I always enjoy Amanda Radley’s works. The books are always a bit short so to new readers it may seem a bit quick. I enjoyed both characters. I related to them in many senses. This book had some great themes like being able to find love after such great loss and being able to recognize you are loves me even after being told otherwise. I’d recommend this book.

The first thing that grabbed me about this book is its setting on a remote Scottish island. I'm an absolute softy when it comes to books set on islands or in small-town settings. so immediately I'm going to love it no matter what!
Reclaiming love, as everything you need in a romance book, slow burn and sparkes, and of course, we always seem to get the spiteful character, in this case, it's one of the main characters' mothers. Liked to note here, that it's a pretty bad relationship and could cause a reader some upset, so please take that in mind, because this mother has toxic traits and could trigger someone who has experienced this at some point in their lives.

I enjoyed Reclaiming love, it's a lovely story and is worth the read. I've given this story a 3.6 out of 5

Sarah Campbell works for a tech company and is in charge of a very important secret project. A project she loves. A project a required her to relocate to a barely standing little cottage in a small Scottish island. After seeing the many horrors of the cottage, Sarah hires a local handywoman, Pippa, to help her make the cottage livable. Pippa is a widowed and a part time handywoman for the little town she now resides in. While the two women have some initial attraction it all becomes too real when Sarah's mother makes a surprise visit and Sarah asks Pippa to pretend to be her girlfriend.

This book was a cute read. It started a bit slow but then picked up. I really enjoyed the romance, it was sweet. I also really enjoyed how strongly Sarah felt about carpet. While this wasn't my favourite of this author, it was still a worth read, cute, romantic read.

Thank you NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Really nice read. The main characters were very likable and easy to root for. I loved that Sarah and Pippa's relationship started out as a slow burn friends to lovers romance and that it was an age gap one at that. The supporting characters were well written as well loved that they helped to move the story along. Sarah's mother was a piece of work,.she's' a villain that you love to hate and she had no redeeming qualities at all. The author did a great job explaining the technology behind how we get most of our data and transactions done around the world, I actually found it very interesting. I would definitely recommend this book to my friends and family and I look forward to what comes next from this author.

Though the synopsis seems promising once you start reading it you start wondering why.
The first chapters gives you a bit of background which is appreciated and the idea of love is there but there is barely no romance, no real chemistry so to say. I understand the situation of the characters but they don’t seem complete. There is something missing in this book.

In resume a light read that leaves you thinking that’s it?

Reclaiming Love is a sweet romance between two very different women. Although I personally wouldn’t want to have such an age gap, it worked for Sarah and Pippa.

The reason I’ve given this book three stars is that it could have been much shorter if the author hadn’t spent so much time have the characters repeat things to themselves.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

I know I sound like a broken record but I love Amanda Radley's writing. I think Reclaiming Love is my new favorite. I absolutely loved Pippa and Sarah - both as individuals and as a couple. I'm a sucker for both emotionally damaged characters AND pretend-to-real-love stories so this was doubly good for me. Combine that with that trademark Radley humor and it was damn near perfect.

Part of my connection to this novel probably comes from my own fraught relationship with my mother. I really felt for Sarah and she was much more caring and patient than I would have been. And Pippa's loss prompted lots of extra hugs for my wife. I love these characters and I'm going to miss them a lot.

Thanks to BSB and NetGalley for the chance to read this one so quickly.

I love Radley’s dynamic ice queens, the sparkling banter, flirting, tension, and human emotion. Sadly, that wasn’t present in this story.

The problem is both too much and not enough.

Too much dishonesty, negative feelings, uncomfortable drama

Not enough spark, sexual tension, real emotion

This reads like a HFN and ends without a solid plan for the MCs.

It’s still a well-written book and a decent read, but it didn’t wow me the way other Radley books have.

An enjoyable read with a unique yet interesting plot. The characters are likeable and the banter between them will have you laughing. I recommend, well done Amanda.



I received an ARC from the publisher Bold Stroke Books via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book was exactly what I'd hoped for and expected. It was a cute, quick read, with likeable characters that made me smile and even laugh a few times. It had a slow start but was enjoyable.

Just enough angst, just enough mystery, and just enough romance to satisfy most readers.

