Marion Miller needs a fresh start.

Her childhood in Northern Ireland wasn’t easy, with a father who passed away when she was young and a mother who got lost in grief. Now grown-up and with family relations as tense as ever, Marion heads to England, to find out the truth about her father’s mysterious past – and hopefully an extended family who will love her as much as he did.

Scarlett Obermann runs a holiday park in Sherwood Forest with her daughter Grace, but what’s she’s best at is making people feel like they belong. With her merry band of waifs and strays, Scarlett welcomes Marion with open arms, and it isn’t long before Marion finally understands what it means to find a home.

As she tries to uncover her father’s story, Marion slowly blossoms, even daring to indulge in her crush on Reuben, the son of the Lord of the Manor, but she hasn’t quite out-run her past. And as Scarlett faces her own tragedy, it’s Marion’s turn to take care of everyone.

A delightful read following the journey of Marion as she tries to find her place in this world, discovering along the way that you can't choose your family, but you can make your friends the family you choose.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in return for my honest review.

Having enjoyed a previous book by Beth Moran very much I had high hopes on starting to read this one and I wasn't disappointed in any way.
The characters and locations are rich in detail which meant I gave in to a tear or two at one point but this was counterbalanced very nicely by all the giggles that had bubbled out of me quite regularly also.
This book is a bit of an emotional rollercoaster delving into the good and bad of family and friendships but it was a very enjoyable read and when I turned the last page, I was sad that it had ended.

The release of Moran's first novel. We follow Mirian as she goes to Nottingham in search of her father's history and to find herself. Wonderful characters and a great story, I really enjoyed all aspects of the Peace and Pig and the people who call it home.

Sadly...this was a DNF(did not finish) for me. Seven chapters in and I still really have no idea what the storyline is. It is just kind of all over the place and not a book for me.

This book is really about family, friends that are like family and love.

I found this book a bit of a struggle to get into but once I was a few chapters in I found it hard to put down. I adore the character of Scarlett. Her words or wisdom and unconditional love was epic.

There were times I was laughing times were I was sobbing through the book.

Some of the language and terms used were a bit of a challenge for me in the beginning (I’m Canadian and some of the terms weren’t ones I was familiar with) but after a good google search I was well on my way with this book.

Marion looks for family…she finds Scarlet…family dynamics…friends…love…friendship…secrets…the past meets the present. This novel is written by a dynamic author who brings the characters alive on the pages…quick read. This book was sent to me electronically by Netgalley for review.

hooked and hooked some more. Loved all of this and couldn't put it down. I was like oh my. I need to know more. Read it.

Before this I’ve only read one of Beth Moran’s books- Let it Snow which I absolutely loved so thought this would be in a similar vein.

It was and so much more. At first I really struggled to get into the story but once I did it was an unexpected emotional read. It focuses on Marion, a young woman who had an appalling childhood, her father died when she was seven, her cousin bullied her and her mother’s extreme emotional and physical neglect. She finds a photo of her father when he was young and comes to Sherwood Forest to find out more about him.

She falls into a job with quirky colleagues and we see her grow from being painfully shy into a confident young woman. Interspersed throughout are flashbacks to her childhood so we understand how she came to be this reserved.

The writing is beautiful and I especially liked how the story unfolded we were taken along and saw firsthand Marion’s transformation. The author tackled some heavy topics in a light way and throughout was a mixture of drama, comedy and slow romance. My main criticism is that some of the supporting cast I would have loved to know more about but there weren’t developed enough as characters.

Overall it is a charming read that will bring you tears, laughs and make you think.

Many, Many Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books!

I am a huge fan of Beth Moran's work. This one is above and beyond her usual excellent books. Beautifully written with some unexpected emotional scenes. I loved every word. The characters are a delight and i was sorry for it to end.

This was an unexpectedly emotional read which has far more depth than I ever anticipated. Truthfully I wasn’t very sure about this for the first few chapters but then the characters started to get under my skin. The storyline seemed unlikely at first but as I started to learn more about the misfits who make up the staff at the camping site, very much under the wing of Scarlett I started to engage far more with them, I wanted to understand Marion’s past, loved Valerie’s take on everything and wasn’t sure what in earth to think of Lord and Lady Hatherstone but wouldn’t mind growing old as disgracefully as them! There’s some tough storylines in here but all told in an engaging style making this a very thoughtful but uplifting read, 9/10