with complex and tragic pasts, they have struggled to move on, and their differences in work and interests in local history have Rowan and Connor butting heads upon their first meeting. With an unexpected snowstorm and forced proximity in the small town where they both are doing research, Rowan and Connor have no choice but to interact and come to an understanding despite their differences. With fascinating characters, a charming and idyllic location, and some fun wintery and romance tropes (forced proximity, rivals-to-lovers, canceled holiday plans, secret relationships, and so many more) abounding in this novel, Lovering’s characters are the star of the novel, and Rowan and Connor’s dynamic is fascinating to follow as it develops over the book. They are both complex and clever characters with tragic backstories, and they narrate chapters separately and together as the book progresses, giving readers the chance to see the story develop from multiple angles.

I thought I would try a different t type of book this time and while I enjoyed it it just wasn’t something for me. If you enjoy more folklore this is for you!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun book. I enjoyed reading it!

Unfortunately I found this book so slow that I actually stopped reading it, read several others then came back and finished it. Nothing happened until I was over 80% of the way through, then everything was resolved very quickly.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Really enjoyed it and would give the book 3.5 stars. Rowan was not my favorite character. It definitely took time to warm up to her. At times she was off putting, unfriendly and downright rude. Who am I kidding? It wasn't some times, it was pretty much every time she was around someone, especially Connor. The very lovely, handsome Connor with all his Irish charm. Connor would be the only one able to get through Rowan's hard exterior. Rowan does nothing except work, spend time at home, work, work some more and feed her gang of ducks toast crusts. She's extremely possessive of the Fairy Stane. Poor Chess had to deal with Rowan at work everyday. Loved reading about Rowan and Connor and getting to know them better. It explained why they acted certain ways. They had a great relationship with each other when Rowan wasn't fighting or insulting Connor. Loved when the truth about the Fairy Stane was finally revealed. I never expected what it turned out to be.

Definitely recommend the book. Loved the characters (mostly), writing style and story. The ducks were the best part of Rowan's cottage. Although, they did get scary when not fed their toast. At times the story is lighthearted and fun and other times it's serious and sad. Look forward to reading more books by the author.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Boldwood Books through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Dr. Rowan Thorpe works for York university researching folklore and Professor Connor O'Keefe is from Ireland working on Roman occupation in the area and they are both brought together by the fairy stane, a stone located high up on the north Yorkshire Moors which according to legend has fairies living underneath it. As Rowan has a spare room and Connor has nowhere to stay she offers him the spare room, somewhat grudgingly, but he accepts. As you gradually learn about the secrets and background information about both of them you start to wonder if more will come of this relationship. Especially when Connors ex turns up in the middle of a stormy December day, will Rowan throw both of them out? Rowan also has a difficult past that she is finding it extremely hard to let go of, will Connor be the one to mend her heart?
Set in the the North Yorkshire Moors in the area around Pickering, Helmsley and York, an area where I have visited and love very much.

A story of relationships, grief, families, new beginnings and friendships.
I really enjoyed reading this book and the landscapes where it is set gives it a great atmospheric feel to it.

#netgalley
#thestartofthestory

Jane Lovering's writing style will swoop you right in to not want to put the book down. Absolutely amazing, such a loving story with a little bit of mystery in there. You almost feel as if you are in the book.

This book just wasn’t really for me. The storyline just didn’t appeal to me. If you like folklore and fairytales, slow burn romance and enemies to lovers you might like it, however the fmc irritated me even once we found out her backstory. Its very very slowburn and has a heavy focus on the fmc’s grief from her husband’s death. Once you stick with it, it does get better- it’s just slow and confusing at first.

Thank you to Netgalley and Boldwood books for this ARC.

Whilst a pleasant story my biggest problem with this book was I just didn't like the female mc - Rowan. I understand she'd been through trauma but the majority of her behaviour came across as rude and ignorant.
Connor by comparison was delightful.
I was fascinated by the secret of the little people and their stone.
I am usually a huge fan of Jane's work but only lukewarm for this one.

