Love in A Mist - English Garden Romance 2
Formats: E-Book, Paperback
Ages: 18+
Ella Sanderson manages the farms and estate at Ashton Manor. She’s an old-fashioned girl who knows what she likes. And she hates the ultra-modern garden designed by horticulture’s bad boy, Connor McPherson which will destroy the place that brought her solace and potentially empty the estate’s coffers. Plus, Connor is just the type she’s learned to mistrust. Bright blue eyes and Irish charm may have captivated her employer Lady Susan—but not her! Ella can’t overrule Lady Susan’s wishes for the garden, but she can just… not help.
Connor McPherson didn’t want the commission, but as the garden will host his best friend’s wedding, he couldn’t refuse it. If the wettest English weather on record hasn’t completely blown his chances of completing the build for the big day, he’s also battling the snooty estate manager who couldn’t be less enthusiastic.
When mounting problems force them to work together, the stage is set for fireworks between the hot-tempered Irishman and the cool, contained estate manager. But Connor starts to realise that beneath her buttoned-up exterior, Ella has a passion equal to his own and a secret she’s hidden for years.
As Ella fights to get the garden she hates built in time for the wedding she’d rather not attend and safeguard the manor from unwelcome publicity, she’s increasingly drawn to the tempestuous designer. Who, she discovers, has his own secrets to protect…
Meet old friends from The Garden Plot in Book 2 of the English Garden Romance series.
Reviews
Wow! What a great read! This is really the content that I look for when I rate with 5 stars. There was some really deep stuff in here! If you’re looking for a beautiful, real love story, look no farther. Real people are flawed. They have scars. They have pasts. The development of Ella and Connor’s relationship was a slow and initially uncomfortable one. These are two people at cross purposes who are singularly stubborn and like different things. They may be physically attracted to one another, but it takes a good while for them to become emotionally connected. I love how Ella uses her intuition to purchase the Christmas gift and it affects Connor so deeply. That was a real turning point for him emotionally. Also, that he didn’t return the gift immediately. It took some time into the story for him to find the right gift for her. The Frank and uninhibited inclusion of the topics of depression and suicide as well as unwanted pregnancy and narcissistic behavior in relationships was kind of refreshing in a “romance” novel. These are topics that couples have to deal with, have to support each other through. Great job Sara! We need to be talking more about this stuff! I loved how the background of each character was fully evolved into their personality and how they both faced their fears in order to be together, realizing that it would never be perfect but that they could try to make it pretty darn near. Plus, I loved being there for Sam and Jonas’ wedding! Can’t wait for the final book of the trilogy!
I hadn't read the first in this collection but that didn't matter at all. This book stands alone beautifully. Ella and Connor are at loggerheads from the start, over his ambitious and modern redesign of the traditional gardens of Ashton Manor. But boy, the chemistry between them crackles off the page! This enemies to lovers story could have been just the journey from A to B, but I really admired the psychological depths revealed in the two main characters. Their 'secrets' were not of the guilty or sordid kind, but added real nuance and humanity to their characters. They were much more than devastatingly handsome hero and feisty heroine. The garden redesign added a very interesting element to the story, the thing Ella and Connor disagreed about the most ended up being the thing that brought them together, proving to be the catalyst that forced them to be honest with each other at last. The way the author gradually piled on the pressure was masterful. She turned the screw bit by bit until the pressure was just too much. So clever! I like books set in one place - here, the beautiful manor house and its grounds. And I enjoy a cast list that is intimate and exclusive - tick. But mostly I like a seemingly straightforward plot to reveal hidden depths, and this one delivered.
This is a gorgeous book - like honey for the soul. It relates a bit to the first one in the series but you certainly don't need to read that first (although I would recommend that highly too). It is a gentle read and it helped me enormously through a low period during lockdown. The characters are carefully drawn and the story takes all the usual turns of star crossed lovers but via a few contemporary issues and in a way that makes you root for them. Delicious!
