I fell head over heels for Icicle Falls! Love love loved this for a fun, lighthearted read. Definitely recommend and will follow the author!

<http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=63006>

If the blurb above sounds a little like a soap opera, that's because this book is a little like a soap opera with characters from other books making appearances so we can keep up with them (if we can remember them) and with the main characters going though all sorts contortions before true love can happen.

If what you want is a light afternoon read with no deeper meaning, this fits the bill.

Thanks to the publisher for providing a complimentary copy via NetGalley. Grade: B-

In this visit to Icicle Falls, the story swings between three women at different stages in their lives, who are friends and come together to bid on a handyman for a local charity auction. I think I liked Cass, the baker, the best. She seemed on the ball, but ready for the romance that was possibly heading her way. Stef and Brad, the married couple living in renovation chaos, were almost too similar. Neither was thinking very highly of the other via their actions. I thought I would worry more about Griffin, but her idea of starting over seems to have taken shape alright. Icicle Falls has built most of its' economy ion tourism and the local chocolate factory. The town harks back to the style of a Bavarian village, and although the mysterious apparition of Icicle Falls doesn't play as big a role in this story, it's still a nice touch for the series. Everything ties up with various happy endings that are sure to bring a smile to your face.

Starting Over On Blackberry Lane

Sheila Roberts



STARTING OVER ON BLACKBERRY LANE is the tenth book in the Life In Icicle Falls series and I can honestly say this series just keeps getting better and better. Sheila Roberts has a way of pulling you in and never letting you go! She has a way of getting you emotionally invested in all of her characters, where you feel as if they are “real” people that you know. If you aren’t a fan of series, don’t worry. You could easily read this one as a stand alone. Every time I read one of these Icicle Falls stories, I feel like I am back visiting old friends and making new ones along the way.

The community of Icicle Falls is filled with likable characters that you could see yourself becoming friends with. The women are strong and faithful to their friends and the men are always trying to help them out. STARTING OVER ON BLACKBERRY LANE is going to put you right in the middle of Stephanie and Brad’s house repair problems! Seems Brad likes to start projects but never finishes them. Griffin just broke up with her fiancé and needs to have repairs done on her home so she can sell it and move to New York City. Cass is the baker in town. She is feeling lonely as all of her kids are gone and finds herself attracted to Grant, the owner of the home improvement company called Honey Do………I mean seriously, how can you not fall in love with these people and get all up in their business?

STARTING OVER ON BLACKBERRY LANE is filled with family, new beginnings, getting over the past, love and loss. This story is a very heart tugging tale in Icicle Falls and I loved every minute of it. The pages aren’t filled with romance but there is plenty of it. You will be believing in happily ever after and finding yourself wanting to pack you bags and moving to this charming town. The positive female relationships that these women share will make you want to go out and make some new friends. As always, another wonderful story from Sheila Roberts. As a bonus there are recipes from the story at the end of the book and who doesn’t love that? I can’t wait to continue this series!!

Funny story, despite the fact that I have a ton of Sheila Roberts books laying around Starting Over on Blackberry Lane is my first read from this author.

It was interesting. It follows three women in Icicle Falls, and they all happen to live nearby and are really good friends.

Cass is a forty five year old baker who owns her own bakery and most recently her roof collapsed over her dining room table. She is divorced and has a few grown children, but she is feeling very lonely until Grant Master’s shows up in town. He happens to look like George Clooney and a lot of women fawn and mistake him over the actor.

Stef is married, but is having a hard time with her husband who has decided to tear up the house and do some renovations. It is what Stef had wanted, but the problem is that her husband can’t seem to finish anything he has started and her entire house is a big giant mess. Luckily, a bit of Grant’s Honey-Do company is coming up – and Stef is adamant at winning it in hopes the handyman can finish the job.

Griffin is young and is about to get married, but at her bridal shower, she realizes it is no longer what she wants. She and her fiance had somehow grown apart. Steve is more interested in his video games than at her, and now they barely talk let alone spend time together. After breaking off her marriage, Griffin is looking for a fresh start in New York, where she hopes her food photography will take off. Of course she mets Master’s other son Matt, who is coming off his own marriage and sparks fly.

