Wrote a very positive review of this in a magazine at the time it came out and at the time didn't understand I had to also post it on here. I don't think writing a review now will be helpful to the publisher or author. Apologies!

Good romantic drama, easy to read and very enjoyable. Perfect for relaxing reading any time.

Pick up a Jo Thomas book and you, the reader, are guaranteed a great trip and also learning about a trade, In this book the reader is transported to Crete and to a farm high in the mountains where the villagers are desperate for the bees to return and honey to be produced, however a mountain plant, which has medicinal properties does not appear to be growing any longer and the bees are staying away. Why do the locals report hearing gun shots high up the hills?

I really enjoy reading Jo Thomas's books and this one is no exception. It is really well written and the reader is able to escape to the greek island and be lost in the countryside but also the busier village centre where the village inhabitants congregate and chat.

I was lucky enough to see Jo at a local literary festival and I remember her talking about her research trips (often with fellow author Katie Fforde) and they sound like such fun! Jo must have done lots of research for this book and it really shines through in her stories. There is so much fact within and I learnt lots about the subject of bees and honey and also the landscape of Crete.

I really highly recommend this book - it really is a great read to loose yourself in.

My first read of a Jo Thomas novel. Loved the vivid descriptions of Cretan life and food. A story of second chances and choices. An easy and pleasant read, even if it feels a bit predictable at times. Read for lovely characters and some great armchair travel.

When Nell's daughter leaves home for a life in London and her job literally goes up in smoke Nell decides that it is time to make some changes and go back to work in Crete, where she met and left the love of her life 18 years ago.....there is definitely some unfinished business there!

Arriving in Crete she is met by Georgios the neighbour of the couple that she is going to work for - he is not very friendly but why does she have a feeling that she has met him before? She soon settles in on the farm and helps to renovate the old bee factory so that they can start making honey again, but why are the bees all up the mountain and why is no-one allowed up there.

A lovely story with a few twists but definitely made by the descriptions of Crete and the locals and how they live - perfect light beach read by an author that I is becoming one of my favourites

With The Honey Farm on the Hill Jo Thomas has certainly cemented herself as one of my top authors whose books I will buy without even reading the blurb. I have loved everything she has written and feel she just gets better and better with each book. Every story she writes is highly readable, with stunning settings, characters you are instantly rooting for, plenty of romance and some life lessons and life changing experiences to enjoy along the way. Once you pick up a book from this author it is very very difficult to put it down as Jo has a way of drawing you into the story right from the very first chapter. You are soon quickly immersed in the lives of the characters and by the end your only regret would be that you read the book way too fast and that another year has to pass before you can indulge in such brilliant writing once again. Jo Thomas's books aren't your normal run of the mill romance books, instead she sets each book in a different country and the main female character will have a new profession/adventure to embark on. So we've been to Ireland in The Oyster Catcher, the vineyards of France in Late Summer in the Vineyard and Italy in The Olive Branch. Now is the turn of Crete and a rare and special herb called dittany will play a major role over the course of the book and unite the characters in ways they never imagined.

As we first meet Nell she is standing outside the Christmas decoration factory where she works (what a brilliant job to have) watching the entire place go up in flames. This incident only confirms the way Nell is feeling as her 18 year old daughter Demi has fled the nest and left to work as a nanny in London. With no job until the factory is restored, no money coming in and no daughter to look after Nell is feeling lost and adrift. She needs a focus, something to keep her going over the next few months. Urged on by her friends Angelica and Gracie she stumbles across a website which offers wwoofing. Before you go thinking this is something not meant to be in a book of this nature, wwoofing stands for World Wide Opportunities on Oraganic farm. Nell sees this as an opportunity to grab and even more so when a farm needs help on the island of Crete in a mountain top village called Vounoplagia. This is definitely a sign that Nell is meant to go to this village. Crete holds a special place in her heart for more than one reason and it's 18 years since she has been there. It's time to put old ghosts to rest before she can look forward to and embrace the future. My initial feelings were fair play to Nell, she knew she would go crazy sitting around moping and doing nothing and at the back of her mind there was unfinished business in Crete from that fateful summer 18 years ago and she wanted to put it to bed. She was brave to go away on her own and was to be admired.

