Book Review: Dreams Come True at Glendale Hall by Victoria Walters

I am pleased to be welcoming Victoria Walters to Novel Kicks. She’s here with the blog tour for her novel, Dreams Come True at Glendale Hall.

Lorna is following her dreams. But can she follow her heart?

Lorna Ferguson has dreamt of opening her own bed and breakfast in the village of Glendale for as long as she’d pictured falling in love. While her love life remains frankly hopeless, Lorna is determined to secure Dove House – the home she imagined living in as a child – to start this new venture with her family.

Along with brother Adam, Lorna starts restoring the house to its Art Deco glory, but faced with a whole host of renovation problems and their money fast running out, they worry that Dove House will never be ready to open in the New Year.

When a mystery man turns up, needing to fulfil a promise he made to his dying father and find the object he left at Dove House many years ago, Lorna’s heart goes out to him. But what they find there is going to change both of their lives forever.

Facing problems at every turn, and distracted by her heart, Lorna is going to need all the magic that her beloved Glendale can supply to make all her dreams come true..

*****

Lorna and her brother, Adam have always dreamed of buying Dove House in Glendale, restoring it to its former glory and making it into a B&B.

When it comes up for sale, they decide that now is the time to try and make their dream into a reality. When their bid is successful, that is when the hard work begins.
Can Glendale once again work its magic? Can they finally make their dream into a reality?

Having previously read Always and Forever at Glendale Hall I was looking forward to heading back to Glendale in the Scottish Highlands. Even though this is book five of the Glendale series, this can be read as a standalone. I am hoping to read the others in the series though as these books and the characters within are just wonderful. It was a delight to catch up with everyone.

This novel focuses on Lorna as she and her brother renovate Dove House and from the get go, I wanted them to succeed.

Lorna is a relatable, likeable character who is an inspiration. Despite the fact that she’s scared at making this big change and commitment, she goes for it and I admire that.

Adam is also wonderful and I wanted him to succeed just as much. I wanted to jump into the page and tell him and Grace that they belonged together.

Finlay is mysterious and hard to get to know when he first appears in the novel. However, I could sense that he was just so likeable. He seemed stuck between family loyalty and forging his own path and I think many people can relate to that. I hoped all the way through that he got to pursue his dream of writing.

The supporting characters are delightful. I did actually feel for Kathleen a little. Being pregnant with your first child is scary and I just felt that she wasn’t as put together as she seemed. Being on the sidelines of something like this, with not being part of the B&B dream – I don’t know, I would find it hard so I felt a little empathy for her. Also, the sibling relationship that she, Adam and Lorna shared – well, brothers and sisters always know how to wind you up and this is depicted well. Haha.

I really don’t want to say much more as I don’t want to spoil it.

Dreams Come True at Glendale Hall is not only about love, whether present or lost, it’s about pulling together as well as having the courage to pursue your dream. As they say, nothing worth having is easy.

This novel is full of warmth, humour, friendship, family and love. It also has a bit of a puzzle to solve surrounding the previous owners and I liked that aspect very much. This whole series is like one, big hug.

If you want a book with great characters, love and warmth, set against a beautiful Scottish backdrop (I want to be able to visit Glendale,) or want a book that will put a big smile on your face, Dreams Come True at Glendale Hall is perfect for you. I really hope this isn’t the last we see of these characters and of Glendale.

About Victoria Walters:

Victoria Walters is a full-time author living in Surrey.

Victoria writes cosy books including the bestselling uplifting and romantic series GLENDALE HALL and the new gripping and charming crime novel MURDER AT THE HOUSE ON THE HILL. She has been chosen for WHSmith Fresh Talent and shortlisted for two RNA awards.

Victoria was also picked as an Amazon Rising Star.

Say hello to Victoria on Instagram, Twitter or by visiting her blog.

Dreams Come True at Glendale Hall is the fifth book in the Glendale series and was released by Hera on 22nd September 2022. Click to buy on Amazon, Waterstones, Kobo, Apple and Hive.

by

Laura

I’m Laura. I started Novel Kicks in 2009. I wanted a place to post my writing as well as give other writers like me the opportunity to do the same. There is also a monthly book club, a writing room which features writing prompts, book reviews, competitions, author interviews and guest posts.

I grew up by the sea (my favourite place in the world) and I currently live in Hampshire. I am married to Chris, have a cat named Buddy and I would love to be a writer. I’m trying to write the novel I’ve talked so much about writing if only I could stop pressing delete. I’ve loved writing since creative writing classes in primary school. I have always wanted to see my teacher Miss Sayers again and thank her for the encouragement. When not trying to write the novel or writing snippets of stories on anything I can get my hands on, I love reading, dancing like a loon and singing to myself very badly. My current obsession is Once Upon a Time and I would be happy to live with magic in the enchanted forest surrounded by all those wonderful stories provided that world also included Harry Potter. I love reading chick lit. contemporary fiction and novels with mystery.