This was a decent read but there is a lot of grief in this book. It’s handled well though and is not uncomfortable to read. At first the included historical stories may seem out of place but they actually work. The ending felt a little bit rushed to me and I would have liked to see more relationship growth. Loved the descriptions of walking the moors, the cottage, ducks, etc. wouldn’t mind a book just about Eamonn.

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'The Start Of The Story' by Jane Lovering.

OMG!!! Jane does it yet again!! I absolutely LOVED this absolutely gorgeous page turner and I cannot WAIT to get stuck into Jane's next book and see what other gorgeous stories she has come up with!! I have read several books by this absolutely amazing author previously and each and every one has made me smile and given me that warm fuzzy feeling inside so if you are ever looking for a feel good book then ladies and gentleman, Jane Lovering is a go to author for just that!!!! In this absolutely beautiful book Jane transports the reader into the stunning setting of Yorkshire where we meet Dr Rowan Thorpe and Professor Connor O'Keefe. Rowan is a folklore expert where she gathers and researches accounts of myths and fables in Yorkshire, especially those connected with Fairy Stane. Rowan can be quite harsh and abrasive but gets along with her assistant Chess and will do anything and everything to ensure their funding continues. When Connor arrives from Ireland he not only upsets her routine but also wants to lift the Stane while researching the possible existence of a Roman Settlement. the Stane means a lot to Rowan not only for her research but also for a personal reason too and she is determined to stop him. When she ends up agreeing to him staying in her spare room in her moors cottage they end up opening up to each other and finding out more about each other at the same time. Will Rowan be able to stop Connor lifting the Stane? Will a snowstorm be able to defrost the atmosphere or will it create more ice than there already is between them? Grab your copy of this stunning escapism yourself to find out the answers to these questions and much more. I promise that you will not regret it!! With a stunning storyline ram packed with emotions, humour, grief, snow, stunning settings, heartache, romance, laughter, rivals, folklore, stubbornness and so, so much more what on Earth are you waiting for?? Grab your copy and escape to Yorkshire today! This book is a stunning read that will whisk you off to the beautiful Yorkshire where you will feel the wind whip your hair, smell the fresh air and fall in love with the surroundings, characters and storyline!! I absolutely adored this beautiful escapism read that whisked me away from rainy Wales to the (OK the weather seemed just as bad) stunning Yorkshire. As soon as I started reading this gorgeous book I was completely invested in the storyline and couldn't take my eyes away from the pages. I gave up after telling (lying to) myself twice that I was just going to read one more chapter then get house work done as there was just no chance it was going to happen!! After every chapter ended I just had to read the next to find out what was going to happen and this happened over and over until I had completely devoured the book in one sitting. Jane's stunning evocative descriptions made you feel everything that the characters were feeling along with them from love to shock, joy to irritation as well as plenty of humour. Jane does a fantastic job of weaving the multiple timelines together perfectly and I loved learning more about folklore. The storyline itself is unique, well the title 'One Of A Kind' sums up the whole book perfectly!! I have read thousands of books so it is always a fantastic bonus when I come across a book with a unique storyline such as this one!!! This is one of those books that is perfect to read on the beach, in the garden or, in my case, curled up on the sofa with the heating on!! It really does not matter were you read this as Jane will whisk you away to Yorkshire in the blink of an eye. I ended up carrying my kindle around with me, getting completely lost in the storyline and devouring the whole book in one sitting so grab your copy and enjoy your trip to the Yorkshire!!

Get ready to escape mundane life and fall in love with this gorgeous page turner!!!

Jane's evocative writing skills drew me deep into the book bringing the atmosphere and characters to life all around me. It is one of those books that I could not put down. The characters were all an eclectic mix and each one of them were realistic and strong. I was completely invested in them all. They all had their own unique personalities which makes them more realistic, believable and made me feel even more for them than I normally would. Jane's fantastic and evocative writing skills makes you feel the same as the characters were. Each of the characters are memorable and unique in their own ways and they are a group of people that I wont be forgetting any time soon, will miss and would love to meet time and time again!! Grab your copy of this page turner and get sucked in to 'The Start Of The Story' today!!

