Spring Blossom at Mill Grange is the third instalment following Midsummer Dreams at Mill Grange Autumn Leaves at Mill Grange by Jenny Kane.
I have not previously read the Mill Grange series, but it can be read as a stand-alone novel. It is a beautifully gentle yet pointed, and amusing yet thoughtful, feel-good relationship tale.
Based in the Exmoor countryside of Upwich a group of friends from all walks of life provide a rehabilitation program for veterans, such as the manor’s owners Tina and Sam
The book revolves around the lives of four couples Tina and Sam, Shaun and Thea, Tom and Helen, Bert and Mabel, including other characters within the storyline. Each of them has past haunts and face tough challenges but through perseverance, friendship and support they draw strength from each other.
Helen will soon have to say goodbye to Tom as her sabbatical comes to an end, returning to her job at Roman Baths; their relationship is uncertain, as much as Tom is in love with her both have a hard time acknowledging and expressing their feelings. Tom needs to take into consideration his son Dylan who gets on well with Helen as well as having to deal with an interfering ex. Amongst the relationship drama; Sam and Tina’s wedding is fast approaching with added stresses to make the day perfect.
Thea and Shaun are to embark on a new adventure as co-experts on a dig for a new television show with an irksome producer. Mable and Bill are a solid unit until Bill is hospitalised and worrisome times lay ahead as they both feel anxious and overwhelmed for his wellbeing.
Jenny writes with empathy, and the extra sparkle of romance and wit is delightful. Her writing skill feels as though it is grounded in reality and you find yourself connecting with the characters. A lovely easy read novel to be curled up on the couch with.
I will definitely be purchasing the first two novels; I want to know how their lives entered Mill Grange and how relationships evolved. A fourth book will conclude the series.
ISBN: 9781800246058
Copy courtesy of Head of Zeus (2021)
A selection of our Beauty and Lace Club Members are reading Spring Blossoms at Mill Grange by Jenny Kane. You can read their comments below, or add your own review.
My love of books started at a very young age. My mum has always been a reader and encouraged me to read, buying me endless book from classic fairy tales advancing to the world of Enid Blyton, CS Lewis, Louisa May Alcott, Kathryn Kenny, Carolyn Keene, Francine Pascal. In my adult years the list of authors is endless and every room in my house is filled with books.
One of my favourite novels is Narnia which has always has a special place in my heart. I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in 1978 and when I was given this book to read it let me escape to another world where I felt like I was in the book with all the characters, it wasfun and exciting to escape from reality and eased the ups and downs of the disease at such a young age.
In books nothing is impossible and there is endless potential and hundreds of places to explore or being taken to places that are only made up from the authors’ great minds, the past and future to navigate, characters lives you step into taking you on an emotional rollercoaster ride or being scared out of your wits. I can experience things that I can’t in real life because they’re not possible or real. It challenges my perspective and mindset expanding my worldview.
I find joy, comfort and peace with books, many people may not get it, but I know bookworms like me truly understand. Reading makes my heart happy.
“Spring Blossoms at Mill Grange” is an engaging little love story. It is part of a series, but stands well on its’ own.
Mill Grange is a manor house in England. Sam and Tina are restoring it, turning it into a retreat for Veterans. Because they use an archaeological dig on the property to teach basic archaeological skills, they are joined by Thea and Shaun, archaeologists and part time television presenters. The final residents of Mill Grange are Tom (general dogsbody) and Helen, another archaeologist.
Sam and Tina are preparing for their wedding, but we all know that wedding preparations rarely go smoothly. Thea and Shaun are off to make another television program, but a new producer brings conflict to the set and to their relationship. And Tom and Helen are attracted to each other, but haven’t admitted it yet. Their possible relationship is complicated by Tom’s five year old son Dylan, and the upcoming end to Helen’s sabbatical at Mill Grange.
The first two or three chapters are a bit overloaded. Kane tries very hard to tell us who everyone is, what their background is, how they came to Mill Grange, and what they’re doing now. This is a lot of backstory to shove into a couple of chapters, and to be honest, it gets confusing. Fortunately this is a relatively minor problem; as Kane settles into the story proper, things unfold at a more natural pace and it becomes easier to tell each character and their problems apart.
The characters unfold as likeable people all. They’re not perfect, and make missteps, but they’re basically decent people trying to live decent lives. Their problems are realistic, ones that many readers will recognise or have experienced.
There are no great surprises here. This follows the template of romances so closely that literally nothing unexpected happened. However, it’s well told and the characters are easy to empathise with, so most readers probably won’t mind too much.
In some ways, this seems a romance that is a little out of touch with the world. Helen compares the pay scales of two different jobs, but doesn’t think about her long term career prospects. Tom has problems with access to Dylan, but never thinks of consulting a lawyer or getting a formal agreement. However, these moments that distance it from reality also contribute to the sense that this is a charming world in which true love will always triumph.
One other minor problem with this was the sheer number of typos in it. Normally I simply ignore the odd typo – mistakes happen – but there were so many in this that it became quite obtrusive and had a negative effect on my reading experience.
Overall this was a pleasant reading experience. If there were no surprises, there was instead a sense of reassurance – that good things happen to good people, and happiness will triumph.
