Jane Lovering's "Once Upon a Thyme" is a charming and emotionally affecting novel that unfolds around Natalie Fisher, a shy young woman who works in her family's herb farm. Natalie, whose shyness and life carefully circumscribed by her exacting, "invalid" mother and inherited secrets are well-established, has her world unexpectedly turned upside down.

The visit of Zeb, a marketing consultant who is employed by her mother, suggests something greater than commercial activity. A well-known band later settles on her peaceful farm, keen on shooting in her serene garden, and creates chaos and a specially problematic band member. Through these new challenges, Natalie is compelled to deal with long-standing family secrets and her own weakness.

The writer skillfully intermixes humor and emotional moments, as Natalie gradually loses her reservations and begins to welcome a new beginning. The slow-burning relationship with the gentle and considerate Zeb is best done, allowing their chemistry to blossom naturally. "Once Upon a Thyme" is a delightful story about discovering truths, learning courage, and flourishing where you are rooted, even if that happens through faith.

I was really happy to read this lovely and summery book that smells good of herbs! This book started really well, and I thought I was going to read a 5 stars book and then the more I turned the pages the more I felt a bit bored while reading it. The problem is that I didn’t really liked the characters. They all were a bit weird, depressing and I just couldn’t relate to any of them. I am giving this book a 3 stars as some parts of this book were really delightful but for the reasons I gave above, I just can’t give more than 3 stars.

One day out of the blue at Natalie’s family herb farm
Zeb turns up apparently hired by her mum to help with marketing and to get profits up.

Then a great opportunity comes up when the goshawk traders want to use the farm as backdrop for a music video.

When the band leave after finishing the video Natalie gets closer to Zeb and then after revelations come to light about her parents.

How will she get her head around everything and will her relationship continue with Zeb ?

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Award-winning author Jane Lovering makes her readers laugh and cry with her wonderful new novel, Once Upon a Thyme.

Natalie has always kept herself to herself. Happiest when she’s in her own comfort zone, Natalie rarely ventures out of the family herb farm she has recently taken over or the nearby village where her mother lives. However, Natalie safe little world is shaken up by the arrival of Zeb, recently hired by her mother to help with the business, and band manager Simon who wants to film in her beautiful garden. The band’s arrival upends Natalie’s quiet existence beyond all recognition and throws her whole life into confusion. However, these new arrivals have made Natalie realise that there is far more to the world than the little box she has been willingly kept prisoner in…

As she begins to blossom and gain confidence, Natalie wonders if she will ever get the answers to the questions she has spent a lifetime asking. Will the mystery from her childhood be solved? And more importantly, will she find the strength and courage, to take a chance on herself and grab this opportunity to grab life with both hands a go? Or will her comfort zone prove to be too tempting to escape from?

Jane Lovering’s books never disappoint. She writes about real people in situations her readers can relate to and empathize with and she does this beautifully in Once Upon a Thyme. A heartfelt, witty and emotional story about renewal, opening yourself up to love, friendship and believing in yourself, Once Upon a Thyme touch the heart and will make readers laugh out loud as they find themselves completely invested in Natalie’s story.

A great read from a hugely talented writer, Once Upon a Thyme is another triumph by Jane Lovering.

Once Upon a Thyme by Jane Lovering

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to Rachel's Random Resources and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Blurb

Since taking over the family herb farm, Natalie has stuck with what she knows, rarely venturing much further than the nearby village where her invalid mother now lives. But then, one day, everything changes with the arrival of unexpected visitors.

First comes Zeb, employed by Natalie’s mother to help with the business but soon hinting at other motives. Then comes Simon with the famous band he manages, wanting to film in Natalie’s beautiful garden. The band causes chaos and the attitude of one particular member throws Natalie’s ordered life into confusion.

