There were so many things I loved about this book and I really struggled to put it down. Firstly, the opening is dramatic and intriguing as we learn that Eleanor is running away from something, but we are not exactly sure what, or why.

Eleanor is a relatable and likeable character who I feel that Beth has developed well and helped me build a bond with throughout the course of this book. She is a realistic character in that she has her flaws and has made mistakes, but I am in no doubt that her heart was in the right place when doing so.

The romance in this book develops slowly and organically but there is a romantic feel to the book from early on. Daniel is an admirable and lovely character. It is easy to see why Eleanor falls for him, but will there be a happy ever after when the truth comes out?

This book deals with some serious issues that a lot people can relate to, including death, parenting, communication issues and the breakdown of close knit and solid communities in our modern society.

Running alongside the romance plot, there are strong themes of friendship, community and team-work which shine through this book and give it an overall uplifting and optimistic feel.

I cannot find fault with this book and I have loved follow Eleanor’s journey rebuilding her life and finding out that self-acceptance is the key to happiness. The book provides some wonderful nuggets of wisdom that we can all learn from and this also added to my enjoyment.

This book has convinced me that I definitely need to go back and read more of this author’s back catalogue! I would definitely recommend this book and author to fans of Milly Johnson, Jill Mansell and Heidi Swain.

We Belong Together is a heart-warming story that is well worth the read! The story follows Eleanor as she escapes to her best friend's family farm to hide from her demons. At the farm, she encounters situations that she did not expect and in the midst of all the secrets, some mystery (this was unexpected) and the good she tries to do, she finds love!

I loved reading about Eleanor, her secretive past (that is hinted at a lot), he relationships and friendships with people. I also enjoyed reading about Daniel and all the people of the village. The characters are pleasure to read about and are very well thought out. 

This is a light read that can be read anytime but would be best for a lazy summer afternoon. I fell in love with the story and enjoyed it completely. This is the first book by the author that I have read and I am definitely looking forward to reading more!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book!

Eleanor flits London in the middle of the night, heading to the rural farm where she thinks her best friend is living. She has disasters on the way, and when she gets there finds some devastating news. She can't return to her life in London, so ends up staying with her friends brother, Daniel.
They end up getting a lot closer, but Eleanor is keeping secrets that could damage her new relationship and someone is out to get her.

A great read.

Book Review “We Belong Together” by Beth Moran
AUGUST 27, 2021 ~ NIKIPRESTON ~
We Belong Together


SYNOPSIS
Eleanor Sharpley has been living a lie…
Needing to escape her London life quickly, Eleanor throws her things into the back of her car, and heads to her erstwhile best friend Charlie’s family farm.

But Charlie isn’t there. Instead she finds Charlie’s grieving brother Daniel, her eight-month old daughter Hope (a daughter Eleanor had known nothing about), and a crumbling and unloved Damson Farm.

Damson Farm lies at the edge of the village of Ferrington, with the river Maddon flowing at its heart. But Ferrington is a village divided by more than just a river – it is split in two by an age-old feud – between the Old Side and the New Side. Eleanor has run from her problems, straight into a family and a world that has problems of its own.

But Damson Farm has magic too, and as winter gives way to spring, the old farm starts to come to life under Eleanor’s love and care. The orchard starts to blossom with daffodils and bluebells, and the sound of bees busy in their hives fills the warming air. Can Eleanor bring Daniel and the feuding village of Ferrington back to life too, or will her secrets catch up with her first?

Purchase Link – https://amzn.to/3g55WF3

BOOK REVIEW BY NIKI PRESTON

STAR RATING 5***** STARS

I adored this book from the first moment. A very different take on a romance story. Eleanor Sharpley, alias Nora Sharp is a big shot food critic with a sting in her tail. After a traumatic break up Eleanor decides she just has to get out of London and get some perspective on where she wants her life to go after Nora.

After throwing her belongings in her she sets off and literally crashes into a grieving man’s life and turns everything upside down.

