#Review: The Girls of Heatherly Hall by Julie Houston @JulieHouston2 @AriaFiction #publicationday #familydrama #romcom #RespectRomFic #TheGirlsofHeatherlyHall

I’m really delighted today to share my review of The Girls of Heatherly Hall, the latest book from the wonderful Julie Houston: published today (6th July) by Aria Fiction, it’s now available as an ebook (for kindle, and Kobo) and in paperback. My thanks to the publishers for my advance reading e-copy, provided via netgalley – and to Julie, who reminded me just in time that it was available so I could rejig my reading list a little to fit in a publication day review!

I’ve read and enjoyed so many of Julie’s lovely books – she’s very much a personal favourite – that you might just like to pop her name into my search box and you’ll find all the many reviews. I really look forward to my visits to Westenbury – the village is now very familiar, and characters do reappear in cameo roles (always rather a treat!), but there would be nothing to stop you picking up any of her books and reading it as a standalone (although I do rather guarantee you’ll be going back for more…). But this is the second book to focus on the Quinn triplets – the first was The Village Vicar, published in January 2023, and currently just 99p for kindle if you’d really prefer to read the books in order). And I really loved it – superb storytelling, perfectly paced, that mix of humour and poignancy that she always does so well, surprises aplenty, and one of the most uplifting endings I could have wished for (you’ll find my full review here). I couldn’t wait to spend more time with Eva, Rosa and Hannah and to see how things are going at Heatherly Hall – and in their complicated private lives……

Three devoted sisters… One complicated family.

 

After the untimely death of their biological father, triplets Eva, Rosa and Hannah find themselves the unlikely owners of Heatherly Hall, the vast manor house overlooking their home village of Westenbury. But the beautiful house comes with almost as much baggage as it does land, not least high running costs and expectations. It’s up to the sisters to find a way to keep Heatherly Hall going and, most importantly, in the family.

 

But with drama in their private lives and secrets about to emerge, can the sisters stick together to focus on the task at hand?

Inheriting a majority share in Heatherly Hall has brought changes and new responsibilities to all of the Quinn triplets, but none more so than Hannah – managing the place day-to-day, dealing with issues way outside her skill set (what on earth will she do with all those piglets?). She still feels totally out of her depth chairing the management committee, always in conflict with the standoffish and superior estate manager – he’s never going to agree with her ideas about a rock festival to rival Glastonbury (think “Westenbury”…), is he? And her private life’s a bit of a car crash too – Ben might have left his wife and family for her, but commitment isn’t something he’s particularly good at.

Eva’s struggling with the realisation that she’s facing the end of her marriage to dentist husband Rayan, while dealing with the impact on their two young children – like her father (and there’s more to that story…) she’s a talented artist, and the possibility of setting up an artists’ retreat at the hall might give her something good to focus on. And Rosa’s settling in well as the village vicar, even if living at the dilapidated vicarage has its problems – and her new relationship with Sam certainly isn’t all she wants it to be, and made all the more difficult by the closeness of Joe, the former love of her life who might have moved on but still makes her heart beat rather faster.

It’s a tremendous temptation to go on and tell you the whole story of what happens next – but the author does it so much better, intertwining the stories of all three, involving you in their lives, keeping you alongside them as they navigate life’s problems, laugh and cry, and hope to find their own paths to a happy ending. And the story is underpinned by the relationship between them – quite wonderfully drawn, sisterhood at its best, but not without the odd clash and difference of opinion along the way. We follow their struggles to find the right way forward with the Hall, to be true to the vision of their father Bill, the former Marquess of Stratton – but that’s nicely balanced by their own personal stories, with a few touches of romance along the way. I’m always really impressed by the way the author delves into the emotions of her characters, making them both real and sympathetic – but there’s always a real lightness too, a lovely thread of humour (and some of the most wonderful set pieces) that unfailingly makes me laugh.

And as well as the three women at its centre, the supporting cast is simply wonderful – their various partners (although I’m really disappointed in Sam – but with a mother like that, I’m not too surprised…), but also the more incidental ones like Hilary the outspoken church warden. The village of Westenbury is as beautifully drawn as ever, and – if this isn’t your first visit – it’s a delight to meet again some familiar characters from the earlier books, and particularly to be present at a rather special wedding. But there’s a trip to Paris too, particularly testing for one of the sisters, but all handled with the perfect emotional touch – with the reintroduction of the wonderful Alice, the triplets’ natural mother and famously unpredictable and eccentric.

I’ll be honest and admit that it might have been something of a risk to combine so many different storylines in a single book, but the author manages it with particular aplomb – no threads dropped, every single one carefully woven into a whole that really worked just perfectly. I thoroughly enjoyed this book – an author I love, writing at her very best. Highly recommended by me!

About the author

Julie Houston lives in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire where her novels are set, and her only claims to fame are that she teaches part-time at ‘Bridget Jones’ author Helen Fielding’s old junior school and her neighbour is ‘Chocolat’ author, Joanne Harris. Julie is married, with two adult children and a ridiculous Cockerpoo called Lincoln. She runs and swims because she’s been told it’s good for her, but would really prefer a glass of wine, a sun lounger and a jolly good book – preferably with Dev Patel in attendance.

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