Over one magical summer of revelations and of uncovering secrets, Natalie starts to blossom and by the time autumn arrives she knows nothing will ever be the same again. Will she finally get an answer to the mystery of her childhood? And can she embrace the fresh start she so deserves - but which means she’ll have to take one enormous and brave leap of faith?

My Opinion

Jane Lovering has once again written a delightful novel. Once Upon a Thyme is a book full of surprises. As always when finishing a book by Jane, I wish we could spend more time with these lovely characters. Another stunning book.

Rating 4/5

Natalie (she prefers Tallie) enjoys running the family herb farm – now owned by her – living her solitary life, taking real pride in everything she does. If only her mother wasn’t such a drain on her time – the constant phone calls and last minute demands, all handled with patience, resignation and sympathy knowing that she’s housebound with an undiagnosed illness. She wishes she knew more about her own past and her mysterious father – but questions only upset her mother, so she doesn’t ask them.

And then there’s the interference – Zeb’s stay, arranged by her mother, is initially particularly unwelcome. He’s apparently there to help with promoting the business – but it might just be that there’s another agenda entirely. But then things take a bit of a turn with the arrival of a folk band, intent on filming their latest video at the herb farm – the perfect opportunity for some real publicity, a touch of glamour and excitement, and one member of the band who makes her heart beat rather faster. But their visit brings a few surprises too – and, in time, some answers to Tallie’s unanswered questions.

The characters, as always, are quite wonderful. Tallie is a little bit broken, and immensely sympathetic – but with a lovely wry take on her world, an increasing bravery to take on life’s challenges, and a self-deprecating humour that so often brought a smile to my face. And Zeb turned out to be someone I really loved too – also a bit damaged by life and others’ expectations, unexpectedly finding the same peace as Tallie in the day-to-day running of the herb farm, and proving to have a particularly gentle touch with its troublesome animals and its owner.

It’s a story full of surprises – some delightful, some life changing – with more than a few twists and turns, and so many emotional moments. And the balance of the story couldn’t be more perfect – laugh-out-loud set pieces followed by a moment so poignant it brings a tear to the eye – no-one does it better. And the storytelling is simply wonderful – I had no idea where the story was going, but I was only too happy to immerse myself in everyone’s lives and see how things turned out. The romance? And the hoped for happy ending? It honestly couldn’t have been better.

With characters I really took to my heart, a perfectly drawn setting, a fantastic story filled with surprises, laughter, tears, and the loveliest romance, this was a book I really loved. My new favourite? But of course it was!

I am a big fan of Jane Lovering’s romantic fiction. She never fails to make me smile and often has a cracking first line to catch your interest and draw you in. In this case it’s ‘There was a pig in the kitchen with its trotters on the table and its snout in the fruit bowl’. That’s quite the image! Another line that made me laugh out loud was when she described someone as having ‘a beard that you could have lost a Viking in’!

Natalie, known as Tallie, lives a quiet and fairly solitary life running her family herb farm. I took to Tallie immediately and had a lot of sympathy for her. She is at the beck and call of her mother who is often bed-ridden with a unexplained condition. She carries out her caring duties with a mix of guilt, love and resignation. There is some mystery surrounding what happened to her father many years ago, along with another childhood incident. She’s always been told not to ask questions and, as doing so upsets her mother, she just doesn’t. There are clearly many secrets being held close and I was very curious to find out what they were. She had also been well warned off love as it would only end in heartbreak. I felt for her as she seemed to live quite a small life and, although she enjoyed her work, she didn’t have the opportunity to branch out and experience joy.

Tallie’s quiet life is well and truly disrupted with the arrival of Zeb, sneakily employed by Tallie’s mum to help promote the business. At the same time, a famous folk band arrive and are keen to film their latest video at the farm. One the band members in particular catches Tallie’s eye and she begins to dream of a different kind of life.

How do stories which begin ‘once upon a time’ end? Well, as we all know, with ‘and they all lived happily ever after’ and you will of course want Tallie to have her ‘happily ‘ever after’. The question is, who will it be with? I really recommend you read this lovely book to find out. Another gorgeous romantic comedy from Jane Lovering.