This is a truly marvellous read filled with great friendships, strong blossoming love alongside Eleanor’s desire to try and carry out her friends Charlies dream for, what has become a very run down Damson farm. You get a definite sense that even though Eleanor portrays a strong character outwardly to those around her, inside she is in turmoil. She doesn’t really know where to turn so keeps her biggest secret for fear of scaring Daniel away. Daniel comes across as the strong silent type who only wants to bring up his daughter in peace. He slowly begins to thaw not only to Eleanor’s ideas but also to her. As their friendship unfurls you, as the reader get carried along with them and you find yourself telling them what to do in your head and desperately hoping they will listen.

A beautifully written book that draws you right in to these characters lives. A great romance evolves with a fair few bumps in the road. It is not always obvious how this couple will end up. I am not going to spoil that, you will just have to read this fab book for yourself.

Author Bio –


Beth Moran is the author of three previous romance novels, including Making Marion. She regularly features on BBC Radio Nottingham and is a trustee of the national women’s network Free Range Chicks. She lives on the outskirts of Sherwood Forest. Beth’s first novel for Boldwood, Christmas Every Day, was published in September 2019.

Social Media Links –

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/bethmoranauthor

Twitter https://twitter.com/bethcmoran

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/bethmoranauthor/

Newsletter Sign Up Link http://bit.ly/BethMoranNewsletter

Bookbub profile https://www.bookbub.com/authors/beth-moran

REVIEW by NIKI PRESTON www.nikipreston.com

We Belong Together by Beth Moran is a lovely feel good read that is pure escapism at its very best.

Needing to get away from her life in London, Eleanor Sharpley escapes to her best friend Charlie’s family farm. But when she arrives, Charlie isn’t there. Instead she finds Charlie’s grieving brother Daniel and her eight month old baby daughter (a baby Eleanor knew nothing about), along with a crumbling and unloved Damson Farm.

Shocked by what she’s walked into, Eleanor tries to help Daniel bring the old farm back to life. With an age old village feud to contend with, will Eleanor be able to bring the community back together and help heal the rift at long last? Or are her own secrets about to catch up with her once again?

Told from Eleanor’s perspective, there is a warmth to Beth Moran’s writing that made me fall in love with this story from the outset. With the mystery behind who or what she needed to escape from keeping you guessing throughout, We Belong Together is a heartwarming story that I thoroughly enjoyed from beginning to end.

Beth Moran has written a charming, feel good story that I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend. Just lovely!

I enjoyed reading this book - so much more than your usual chick lit and loved the history behind it too

Highly recommend

I absolutely adored reading this book ! It was just what I needed in my life, the type of book that just kind of makes you feel all warm inside .

In this book we meet Eleanor Sharpley , who ill be honest I instantly fell in love with her character , she is so fun to read about and absolute pleasure ! She escapes her London life to go spend time at her best friends family farm but little does she know what lies in wait for her there ... 2 feuding villages , a grief stricken brother and a falling apart farm.

The farm is described vividly so that as you are reading it you can picture it so clearly in your mind you can imagine yourself their with the characters. It is expertly written and keeps you wanting to read more and more. This is the first book that I have read by this author and it most certainly won't be the last one !! Loved it

What can I say. I liked this book. Must read. Do it. If you do anything else. Read this book today. Great read and enjoyable.

A jam-packed romance with characters you will love and root for every step of the way! It is a story of personal growth, discovering yourself and dealing with tragedy and adversity. Heartwarming and endearing.
Eleanor is a great character, she is far from perfect, but she is likeable. She faces a lot of challenges and decides to ‘run away.’ Doing so means discovering fresh heartache but also new opportunities and we see how Eleanor makes the most of things, supports herself and takes care of those around her. She builds relationships within the (divided) community in Becky and Alice and makes it her mission to reunite the town and stop all the madness she witnesses during her stay.
Daniel is a brilliant character – he’s grieving and still puts others first. His dedication and love for baby Hope is so sweet. I love the way he helps Eleanor and gently nudges her in the right direction. It isn’t a story about love at first sight by a long way. It’s fair to say things are a little awkward at first but before long Daniel and Eleanor have a lovely bond and easy friendship and have created a great care system for baby Hope. As Eleanor works on making dreams come true, Daniel allows her free reign to do what is needed. How supportive!
When her past starts to catch up with her, Eleanor’s new life may be in jeopardy and the relationships she has nurtured during her stay may be torn apart.
I loved it... and I never read a book set fairly locally (although the town of Ferrington is fictional it is based locally) and there was even a mention for the mighty Mansfield Town FC (Come on you STAGS!)
Cleverly written and nicely paced, there Is so much happening but I felt the story played out in a nice way and I didn’t discover everything all in one go. As a story with multiple threads, they are cleverly woven so that I was always interested and wanted to read more.
I’ve never read anything by this author but I shall be rectifying that pretty quickly. I definitely recommend this fantastic story; romance, drama, humour with a little bit of mystery involved. What’s not to enjoy!