Again as with every book I have had the pleasure to read by Jo Thomas she absolutely nailed the setting. Most of the books I have read I have never visited where they are set and it's a mark of a skilled and talented author that by the conclusion of the book I feel as if I have been there and lived the journey with the main character. This book was no different, the island of Crete came alive on the pages right from the minute Nell stepped off the plane onto the tarmac. The journey she takes from the airport with Georgios, a neighbour of her hosts Maria and Kostas, was so vividly described. I could feel the heat, the hairpin bends on the road and the wonder and beauty of the Cretan countryside as they journey up to the mountain to where she will be staying. I felt as if I was in the car next to Nell and with her every step of the remainder of her time spent on the island. The little house where Maria and Kostas live with their animals and the surrounding farmland and the mountain were all so clear in my head thanks to the author's descriptive writing. I think this is what made me enjoy the book so much. As well as having a very good storyline that didn't seem over the top, it was filled with mystery, some romance and a sense of community but the fact I was visualising everything made me really understand and connect with everything going on. In the past, Nell had fallen in love with the small town for a reason and she hopes as she searches for her new identity by escaping the emptiness at home that the answers and admitting the truth will bring her the resolution she needs. By confronting memories hopefully things would become clearer for her.

It may sound like this is just your typical storyline that has been done before of a middle aged woman setting off to find 'herself' once she has raised her child but it's not that at all. Jo Thomas brings so much more to this book as it's evident how much she enjoyed writing the story. Her research was impeccable from the glorious descriptions of the island to the mouth watering Cretan food made to the history of the dittany plant which in itself provides a major storyline in which all the other plot lines feed off from. Nell has arrived at a time when Maria and Kostas are struggling. They wish to reopen their small honey factory but the fact of the matter is no honey can be made if there is no bees. There are no bees because the plant dittany is no longer growing. Dittany is believed to have magical healing properties, it beings good luck and with it the bees make the most amazing honey. Nell sees the community she remembers has changed and with the shadow of loosing everything hanging over them as no tourists come to the village anymore, Nell decides she needs to help. It's like the town is sleeping and if dittany can be discovered again it will once more awaken and become rejuvenated and be the place Nell holds so dear to her heart.

Nell totally changed once she knew she had a quest. OK there was an element where she missed her daughter and worried for her and it did become slightly repetitive but I suppose that's only natural for a mother. I felt she took on this challenge and viewed it as something personal. She wasn't going to let the strange noises coming from the top of the mountain put her off. Even if handsome yet abrupt Georgios didn't appear all that embracing of her quest she would do the best she could for the people she had come to hold so dear. Apart from attempting to discover dittany for the sake of the community, Nell had her own personal mission regarding the events of 18 years ago.

I loved how much mystery and suspense surrounded this and I had my suspicions as to what had actually happened but it was very clever of the author that she let it stretch out the way she did and how Nell remained so clueless as to why people were so secretive. Regarding the overall reveal I thought it was done to be perfection and it took on another worldly quality and allowed for a great and deep exploration of the romance side of things. In any other book this would have felt clichéd and contrived but here it felt so natural and real and I was hoping against hope that a happy and positive outcome could be achieved.

Nell was an amazing woman who grew in independence. She became brave and fiery and no way would she stop until she righted what she believed were wrongs partly incurred by her. I loved every minute of her journey and the time I spent with all the characters in Crete. Jo Thomas has written another stunner of a book that many weeks later I still can't get out of my head. I haven't read anything as good in this genre since I put The Honey Farm on the Hill down. It's not just a summer read as judging by the colourful cover but can be read any time of year and by the time you read the last word you will certainly want to visit Crete. Come the end of the year undoubtedly this book will feature in my most memorable books of the year as it captured my imagination and had me hooked from beginning to end. My only disappointment is I have to wait so long for another book from Jo.

Another wonderful read from Jo Thomas. Likeable characters, well written, beautiful settings, romance and a little drama to keep you going!!