Natalie Fisher has taken over the running of her family's herb farm. Whilst that keeps her busy Tallie is also at her mother's beck and call for everything she needs, which is a lot particularly given her long term health issues. Tallie has learned over the years that it is best to keep the peace with her mother, and to never challenge her in any way. After her father's death when she was a very young child her mother and grandmother raised Tallie and she knows that she owes them everything,

However, mum isn't averse to sticking her nose into the business and the latest way she has done this is to employ a business analyst, Zebedee McAuley-Wilson without letting Tallie know. He gets quite the introduction to the herb farm.

There was a pig in the kitchen, with its trotters on the table and its snout in the fruit bowl. but this was fine - well maybe not fine. I wasn't happy about it, but at least the pig was a known quantity. The man, on the other hand, standing watching the pig eat a satsuma, was not.

"There's a pig in here," he said, as though observing a strange scientific phenomenon. "Eating an orange."

"It's a satsuma," I said, helpfully pedantic.

"Oh." He eyed the pig again. "Is that a rare breed?"

"I meant the orange, not the pig. She's a Tamworth." Then I regained my sensibilities, like suddenly putting on a pair of glasses and being able to focus. "But who are you and why are you in my kitchen."

This is such a fun opening line to the book and shows the humour that is threaded throughout the story, something that is present in all of Jane Lovering's books. And that pig gets up to all sorts of shenanigans

The next unexpected group to turn up is a folk-rock-meets-prog-meets-acid-psychedelia rock band who want to film their next videos in the gardens. Soon Tallie finds herself out of her depth and is grateful for Zeb's business acumen. But she is curious about why the band chose her herb farm for farming, and so for the first time in her life she starts asking questions. One thing she doesn't question is her immediate attraction to Mika who plays the viola and the washboard in the band. Maybe she should have.

The problem with starting to ask questions for the first time in your life is that it leads to more questions, and then to answers that might completely change who you think you are, and what your story actually is.

All the while, Zeb is trying to figure out his own story. He is very honest with Tallie about his personal story, about the mistakes he made, and with how he is trying to reinvent his life, but he is also searching for what his future might look like. Could it be here at Drycott farm?

I really enjoy Jane Lovering's books and this was no exception. In this book the family secrets were hidden deep and so took some digging to expose, but there was no doubt in my mind that Tallie bloomed once the truth was revealed. And Zeb was very patient and understanding as he gently encouraged Tallie to look beyond the obvious and question things more.

One odd thing. I think the universe is trying to tell me something. I have now read three gardening/plant related stories in quick succession. Gardening is so not my thing normally!

I am sharing this review with the New Release Challenge hosted at The Chocolate Lady's Book Reviews and with British Isles Friday hosted at Joy's Book Blog. Be sure to check out other stops on the tour shown below. Thanks to the publisher, Netgalley and Rachel's Random Resources for the review copy.

Rating 4/5

I’m not quite sure if I’m too American to have enjoyed this, or if this book just “wasn’t my cup of tea”

The story was interesting but the romance felt extremely forced and honestly made me a little uncomfortable. It felt a bit like zeb was fully taking advantage of Tallie and I kept waiting for her to realize it, but she didn’t. She “fell in love”
Anyways. It wasn’t the worst book I’ve read this year but it was not my favorite.

Once Upon a Thyme is set in a rural English area in a herb garden. Natalie is the owner of this venture, handed down to her from her grandmother to her mother and then Natalie. She has a recalcitrant and rather clever pig, some guinea pigs, and an extensive herb garden with an attached shop. She works hard and is rather hampered by her mother's persistent calls on her time. Natalie was raised mostly by her grandmother, as her mother always seems to have been ill. Her father died when she was an infant.