This is my first read of the work of Beth Moran and I absolutely adored it. Beth Moran will definitely be going on my favourite’s list.

As I type this review I can still sense the emotions I felt whilst reading this book and I am feeling slightly bereft as I adored the characters in this novel. I enjoyed every stage in the storytelling and the whole storyline, although at times had to deal with serious issues, felt so uplifting. I feel like I’ve had to say ‘cheerio’ to a best friend in Eleanor and Daniel. I hope author, Beth Moran, will give us glimpses of these characters again in the future.

Another area I particularly enjoyed was the location of the farm as it’s not a million miles away from me so I could easily picture the scenes and felt quite at home. I too was bought up in a mining village and witnessed first hand the animosity during the miner’s strike of the 1980’s so I could totally understand the feelings felt throughout.

Eleanor has been living a secret double life for a few years but with her success in the media comes a dark side of online trolling, abuse and stalking. Life has become quite stressful as Eleanor is now experiencing these side effects and decides that this life she’s been living is not worth it anymore. She packs her bags and heads to the rural charm of the Nottinghamshire countryside, to her best friend, Charlie and her family farm. However, her arrival at the farm brings so much pain and heartache and she fears she hasn’t been the best of friends to Charlie.

Beth Moran has written a story of a family coping with grief and the sudden change in direction of their lives. It’s also a story of a community still suffering from the emotional and physical scars following the miner’s strike in the 1980’s that caused a divide in the village. It’s also a story of a young woman escaping from the negative dark side of the media. The story moves in so many different directions but all routes lead to a run down farm that may just hold the key to not only healing the hearts of the community but also the farm’s owners. There’s a real sense of community spirit, of aspiration, of forgiveness and of moving forward. Making new friends and rekindling old ones. Making the best of situations and always looking to improve. There is also a beautiful romance that will make your heart swell.

A beautiful, uplifting story.

A charming story about forgiveness and doing the right thing.
This story is told from Eleanor’s perspective and shows us a flawed but human character who needs to learn to forgive herself as she moves on in her life putting things right. Damson Farm and the village of Farringdon sounded idyllic and I loved how the farm and her new friendships helped Eleanor find herself again.

Favorite Quotes:

After an initial glance in the mirror I had to steel myself before I could face a closer inspection… if you could find a foundation to match this skin-tone it would have been called ‘hint of corpse’.

Kathy deigned to glance across at me. ‘That hair tone is upsetting. I didn’t think they sold such dismal shades outside Eastern Europe.’ ‘This is my natural hair colour!’

I could feel him smiling against my hair. How could one moment be so full of horror and so deliciously lovely all at the same time?

My heart was flapping like a demented chicken.


My Review:

Oh, happy, day! I have a new author to fangirl and add to my favorites list. Beth Moran was found treasure and I have entered her entire Goodreads listing to my TBR. Her characters were exceptionally endearing while her writing style was easy to fall into, shrewdly paced, engaging, and poignant. But it was her well-crafted storylines that ticked all my boxes, as they were relatable, realistic, and unfailingly entertaining while touching on several prickly social issues with generous servings of wry levity, internal tension, perceptive inner musings, clever humor, a blossoming romance, and a bit of peril and intrigue to round out all the feels. I enjoyed her uniquely quirky villagers as they waged a decades-old and pointless feud but I reveled in Eleanor finding her footing while also helping everyone she met find theirs as well.