A quick and relatively easy read, but I found some of the characters, and parts of their storyline, extremely annoying. The first few chapters for those who may not have read any of the other books in the series (me included) are overwhelming and confusing, as you try to figure out who is who. Eventually things start to flow.
Sam and Tina are the owners of Mill House, and most of the story revolves around their live in friends, and the preparations for their upcoming wedding.. As to be expected, all does not go smoothly.
The lack of communication and unfounded jealousy within the couples, really irritated me, and I just wanted to yell ‘stop’ at Tom and Helen, as they seemed to go round in circles and not really listen or even communicate. Thea and Shaun are just as bad, and I became quite bored with the toing and froing, and not speaking to each other teenage carry on, of supposed adults.
Eventually, as is to be expected, it all works out for every one in the end.
The storyline is left wide open for more books in the series, which I am sure will be stand alone stories as well, but reading all of a series tends to make a complete overall picture of the characters, and the opportunity to get to know and understand them.
I must add, there were many typing errors, whether it be spelling or punctuation, which really annoyed me, and detracted even more from the storyline.
A pleasant enough read, with a predictable conclusion, but sadly, far from my favourite. Thank you Beauty & Lace and Head of Zeus, for the opportunity to read ‘Spring Blossom at Mill Grange’
Spring Blossoms at Mill Grange, is a delightful e-book with a fresh and feel good style. It is written by Jenny Kane and published by Aria, an imprint of Head of Zeus Ltd, and while it is the third book in the Mill Grange Series, it is easily read as a stand alone novel.
The book (and presumably the series) centers around the lives of four couples, who all live and work at Mill Grange – a large country manor house set in the charming village of Upwich, which has been restored and turned into a safe house and rehabilitation retreat for injured veterans.
Larger than life characters – Tina and Sam, Shaun and Thea, Tom and Helen, as well as the aging couple Bert and Mabel, are each at different stages in their relationships and each tackles crucial make or break dilemmas ranging from wedding planning jitters to serious illness, ex-partner issues, jealousy and insecurity throughout the story. What makes it refreshing and uplifting however, is the bond that has developed between all the Mill Grange inhabitants. Each of the different couples relies upon and supports each other through whatever is being faced, coming together like a close knit family.
An easy to read and lovely foray into friendship and relationships that I could easily see being made into a tv series.
Spring Blossoms at Mill Grange by Jenny Kane was a nice easy read. As it is the 3rd in the series, I quickly read the previous two books which gave me more understanding of the characters, but this can be read as a stand-alone.
I enjoyed the descriptions of a small (fictional) village in Exmoor and the interesting cast of characters that lived there. I did enjoy this book more than the second in the series but found the lack of communication between the main characters to be a bit annoying.
Thanks to Beauty and Lace and Head of Zeus for my opportunity to read this pleasant e-book and to be introduced to a new author.
Spring Blossoms at Mill Grange by Jenny Kane is my first book by this author. It’s the third book in a series but can be read as a stand alone. The first few chapters are overwhelming with background information on the characters, I’m not sure if this is the author’s style or if it’s to catch up readers like me who haven’t read the other two books in the series. Once past those first few chapters, the pace settles down but the story itself is very predictable, the characters and the typos become annoying. It is a very light and easy read.
Spring Blossoms at Mill Grange by Jenny Kane is the first book I have read by this author. This book is part of a series and I was disappointed that I didn’t read from the start of the series. While the book was lovely, I just felt that there was a lot of back history I was missing because I hadn’t read the previous character stories. This might not bother some people and it can obviously be read as a stand-alone book, but for me having the rest of the character history would have made it better. I will go back and read the other books in the series now though.
Loved the archeology part of the book, it was something a bit different as the back story. I also noticed spelling and punctuation errors and I always find them extremely frustrating in a published book.
Thank you Beauty and Lace for letting me read this!
Spring Blossoms At Mill Grange by Jenny Kane is the third book in this series, could be a tad hard to follow if readers haven’t read the first two books as there is a lot of history between the characters, Loved the characters Mabel and Bert such a lovely couple other characters not so much, the ending was predictable but still a nice book to read, I found lots of spelling mistakes maybe cause this is an ebook ?? any way I enjoyed reading this book
Thank you for the opportunity to read Spring Blossoms At Mill Grange. I hadn’t read the first two which may have made it easier to get into the book as I did find myself struggling in the beginning.
This was an easy read, and I found the archaeological side quite interesting but as with others the spelling errors were a bit off turning
Spring Blossums at Mill Grange is the 3rd book in the series. I haven’t read any of the previous books so although this can be read as a standalone I think it would be easier to get into if you’ve read the others.
The book follows the lives of many different characters as they go about there lives in the Exmoor countryside.
I like these type of book that have a large cast of interesting characters in a small close knit community.
It was a quick enjoyable read and I will probably try to read the others in the series.
Thanks to Beauty and Lace and Head of Zeus for the opportunity to read this book.
Firstly, thank you to Beauty and Lace and Aria for the chance to read and review this book.
I really enjoyed the characters and felt it was quite well researched – I learnt a bit about archaeology and how tv shows are made! As some of the other reviewers have mentioned, there was the issue of sorting out who was who at the beginning, but that being said I am definitely going to go and read the others in the series so I can get more of an idea of the background.
All in all, an enjoyable book and one I would recommend!