This was cute. I did mostly enjoy this book. It had a lot going on, a lot. It follows the residents of Icicle
Falls and thought this could be read as a standalone, other characters make an appearance regularly. For the most part, it felt like I was reading a show. The three women win the Honey-Do bid and decide to split the handyman in hopes of getting their houses finished.

The characters were fun to follow, for the most part. I could stand Stef though, she was absolutely horrible to her husband at times. I understood her frustration, but she treated him like crap and that wasn’t okay. She kept calling him frustrating and immature, but the only immature person in this book was her. She was difficult to like and I didn’t like her at all. I thought she was horrid and she never really grew on me after that, the damage was done.

Cass and Griffin were easy to like. I loved that Cass was a baker and was curious with all the mention of food in this book if there was going to be some recipes at the end – luckily for me, there are, so excited.

The romance was okay. Because it follows three characters and their relationships and how they are all looking to start over in a different kind of way (for Cass she wants to love again, for Griffin she is moving to a different chapter in her life and for Stef a new start with her marriage) it was hard to really connect with the romance. I connected with the characters, but I never really felt the romance and at times that was frustrating. The most frustrating part besides Stef and her horrible treatment of her husband was Cass and Grant because of their age difference. Grant was about sixteen years old and kept pointing that out through 90% of the book, I was starting to get annoyed, especially since Cass on multiple occasions mentioned she didn’t care. Grant was also quick to keep calling her out on her age and the difference and it was really just getting old – no pun intended.

The other thing that seemed to bother me was the eating and weight issue in this. I wasn’t sure if the author was trying to spin it into a good message or just use the way people act these days, but it was another thing on the list of frustration and gripes with this book.

Cass was a bigger girl and had an issue with her weight, she kept pointing out the fact that she wasn’t skinny and was gaining weight and yada yada yada. As someone who isn’t skinny herself it can get tedious reading about these women and their low self-esteem, it makes me feel like I don’t sit here and bitch and whine about my weight more often (excuse the language) but seriously – Cass does end up doing something about it because apparently people can survive on salads and egg whites alone.

Griffin was the opposite. She used to be fat and no longer eats. Well, she barely eats. Carbs is an enemy and she picks at her food and basically starves herself until Matt the cook comes along and literally forces her to try the food. Ugh, this was such a major issue for me. I get that people like that exist, but when body issues get mentioned over and over again in this book, it makes me feel like I need to fret over my own weight ever breathing minute of the day. It’s annoying.

Overall, I enjoyed it despite all the gripes and the long list of annoyances. I liked the feeling of the read and how there were so many characters and it was just a cozy page turner.

Always a treat to visit Icicle Falls! Roberts always writes a fun and uplifting book!

I am glad that I got to visit with the people of Icicle Falls. The three ladies featured in this story were great. Each one stood out on her own. Although, I must admit that my favorite of the three ladies was Cass. The way that she and Grant were checking each other out while trying to be unsuspecting was cute.

As far as Stefanie's story was concerned, it was the most emotional of the three. I could see both points of view when it came to Stefanie and her husband, Brad. Stefanie for being frustrated that Brad had so many unfinished home projects and Brad for feeling like he was not good enough to complete the projects.

Than there was Griffin and Matt. They were all about new beginnings. No matter the situation, all three ladies were there for each other. I wanted to be part of their group. I kind of felt like I was reading this book. You have to make sure that Starting Over on Blackberry Lane is in your beach bag as a summer read!

I usually like small-town slice-of-life romances that are heavy on family relationships -- as this novel is-- however, Starting Over on Blackberry Lane just seemed inconsistent in tone and writing.

I thought I was reading a sweet romance - no graphic make out sessions and definitely no sex scenes. Why, then, did Sheila Roberts include so very many lewd "thought" comments by Grant Masters and even some of the women? I was so uncomfortable hearing Grant's thoughts about women's bottoms and cleavage. *cringe* Most of the book was truly sweet, and the dozen or more "lecherous" thoughts (as Roberts wrote) just didn't jibe. Also, lech was spelled incorrectly a couple of times.

I enjoyed the plot and characters - three women and how they are starting over with new or existing romantic relationships. However, Roberts' writing was a little inconsistent for me. One chapter might describe just one hour of interaction between two characters, and the next might include numerous paragraphs that try to bridge weeks or months. It's one thing to start a chapter with "three months later." It's quite another to have entire chapters full of paragraph that jump the reader from month to month to season to season, with nary a piece of dialogue.