I have been a fan of Beth’s work for a while now. I have read and love every book that she has released to date. I read the synopsis for ‘We Belong Together’ and it certainly sounded like the fun and heart warming read that I have to associate with Beth. I couldn’t wait to dive in and so without further ado, I dived straight in. Overall I really enjoyed ‘We Belong Together’ but more about that in a bit.
At first, I wasn’t sure if I was going to enjoy reading ‘We Belong Together’. I started to read the story and I felt incredibly sad over the fact that one of the characters called Charlie appears to have suffered from mental health problems and she has unfortunately passed away. Once I got over her death, I started to really enjoy the story. I loved finding out more about Eleanor and Daniel, who is Charlie’s brother and about the way in which they help each other heal as it were. To say that reading ‘We Belong Together’ became addictive is a bit of an understatement. I would pick the book up only intending to read a chapter or two but I would become so wrapped up in the story that I would still be sat there reading over an hour and several chapters later. I seemed to race through the story at speed. I found ‘We Belong Together’ to be an emotive read, which gripped me from start to finish and ultimately left me with a smile on my face.
‘We Belong Together’ is extremely well written. Beth certainly knows how to grab the reader’s attention and then reel them in. Beth has one of those easy going writing styles that is easy to get used to and easy to get along with. In fact reading one of Beth’s books feels like a chat between friends rather than reading a book. I hope that makes sense. Beth certainly doesn’t shy away from discussing difficult subjects but she writes about them in a compassionate and sensitive way. Beth describes her characters so well that they seem just as real as you and I. I felt as though I was part of the story and that’s thanks to Beth’s very vivid and realistic storytelling.
In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘We Belong Together’ and I would recommend it to other readers. I will certainly be reading more of Beth’s work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

***Blog Tour Review***
What an exceptional story! 5/5 ⭐ Many thanks to the publisher and Rachel's Random Resources for giving me the chance to review a beautiful book like We Belong Together. 🧡

I ended up loving this book a lot more than I thought I would. :') That's just one of the best things about reading, no? You never know what treasure you'll find within the pages of your book, or well in this case - my kindle. We Belong Together started with Eleanor travelling (read fleeing) to her best friend, Charlie's farm for escaping from her life's struggles. Upon reaching Damson Farm, she finds out things have changed a lot since her last encounter with Charlie. We get to see Eleanor experience unexpected events throughout the whole book while she navigates a blooming friendship and romance with Charlie's grieving brother, Daniel. Throw in a village divided by an old feud, and we get a beautiful story to cozy up to, and also cry a little bit along the way.

This was the first book I read from Beth Moran and I'm so in love with her characters! Daniel and Eleanor's kindness made me fall in love with them, but their flaws and shortcomings, along with their ability to accept their mistakes made my heart so full. There's a mystery involved with the book, so I can't really talk about the storyline properly here, but believe me when I say this - this book will take you on a joyous yet emotional ride. Seeing Eleanor and Daniel connect by sharing their life's stories was just so heart-warming. I lived for their conversations.

The twists and turns made it very hard for me to keep the book down even for a while, so yeah, I ended up finishing the book in a day. :') Staying up until 3 am yesterday to finish reading it was definitely worth it. I loved how the story unfolded to make me realize that Eleanor and Daniel really belonged together. After turning the last page of this book, I discovered the true meaning of holding on to your loved ones while opening your heart to new beginnings. ❤ I can't wait for more people to read this gem of a novel.

Elanor is running away from her life in London and all the chaos that comes with it, so she decides the best place to try and find solace is at her friend Charlie’s family run farm, a place she has heard so much about over the years.

However her journey is far from ideal, and as Elanor finds herself stuck in a ditch after swerving to avoid a sheep on the road she is immensely grateful for the stranger that arrives and saves her from this predicament. What she doesn’t realise at the time is that her rescuer Daniel is also Charlie’s brother who is living at the farm too.

And then Elanor is dealt another devastating blow when she learns that Charlie has passed away and Daniel is now looking after the farm and her young daughter too. Daniel kindly takes Elanor in, and a tentative friendship initially forms between them as they try to come to terms with the loss of Charlie and the events that have thrown them together, not to mention the fact that Elanor is harbouring some pretty big secrets of her own that she hopes to keep hidden from Daniel.

It doesn’t take too long before a romantic spark ignites between them, especially as they are in such close proximity with one another whilst Elanor heals from her accident. She befriends some of the locals and learns a lot more about the village she is currently living in, feeling relieved that the horrors of her life are well behind her…. but then the threatening messages start up again, and Elanor realises that leaving the past behind her is far easier said than done.

