Review: The Girls of Heatherly Hall

The Girls of Heatherly Hall by Julie Houston
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wow this is getting complicated, why this isn't listed as a series I will never know.

Triplets Eva, Hannah and Rosa have inherited Heatherly Hall from their biological father (even though it turns out that He wasn't actually Eva's biological father due to their bohemian mother's running from one lover's bed to another).

Eva, a dentist by profession but frustrated artist, has separated from her husband and business partner. She is struggling to cope with juggling two small children, different religions, working with her ex, and determining what she wants for her future.

Rosa has left her high-flying investment manager life and retrained as a vicar after finding out she had cancer, just before she discovered the love of her life had cheated on her with her best friend and assistant. Although she has a new man in her life the reappearance of her ex has churned up lots of feelings that cannot be ignored.

Hannah left her very worthy job as a youth social worker to run the Hall full-time (alongside a board) but she's finding it hard to multitask and the continuous resistant from the head groundsman to any new ideas is pushing every button she has.

If it wasn't enough to create romances for singletons in the village, this book has romance for all three triplets. Whilst I did enjoy the book, when I came to write this review I struggled to remember what each sister did, who they fell in love with, and what happened - that's always the problem with ensemble romances. Whilst I also bemoan the linear series where the reader can clearly see the next romance being set up, I think this is maybe going too far the other way, it's hard to get invested in a couple when they only occupy approximately 33% of the book.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed this. I love Westenbury, I love all the characters and I love how characters from previous novels drift in and out.

I think you could read this as a standalone, despite the history. A cosy, small town, romance.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

View all my reviews