Review by Veronica

I was in heaven. I loved the farmhouses at Bumblebee Barn and Hedgehog Hollow, which were both completely different from each other and both beautiful, but the house at Owl’s Lodge was in a league of its own and captured my heart from the moment I rounded the stone steps and it came into view.  

A New Dawn at Owl’s Lodge is a heartfelt and satisfying love story.

Could one chance meeting change your life forever?

Zara is at a crossroads in life. While she adores her job as a producer’s assistant working on hit TV shows, travelling around the country means she doesn’t truly feel that she has a home. With a fractured relationship with her family and unrequited love weighing heavily on her heart, she is torn about what her next step in life should be…

Snowy is hiding from the world. He’s devoted his life to home schooling his young son and caring for sick owls at his home, Owl’s Lodge, deep in the Yorkshire Wolds countryside. While he’s passionate about both, it’s a lonely existence and he’s starting to question his decisions. But how do you step back into a world you’ve pushed away for years…?

When Zara brings an injured owl to Owl’s Lodge, its frosty, reclusive owner is far from welcoming. Despite hostilities, there’s a connection that neither could ever have prepared themselves for. As they discover a shared passion, a new friendship blossoms, but both Zara and Snowy are used to shutting people out.

Can they both find the courage to open up and the strength to move on from their pasts? And what could this mean for their future happiness?

This is the perfect book to read with a cup of tea and a treat on a sunny spring afternoon. Jessica’s storytelling abilities are wonderful, and she knows how to pull her readers in and capture their attention with a beautiful and emotional story. If you are a fan of Jessica’s previous books, you will be delighted to hear that characters from some of her past books make an appearance, and we get to return to Hedgehog Hollow and Bumblebee Farm. This book is a wonderful balance between light fluff and big emotional moments. Jessica tackles some pretty tough issues around grief, addiction, mental health, and family struggles. I enjoyed this theme of unexpected connections and that life can be unpredictable in the most glorious way. I loved how she handled each of these topics with care and thought. I adore owls, so I gobbled up all the information about owls and loved the whole owl subplot woven throughout the story. 

All the characters were wonderful. They are warm and delightful. I instantly connected with all of them and just wanted good things for them. Zara and Snow are wonderful main characters. There is a strong opposites attract tropey feel to their relationship. These two characters don’t get off to the best of starts. Their opposing personalities create some tension between these two. But as they spend more time together looking after the owls, that tension turns into something more tender. This is a sweet love story. I adored the growing relationship between Zara and Snow. 

A New Dawn at Owl’s Lodge is a wonderful, heartfelt story that is sure to put a smile on your face.

Thank you, Boldwood Books and Rachel Random Resources, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.