I loved this story from the moment I began reading it. The story is told from Elanor’s perspective, giving us a deep insight into her life and the hardships she has faced along the way. Daniel is another fascinating character who captures your heart instantly. Despite the deep grief he is feeling from the loss of his sister, he still puts others needs before his own and truly seems to have a heart of gold. The storyline is so much more than that of a typical romantic novel, as the characters face many emotional hurdles along the way, from grief and fear to opening their hearts to others once again.

This is such a wonderfully written story that has you mesmerised from the moment you begin reading it, a true delight that I will be telling others about for certain!.

Beth Moran just makes me fall completely in love with her leading characters and Eleanor was no different. I just wanted to be her best friend, her sounding board and give her the biggest cuddles over a bottle of wine despite not always making the best life choices.
For personal reasons (that are revealed as you read through the narrative), Eleanor flees her party, high flying life in the big city to go and hide out at her best friend’s farm (who she hasn’t seem for a while). After a nasty accident and some devastating news she finds comfort in her friend’ home and the solitude of small village life and develops an ambition to make her friend’s dreams into reality and to bring solidarity to the two sides of the river.
I adored the rural setting and the comfort of a cottage. Many books feature high end homes or cosy little shabby chic nooks, but Damson Farm felt like a home, with all its faults and everydayness. It feels like a home (albeit a little run down to begin with), and a place to be cosy and at your worst/best.
The developing friendship between Daniel and Eleanor was charming and lovely to be part of. They were such a huge impact on each other without even realising and both exactly where they needed to be to heal and recover.
The mild mystery aspect of the stalker also brough an extra dimension to the plot. I liked that it added a little light tension and drama and it balanced out the character development and relationship aspects well.
I adored this novel and found it heart-warming and uplifting but also emotional in places. Eleanor and Daniel are real and they worked their way into my hearts very quickly. Once again, Beth has written a wonderful novel. That is just perfect.

When Eleanor’s life comes crashing down, it seemed only natural for her to head off to her old friend Charlie’s family farm. There she learns that Charlie is no more and finds Daniel, Charlie’s grieving brother trying to look after his sister’s baby daughter, Hope and run Damson Farm. Eleanor is drawn to step in and help. She begins to look for creative ways to help revive the farm and patch up an age old feud that divides the village of Ferrington.

But all the while she’s hiding a secret. She is being hounded and threatened and never knows when her past will catch up with her. As she grows closer to Daniel and Hope, she wonders whether she can continue to hide this secret – afraid that Daniel will reject once he learns about her.

When things seems to be looking up and the farm starting to thrive and the villagers reluctantly putting aside their old feud, all hell breaks loose. Eleanor’s past visits the farm, putting her life and her relationship with Daniel at risk.

Will they be able to move forward despite it all?

I was hooked on to this story from the very first page. A well paced story, with a variety of elements – grief, fear, hope, friendship, laughter, community, mystery, suspense and above all love.

It was also a story of redemption. Trying to live up to what her friend Charlie would want for her and her love for Daniel, propels Eleanor to move beyond the past she’s not proud of. Yet, she can’t bring herself to trust Daniel with truth. Daniel too struggles with trust. Their growth as individuals and as a couple are heartening.

An enjoyable read, that was certainly more than just a romance!

It’s not very often that I take to Twitter as soon as I finish a book to share how much I enjoyed it, but with this book I just had to. I loved everything about this really original and well-told story – characters, setting, friendships, romance, the mystery, the humour – and was so delighted to discover that Beth Moran’s writing just gets better and better.

Fleeing London and her high-flying life, Eleanor hopes to find refuge with her friend Charlie at Damson Farm – but instead she finds Charlie’s grieving brother Daniel, caring as well as he can for Charlie’s small daughter Hope, and the farm in a very poor state of repair. They develop a friendship, and Eleanor sets about turning the farm into a cared-for home while giving Daniel some respite in his duty of care – and when she discovers a notebook setting out Charlie’s vision for the home she loved, it gives her fresh purpose and a target to achieve.

But there’s more that needs repairing than their broken hearts and the down-at-heel property, with Ferrington a village divided by more than the bridge-less River Madden, the Old Side and New Side at odds, with long and bitter memories of the miners’ strike. As Eleanor begins her mission to bring the community together, there are new friendships, and some wonderful small storylines – but then her former life begins to catch up with her, a stalker that threatens everything around her new life, with a real edge of threat and danger.