I wanted to love this book, but I just couldn't.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1924907092

NetGalley provided an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Sheila Roberts has a style that's all her own. What originally drew me to her as an author is the intricate way she has of interweaving multiple players into one storyline. She allows readers to feel more like a family friend than an interloper. Simple stories told in a unique way that blend heart, life lessons and realistic scenarios to create a great escape into a heartwarming new world. Through the eyes of divorcee, a single lady and a happily married but equally frustrated wife, Starting Over On Blackberry Lane examines the bonds of sisterhood, friendship and starting over in a purely organic almost therapeutic way. For a little while Ms. Roberts took me outside of my comfort zone and gave me a better appreciation of life, love and happiness.

Grant had retired to Mexico to fish and drink beer. This got old really quickly so he moved back to Icicle Falls with the intent of starting a part-time handyman business. He's been a widower for a couple of years and is considering getting back into the dating scene but isn't sure how to do it.

Stephanie and Brad have a house that needs repairs. Brad starts the repairs, gets in over his head and then abandons that job to start on something else. So that's why Stephanie's tub is just sitting in the bathroom but not hooked up while Brad moves on to remove a wall downstairs and then gives up on that. Eventually this pushes Stephanie over the edge and she hires Grant to finish the things that Brad has attempted to "fix". This puts a strain on their marriage as Brad assumes that Stephanie has no confidence in him.

Griffin has just broke up with her fiancé weeks before their wedding. She wants to get her house fixed up so she can sell it and move to New York to build her career as a photographer so she hires Grant.

Cass is the best baker in town. She's divorced and her grown children have lives of their own. When her roof caves in, she hires Grant to fix it. Her interest in Grant is more than professional and though there is a mutual attraction, Grant doesn't want to pursue it because he feels there is too much of an age difference (Grant is in his early 60s and Cass is in her mid-40s).

I've read many books by this author and like them. It is the tenth in the Icicle Falls series and I've read them all. Though it is part of a series, it works as a stand alone as each book in the series focuses on a specific character or characters and you get enough information about the others to know the background.

It is written in third person perspective, with the focus shifting among the characters and you get to know what they are thinking. These books always end with happy endings so it's great if you are looking for a nice "feel good" story.

As a bonus, there are recipes at the end.

If you’ve kept up with Icicle Falls series you’ll enjoy seeing what the group of friends are up to. The thing I’ve enjoyed most about the series is the support felt by the women of all ages in the group. If you haven’t read any of the series you don’t have to worry – this book can stand alone.

Stef, Griffin and Cass are at the point where life needs to change. The thing is, how can they start that change? Stef will find out that there’s power in her words and how she chooses those words is very important. Griffin has dreamed of taking her photography to the next level but her current life situation is dragging her down. Cass is almost an empty-nester and feels the whole world passing her by. And now she has a leaky roof. What next?!

In typical Sheila Roberts style, she had me laughing and cheering her characters on as each dealt with the obstacles placed in her way. I loved how she drove home the point that we should live the heck out of life for as long as we can. Recommended to fans of the series and Sheila Roberts.

This was the first book by this author I have ever read. I enjoyed it. The characters and storyline was interesting. It held my interest. I will be looking for others by this author.

A sweet romantic tale of second chances...if you're brave enough and new loves. Close friends deal with life changes together as a warm and loving support system
Divorced and suffering from empty nest syndrome, but pushing on, Cass' roof leak brings her a new love, an older widower, Grant Masters, who also finds love again.
Griffin realizes that her upcoming marriage is not because of a deep love, but habit and calls off the wedding. Sad and reviewing her life, she decides a big change is in order and decides on a cross country move.
Stef and Brad work to overcome the challenges remodeling a home brings to a marriage.
Heartwarming and sweet suitable for all

it's refreshing to read a love story where the couple is older and wiser. Where there are ex-spouses and adult children and 2 established homes. This series, Life in Icicle Falls is a wonderful small town and has an interesting population. It's great to visit with many of them again as this is book 10 in the series. You don't need to read the previous books to enjoy this story but you'll want to. Cass Wilkes desperately needs help fixing her house. The roof needs replacing and what better way to get that help than win a handyman at the charity fund raiser. Sheila Roberts never disappoints me. In addition to this series, she has several stand alone books and the Heartlake series.