When Zeb and then Simon and and English band shoot a video in Natalie's garden things begin to become rather topsy turvey for her. Zeb gently challenges her, although Natalie really is quite proficient in her job, however she is struggling on a number of levels. As well as the rather odd and strained relationship with her mother, Natalie wonders if she is really living her life like she would want. A very valid question.

Through a number of challenging moments Natalie finds her way through her struggles and life takes on a better aspect. I could see her going on to living a fulfilling life. I found this an interesting read, I wasn't sure if I liked Natalie at the beginning but as she found herself and began working through her past, I was happy to see her taking control of her life.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I really enjoyed reading it. I found it to be an easy read but at the same time one that had my interest piqued from the very beginning. I actually thought this was going to be solely a romantic read but as I progressed through the book I realised there was an air of mystery to it as well. The characters were all well described, even the non human one who had me laughing out loud are times. To sum up I found this book to be one with romance combined with an air of mystery and I’m very happy to have read and loved it.

I really wanted to like Once Upon a Thyme, the title is clever, the premise sounded charming, and I was looking forward to a cozy, comforting escape to the countryside. I’m usually a fan of cute village stories with a dash of romance and humour. But unfortunately, this one just didn’t quite come together for me.

The main character had potential, but I found her hard to connect with. She was meant to be endearingly flawed, but I mostly just found her frustrating. The plot also lacked momentum and became a little repetitive with big pig escaping one too many times. So, by the halfway point I was struggling to stay engaged.

There are moments of wit and warmth and the food and plant references are delightful, but the tone sometimes veered into overly whimsical, which made the emotional moments harder to take seriously.

I can see how this book might appeal to readers who love gentle, eccentric British humour and aren’t too fussed about plot or character depth. But for me, it felt a bit too light despite some of the serious plot reveals.

I received a complimentary copy from Boldwood Books, via Netgalley.

The storyline was so sweet and the featured animals were so cute. I had a feeling that one of the characters was going to pay a major role but the discovery of her moms I’ll was definitely took me by surprise. I really appreciated Zebs character and how he was intuitive. The conclusion is one of my favorites because it ends with the characters having a conversation allowing the reader to come to a conclusion still with in the story. There is no detachment in the conclusion. It’s tied up with a bow.

This was a sweet book but just took me a little longer to read. It’s really a short 200 page book that was worth the read.

I did have a harder time connecting with a few of the characters. It felt like the story took a while to get going and once it was moving along it still felt slow for me. Some parts felt repetitive.

I would recommend this if you want a slow burn, character growth near the end in a book.

🥀 BOOK REVIEW: Once Upon a Thyme by Jane Lovering 🌿
A rom-com with herbs, heart, and just the right amount of chaos.

This book is like if a cozy cottage, a sarcastic fairy godmother, and a reluctant romance all got stuck in a blender—then sprinkled with thyme (obviously). Jane Lovering delivers laugh-out-loud moments, a heroine you want to be friends with, and a love story that’s both sweet and spicy (like a really good chutney).

✨Read this if you love:

Grumpy/sunshine dynamics
British wit
Romance with a side of gardening disasters
Highly recommend for fans of feel-good fiction with bite. It's charming, it’s quirky, and it smells faintly of rosemary. 🌿💕

#BookReview #OnceUponAThyme #JaneLovering #RomComReads #CozyChaos #HerbalHijinks #BookstagramRecs #BritishHumor #TBRAlert

The clever balance of humour and poignancy, coupled with the unusual setting, makes this an entertaining story. Tallie runs a herb farm practically single-handedly after buying the family business from her mother. She is an isolated individual who soon finds herself out of her comfort zone when new people invade her quiet life. The humorous moments are many, and the opening scene with one of her resident animals is particularly comical. Tallie's family life is challenging, with unanswered secrets. The romance with Zeb is gentle, believable and instrumental in her growth as a person. I enjoyed the originality, the humour and the romance.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