Congratulations Jane on yet another absolutely stunning read that I just could not put down!!! A gorgeous book in that I fell in love with and I cannot wait to read more of your previous and future books. I would absolutely love to see this book turned into a movie!!! This is the exact reason that you are on my favourite author list and here's to your next success 🥂

Overall an unputdownable, gorgeous, STUNNING page turning book filled with folklore, drama, romance, secrets, fun, laughter, romance, grief, friendship and so much more!!

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I found this romantic read to be a really nice mixture of humour and heartfelt moments. I've not read this author before but I enjoyed the style of writing and found the characters easy to get to know.

3.7 Stars
One Liner: Needs patience in the first quarter

Firstly, my thanks to a Goodreads author-cum-reviewer friend (Sally) whose review prepared me to give the FMC some leeway. It helped a lot since the book is from the heroine’s first-person POV, and she is annoying until we know why.
I wish the reason was revealed sooner at least to the readers. While there are some subtle hints, none of them lead to a concrete presumption.
I won’t call this romance though it does have some elements. This is more of women’s fiction with a focus on the characters learning to be something beyond their pasts. The past takes a long time to be revealed and then we wait more for them to start to move on, so the love story as much occurs only in the last quarter. (closed door/ fade out)
I enjoyed the little random snippets from different timelines (though these seem like they don’t impact the plot, there’s a reason for their presence). Halfway through, I noticed the pattern and realized that the truth is something else (this is revealed towards the end). As someone who likes folklore and understands the importance of preserving the oral stories from the past, I know why it matters.
Even when I disliked the FMC’s attitude, I empathized with her determination to not let the past be wiped out. We already lost so much (and much of it has been misappropriated by invaders who went on multiple conversion sprees). We cannot afford to lose more.
For a short book, the repeated arguments about the Fairy Stane got a bit boring. I can see both their points and agree to an extent with Rowan. But the way she handled it didn’t make it easy to side with her.
The MMC is easy to like almost throughout. I find his backstory quite interesting. Not something we often see in this genre, so it does feel refreshing. I also like how it’s tackled with sensitivity.
I was quite surprised by the repeated mention of the MMC’s Catholic upbringing. Somehow, many elements were woven with this piece of information, so it ended okay.

To summarize, The Start of the Story is a book about second chances, moving on, acceptance, and the importance of protecting our ancient stories. It’s not a heavy read but not super light either.
Thank you, NetGalley and Boldwood Books, for eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

Review · September 22, 2024

The Start of the Story by Jane Lovering | Book Review
The Start of the Story by Jane Lovering | Book Review

I am more than a little torn on this one. I wanted to give it 5 stars so much because it is a good story but I had a bit of an issue with Rowan. She wasn't awful, she was just borderline mean at times which didn't feel right for the story. Maybe it was just me, I don't know.
The Start of the Story by Jane Lovering | Book Reviewfour-stars
The Start of the Story by Jane Lovering
Genres: Contemporary Romance
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.

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Rowan has the job that everyone wants. I know I would love it. She makes a living investigating and writing about folklore. In fact, you would have thought she would have pleased when a visiting professor wants to dig around a local landmark that is happens to be not far from the cottage that Rowan and her late husband renovated. She certainly is not happy let me tell you.

The Fairy Stane is a large flat rock with no markings on it and local lore says it can’t be moved lest you let the fairy folk who live under it out. This was giving Leprechaun the movie vibes for me but there you go. Connor however, believes it to be a former Roman marker and wants to lift it to see if there are marking on the underside.

Honestly, that sounds like the set up for a horror movie but I digress. It is a really good story line and drew me in because this could go in a whole lot of different directions. This is where I began to dislike Rowan a little and I think that was my whole issue. She doesn’t believe in the fairies but refuses to even consider allowing Connor to lift the stone. I just felt like she would have wanted to know for sure but she is trying to preserve folklore tradition. She just didn’t seem to even want to consider it.

Of course that is only part of the whole story. There are other issues going on as these two begin to navigate a growing attraction and relationship. Rowan is, at times, so locked in her grief that she just rubbed me the wrong way. I am not sure what it was about her. Like I said the story is great but for some reason I couldn’t connect with her. Again, that seems to be my problem.

