FEW visitors to the historic city of Edinburgh will know
that just a short walk from the busy shopping streets is a picturesque little
village famous for its fairytale cottages, peaceful atmosphere and a history
dating back over 800 years.
Once a prosperous milling hub and now a tranquil and
stunningly photogenic residential area, the real-life Dean Village stands
proudly at the heart of a romantic and uplifting tale of old loves and new
beginnings from Holly Hepburn (pictured below), author of a whole raft of feel-good fiction.
Healing Hearts on Thistledown Lane is an enchanting and thought-provoking treat, the perfect starter for a new year of reading, and comes packed with Hepburn’s trademark humour, heart and powerful emotional insights into some of life’s all-too-familiar challenges. Maura McKenzie is in her late thirties and seems to have everything she ever wanted from life… a quirky cottage in Edinburgh’s picture postcard pretty Dean Village, a career as a potter and a contented relationship with her boyfriend, Jamie Wallace, a city banker.
When Maura reunites with her teenage crush Fraser Bell, one
of her school’s ‘popular gang,’ at a Hogmanay party, she’s instantly reminded
of how much she fancied the good-looking boy who had that thing called
‘presence’ and how she has never forgotten the drunken kiss they shared when
she last saw him.
Fraser is now an actor but has moved back to Edinburgh from London with his city slicker girlfriend Natalie to recharge his ‘creative batteries.’ But when Fraser suggests that Maura could make some ceramic ghosts to complement a city ghost tour business that he has set up, she’s tempted. At first, everything goes smoothly but it’s not long before their new partnership causes problems that ripple through every aspect of Maura’s life. The pottery ghosts go viral so soon she has more orders than she can fulfil and Jamie is not thrilled that she’s spending all her time in her studio. And when Edinburgh Castle shows an interest in Maura’s work, things begin to spiral out of control. Can Maura really have it all or will she regret wishing for more?
The magnificent city of Edinburgh, and one of its magical
hidden corners, proves to be an enchanting backdrop for Maura and Fraser’s
slow-burn romance which explores the dramas and dilemmas of choosing between
pursuing your dreams and ambitions… or following the call of your heart’s
desire.
For Maura, who has spent years accepting that quiet
contentment with rugby-loving boyfriend Jamie was her lot in life, meeting up
again with Fraser is a wake-up call to re-assess not just how she lives but
where her passions lie and who it is she loves.
With its warm and welcoming vibe, the heart-fluttering
reawakening of a lost love affair, a joyful sense of rediscovery and renewal,
and the special allure of a captivating backdrop steeped in a slice of Scottish
history, Healing Hearts on Thistledown Lane is the perfect escapist read and
ideal for sweeping away those January blues.
(Simon & Schuster, paperback, £9.99)