I enjoyed it, some parts more than others. I didn't love the characters, except maybe Zeb, all the cute guinea pigs and Big Pig. I hated the dynamic between Tallie and her mother. At times I couldn't believe Tallie was actually 30 years old. Her interaction with people is odd and she never really gets to know anyone. This is probably due to her mother and grandmother's lies. Plus she was never allowed to ask them any questions. Everything about her family was off. Then throw in her mom's illness. An illness that prevented her from working, making herself any type of food or walking across the street to get milk. Tallie always had to jump when her mom called and go tend to her needs. Doctor's couldn't even figure out what was wrong with Amanda. Amanda always has ulterior motives. She hires Zeb to help Tallie with Drycott Herbs. Zeb turned out to be the best thing for Tallie. He helped bring her out of her shell, overcome her problem of not asking questions and wanted to turn Drycott Herbs into the best place ever. I knew as soon as Simon showed up with the Goshawk Traders that something was going to happen. Loved when the truth about Amanda and all the secrets were finally revealed. I don't know how Amanda and her mom kept everything from Tallie. It was mean and cruel to do this to her daughter. Amanda reaped the rewards and bought herself a house, while Tallie lived in a tiny, never updated cottage that was infested with mice. I was definitely shocked about Amanda and never guessed what her actual illness was.

Definitely recommend the book. I enjoyed the story, writing style and a few of the characters (mainly the animals). Drycott Herbs sounded like a beautiful place. Look forward to reading more books by the author.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Boldwood Books through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The FMC is relatable and situation she is in (trying to own a business while appeasing her mother) is portrayed to be very realistic. You can feel Tallie's struggle to try to balance everything and eventually learning that she needs to set boundaries with her mom. The romance with Zeb was cute but I wish we got to know more about him. The book is short but I wish it was a little longer to expound on some of the areas.

Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

I love reading Jane Lovering's books,

As well as looking after her sick mother, Tally owns and runs a herb farm, which takes up much of her time. She only has a young lad that helps her.

When Zeb turns up, her mother hires him to take care of the business, something which Tally isn’t happy about, he begins to hint at things that aren’t right.

Following him, a band comes to ask if they can do filming for a video to promote their latest album, for which they’ll pay her. Tally accepts as she’s in need of funds.

The real reason the band came to the herb farm becomes clear as the story progresses and it brings back memories for Tally.

Although there is romance between Zeb and Tally, the story is more about the relationship between Tally and her mother.

There’s some funny moments.

I recommend this book.

A joyful story tinged with sadness as Tallie’s life unfolds. Trying to run a business and meet the demands of her controlling manipulative mother . A catalyst or is it 2 arrive to set her on a new path
An easy read with characters to love and hate

I love Jane’s writing, and I am always excited to sit down and read her latest book. What makes her writing stand out to me is that you get that charming, light, and fluffy romance but with a dash of emotional depth or sometimes a mystery. This was a delightful read. I found myself laughing right from the start, and then I became enchanted with Natalie and Zeb’s slow-burn romance. Poor Natalie is overworked trying to run her family’s herb farm and keep up with her demanding mother. However, despite the hard work of running a farm, Natalie loves it and adores being surrounded by her plants. I thoroughly enjoyed exploring Natalie’s farm and the chaotic shenanigans that took place there. I adored the subplot around the band staying at Natalie’s family. They added laughter and light, especially when things got heavier in the book. There are some more emotional moments in this book, which are centred around a secret Natalie’s family has been keeping.

Zeb is an absolute delight as a hero. He is kind, understanding, supportive, and a genuine good guy. He isn’t toxic or overbearing; he just wants to be there for Natalie. This is a super slow, slow-burn romance. It takes a bit for these two crazy love birds to act upon those growing feelings. I’m not always a fan of slow-burn romances, but in this case, it works really well. I appreciated how Natalie and Zeb took the time to get to know each other before becoming romantically involved.

Once Upon a Thyme is another lovely romance by the talented Jane Lovering.