This book really did have a bit of everything I love about a book – wonderful storytelling, the perfect emotional touch when dealing with grief and loss but also with the romance and moments of joy, the kind of friendships that totally warm your heart, and a light humour running through that never failed to make me smile. The whole premise for the stalker storyline was quite inspired – their identity might not have been such a surprise, but that certainly didn’t lessen the way it made the pages turn even faster than they already were, and that whole edge of threat and danger was exceptionally well handled. The slow-burn romance between Eleanor and Daniel was everything I wanted it to be – first an uneasy friendship, then that lovely spark that always warms the heart, and I loved both characters. The story is told by Eleanor in the first person, and she has a clear and distinctive voice – but we find out enough about Daniel and his thoughts and feelings to make him a fully-rounded character too.

The book’s sense of place and all the supporting characters are simply wonderful – the friendships she makes, the way she brings people together, all those small wins along the path to healing the yawning rift in the village. We do get to meet Eleanor’s parents and grandmother too, running their guest house in the Lakes – they’re a rich source of humour, but the relationship between them all is beautifully done too.

The book promised to be heartwarming and feel-good, and it really knocked it out of the park – it made me laugh, it made me cry, I fell in love with the characters, and the whole story was exceptionally original and so well handled. Beth Moran is now on my “must read” list for everything she does – I really loved this one, and recommend it most highly.

I loved this. Gentle and easy to read. All of the characters were likable although I'd have liked to have known more about Becky and Alice - maybe it will become a series?
I enjoyed the story and I liked the fact it was a happy ending! I'll definitely be reading Beth Moran in the future.

A tucked away rural village, a down-on-her-luck-protagonist, a broody hero and a twinge of mystery… yes please! We Belong Together provided more than I bargained for! By the way, Daniel is just the sweetest (for the most part)!

I loved our heroine, Eleanor, She’s made a living for herself in a very difficult industry. It may go against her very character and she’s not proud of it but underneath that, she knows she has to do better and wants to do better.

As she journeys towards becoming a better person, she has to deal with past actions which can disrupt the future she wants to build. Hopefully that future can contain her best friend’s older brother and his very charming baby niece.

Although the story is told from Eleanor’s perspective, the author does an excellent job of showing Daniel’s development too. What he says, how he speaks, his interactions with all the characters and the descriptions of his expressions and emotions, all combine to reveal a strong and sensitive man determined to do right by his family and village. Although, his less than stellar behaviour towards the end left me a bit peeved. Lol.

It’s all good though, as Eleanor sees through to the root of it all and finds a way to forgive herself and those who have hurt her. Her journey from scared and broken to strong and more secure is a delicious one to witness as the pages turn.

Admittedly, I’m not a fan of ‘the secret’. The secret that lurks in the periphery and tinges every major action because, if revealed, it could totally change things. In this case, the Nora secret really prevented me from fully enjoying Eleanor and Daniel’s fall into love. Every time I felt about to be immersed in their romance… Wham… Reminder that she had a ‘secret’. Couldn’t the secret have come out earlier so we could have enjoyed the tumble into love?

Here’s where an epilogue would have been wonderful. It would have given a little extension on the romance and tied up a few more loose ends e.g. about the village’s progress or about Becky and Alice. I felt that nice rounded end would have fully tied it all up.

On another note, I wondered how the author planned to create a village feud in this modern day and age. I loved what she did. Capturing the spirit of a few decades’ old mining town rivalry, we definitely understand why even a generation later, folks still harbour negative feelings for their neighbours on the opposite side of the river. I also loved how Becky and Luke’s relationship played around it. The story and events around bridging the divide is sweet and believable.

The surprise mystery element! From reading the blurb I had no idea we’d be trying to solve a bit of mystery. There was definitely a sense of suspense built up as a particular element of Eleanor’s past was catching up with her. I found this added just the right kick to this otherwise sweet story.

Overall, I fully enjoyed my second book by Beth Moran. We Belong Together is a cosy romance starring charming protagonists and set in a village with a juicy history.

I give We Belong Together 4/5 rich espresso shots.