Superb escapism! Having been to Crete many years ago I loved the location of this book before I had started it but the way the views, smells, sounds of the island are captured are spectacular. Greek food is an instant hit for me and this book has many delights in that regard, kleftico, dolmades, etc, not to mention lashings of herbs and of course, honey! The plot is gripping and detailed in a way that means you never quite put it down. I have a weakness for goats, love them, so the cheeky supporting characters in this book were an added bonus!

I absolutely loved this book. From the start Jo Thomas takes the reader on a wonderful journey through the Greece that I remember as it comes under attack from mass tourism. There is a magical quality to this book in the form of a healing herb that only grows in one remote spot. Coupled with Nell's memories of her visit to Greece many years before, this book is one for everybody who enjoys romance, Greece and a darned good story.

You know when you have an auto go to author? Well Jo Thomas is one of those authors. There is something warm and fuzzy about all her books that makes them divine and utter perfection.

This time round we end up in Crete. A place that has special meaning for Nell, who fell head over heels for the country and a special man. Years later she is back. As a WWOOFer (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farm). A term/acronym that I have never heard of, but all the references had me laughing out loud.

One thing I really loved was the descriptions of rural Crete. I could almost smell the sea and the wild herbs on the mountains. As well as picturing gorgeous landscapes. And with some lovable characters this was the perfect book to settle down with and read with a cocktail or two...

This was an enjoyable and fun read. The attempts to lure the bees to the news hives had me in stitches and the romance left me with butterflies in m stomach. This was a warm, touching and beautiful read, one that I can easily read again and again.

I simply think this is a case of it's not you, it's me and this story isn't working for me. The author has a lovely style so I'd certainly check out more from her.

One of Jo Thomas' best books so far.
A really well written tale of family, love and hard toil

Transport yourself to Crete this summer, to a rather special Honey Farm (that is missing its bees), a huge mystery as to what is happening to rare herb, masses of great Greek food, and the search for a lost love, in this wonderful new novel from Jo Thomas.

Incredibly enjoyable to read and a relatively quick read at that, it is full of one main great story plus a few other threads interlinking in. This is a book where I learnt a whole new acronym that I had never come across before, for Nell decides to spend summer in Crete as a WWOOFer (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farm), on a Honey Farm near a village she spent time in many years ago. She is also hoping to track down the love of her life, and father of her now grown up child, but isn't sure if he even still lives there or what the reactions to her will be.

I loved how Nell slotted into life in Crete with Kostas, Maria and Mitera who own the honey farm on the hill. Learning about the properties of various herbs and spices and the general way life in rural Crete was eye opening and made me really long to be a part of life in Vounaplagia. Nell having been a mother for 18 years, is slowly trying to rediscover who she is, while her daughter has an adventure in London.

This is a rather apt book to read in summer, as often the discussion of how to keep bees safe emerges, as they play such a critical role in the world, and this is a story that encompasses that as a theme. Admittedly I could have done without descriptions of angry swarms of bees as I tend to run a mile if I see a single bee, but other than that, there is definitely a useful message to be taken from that element of the book.

The writing is evocative and I could practically smell the herbs in the air in Crete, taste the various foods and when there was the sense of danger, my heart was beating extra fast for the characters. This is easily my favourite book so far from Jo Thomas, an author who seems to improve with each book and they are all fabulous!

Thank you to Netgalley and Headline for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

From start to finish this book had me hooked, I’ve loved all of Jo’s work and this did not disappoint. I have never been to Crete but feel now that I need to visit, the descriptions are wonderful.
The characters so likeable and the fact that we learn all about bees and honey is a truly unique and special storyline to read about in a book. The romance and gorgeous food really topped off this perfect summer read for me.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I really enjoyed this book although at times skipped bits as kept repeating itself. I nice feel good read.

Another fantastic book from Jo. She always manages to make you feel like your actually there. Can't wait for the next

What a wonderful read. The Honey farm on the Hill is a story that just keeps giving, the plot never has a dull moment so I didn't want to put it down. The characters are warm and likeable, the scenery description is atmospheric and the food descriptions are the mouth watering!
Captures the Greek sense of family values and traditions perfectly. I would definately recommend this book!