What a touching and charming story. Rowan is a folklorist and Clashes with Connor a historian over the story behind the stones.
Both have been injured by previous relationship and wading back in is inevitable but it was nice to be along for the ride as they both edge in carefully.
I liked all the backstories about the stone sand their significance, an aspect that I wasn’t ahead before.
If you’d looking for a whimsical enchanting read try this one out and see if there any wee people that are about.

I’ve read enough of the author’s books to know that that this one was never going to be the grumpy-meets-sunshine – with the usual roles rather cleverly reversed – or enemies-to-lovers story it appeared to be from its beginning. It was so much more than that, with two very sympathetic individuals grappling with the complexities of life and their emotional impact, and finding a particular depth of connection – and I have to say that I think it might be the best book she’s ever written.

Dr Rowan Thorpe has moved beyond her historical education, having become a folklore expert, gathering first person accounts of the myths and fables prevalent within her North Yorkshire community, especially those connected with the remote and isolated Fairy Stane. To put it mildly, her personality can be a touch abrasive – although she rubs along fairly well with scatty assistant Chess, jumping through the necessary hoops when she must to ensure they keep both their funding and small office.

The arrival of Professor Connor O’Keefe – a rather charming historian from Ireland – rather upsets their routine, and things only get worse when he declares an interest in lifting the Stane while investigating the possible existence of a significant Roman settlement. As well as being central to her work, the site has a particular personal significance in Rowan’s life – slowly revealed as the story unfolds – and she’s determined he won’t get his way. And then, just to make things even worse, she reluctantly finds herself agreeing to him staying in the spare room of her cottage on the moors – very much her personal sanctuary – so he can be closer to the area he’s investigating.

At first, things are excruciatingly awkward – but their relationship slowly warms a little (so long as he keeps away from the precious Stane…) as they debate the relationship between history and folklore, and open up about the heartbreak in their past lives. And that’s where I must stop myself revealing the whole story – but we do find that Rowan is grappling with paralysing grief on a number of levels, handled so perfectly by the author that it entirely broke my heart. Trapped in the cottage over Christmas by a snowstorm, she unexpectedly finds Connor the most sympathetic of listeners as she shares personal secrets long hidden – and discovers that he has his own emotional reasons for welcoming the opportunity to try to distance himself from his homeland, only to find that problems seem to have a way of following you.

This was a tremendously emotional read – the issues of both past and present, the enduring nature of grief – but the warmth of the developing relationship gradually brought a glimmer of hope for a happier future. And, of course, it’s far from doom and gloom throughout – there’s plenty of humour with those wonderful one-liners (life in the snowbound cottage – Hallmark or Stephen King?), the incongruous situations (the kerfuffle during the power cut was just so funny… ), the ducks demanding breakfast outside the window (loved them…), and those exchanges when the sparks certainly flew but that also often had me laughing out loud (I must say though, often followed by a moment of such poignancy that I was in tears again…!).

With characters in whom I became so deeply invested, such a vividly drawn setting – very much woven into the fabric of the story – and a really intriguing (and particularly touching) historical thread, this really was quite wonderful writing. And as for the romance – well, that was something particularly special. Such an emotionally engaging read – and one I really couldn’t recommend more highly.

I loved reading “The Start of the Story”. I was thoroughly invested in the storyline, where conflict arises between a Historian & Folklorist over a “Fairy Stane” which might be hiding ancient secrets and /or be the gateway to Fairyland. Although it is in essence a romance story, the main themes of grief, loss, rebuilding a life and how to remember without loosing yourself are paramount and the love story takes it’s time to develop, gently as we get to know the two main characters. I found the book to be very emotive and it was written with compassion and understanding. The myths, magic and religious beliefs of those in the past and present are preserved through written and oral traditions. I really enjoyed having my own thoughts regarding history and folklore challenged as I read and hoped the mystery of the stane would be revealed without releasing the wrath of the little people on our heroes!

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

A beautiful love story about grief, loss, trust, loneliness and so much more. Two wounded people sharing their stories and helping each other to face a better future together. Rowan and Connor deserve their happiness.