Sarah Campbell has known from an early age that her mother wasn’t motherly. As Sarah grew this didn’t change, even though Sahar did everything she could to get her mother’s attention. She had even gone so far as joining her mother and her eco-group ‘Planet Earth’, that was until she realized that all her mom cared about was her ‘work’ not the safety of her own daughter. She had led Sarah into many dangerous exercises in their quest to stop others from polluting the earth. But now Sarah was on her own mission which involved testing a computer system, where the main part of the experiment was sunk into the ocean off the coast of a small island, Celfare. When she arrived she found the house she was supposed to live in needed a lot of work just to make it livable.
Pippa Kent had moved to the island after the death of her wife. The idea of just picking up the pieces and going on wasn’t something she felt she could do. So she semi-retired on the island where she started her own handywoman service, along with working on special projects when her former boss needed her help. Now along comes Sarah with no idea on how to do the most basic jobs around the house she was renting. She, along with everyone else didn’t know what brought Sarah to the island for if it ever got out it could be destroyed by the very group her mother belonged to.
What happens when Sarah’s mother comes to visit, where she must never learn of the experiment ‘Billy’ or she will do everything to destroy it, never mind how her actions will affect her daughter. It’s up to Pippa to try and help Sarah. Of course, there is a little problem when it becomes apparent feelings are growing between them. If I was to criticize anything at all it’s the fact that Ms Radley’s newest books don’t have the same laugh out loud moments that her many fan have come to expect. All in all a very nice read.
ARC via NetGalley/ Bold Stroke Books

Pro:
Intelligent MC
Accidentally falling in love
Fake relationship 
Handy MC wielding tools
Supporting MCs
Small town 
Age gap
Low angst

Con:
A bit of a slow start
No epilogue 

Some might think parts of this book has a "predictable" plot, I would say this is an excellent book made to be your new comfort re-read. This book is a 4.5 for me, even with it's cons, and it is a book I will re-read. I loved the fact that it's on the lower side of the angst-side.

This review is based on NetGalley ARC provided in exchange for an honest, unbiased opinion.

Fake dating to save the world.

Sarah Campbell wants two things, complete her work on a potentially world saving, highly debated project, and keep her radical mother and her groupies far away from it. Sarah sells her mom a white lie. She is in love and moving away to live with her new girlfriend, to bad that girlfriend doesn’t exist. A surprise visit from her mother causes her to enlist the help of Pippa, the local handywoman renovating her cottage.

I enjoyed the banter and easy chemistry between the main characters, and my favorite part of the book was their 1:1 scenes. The small island and its remote nature play a large part of the book, but I wish Sarah had more interactions with the locals. Sarah had virtually no scenes outside of Pippa and her mother, so it made it difficult for me to believe she was falling in love with the island and would want to stay. Generally I enjoyed the book overall, although I thought it ended rather quickly.

Reclaiming Love is the 1st novel by Amanda Radley that I’ve read. The main characters, Pippa and Sarah, quickly build a friendship that transitions into love when when Pippa attempts to rescue Sarah from her mum.
There wasn’t a ton of sexual tension and the sexual intimacy eluded to between Sarah and Pippa was definitely fade to black… not usual my preference, but it worked for this novel.
I would recommend to someone looking for a lite romance that enjoys age gap romance and not interested in any sexy sex.

Four and a half stars.

This had the typical top-notch quality writing of any Amanda Radley book. It dealt with heavy themes, like moving on from loss, and accepting a broken relationship with a parent. The plot was thrilling for a contemporary romance, with a big (extrinsic-to-the-relationship) secret, a move to a new place, and the fake girlfriend trope. I started out not caring much for Pippa and not wanting her to end up with Sarah, but she managed to change my mind relatively quickly. Both characters are likeable yet complex, and their chemistry is compelling.

Despite all of that, I couldn't quite lose myself in the story the way that comes naturally to me with anything written by Radley. I was a little bored at times and started another book midway through this one to keep myself reading. Some of the scene or chapter breaks felt a little preachy, like the characters' big moments needed showy dramatization. I ended the book with a little relief that I could move on. So yes, while there are absolutely no major flaws with Reclaiming Love, and it's still one of the better things I've read this year, I was a little disappointed.

I really hated Sarah's mom, but other than that I loved the book. I thought that the plot was interesting and unique. The main characters were a little bit stereo-typey, but in a way that worked. I do wish that Pippa and Sarah had talked earlier about the way they were feeling however the romance didn't feel forced.

Sarah is sent to a small Scottish island by her high tech employer to work on a very secret project. While there her place needs fixing and she meets Pippa the best handywoman on the island although a bit out spoken you can tell she been grieving. Sarah and Pippa grow closer when Sarah begs Pippa to be her girlfriend when Sarah mother Angela comes to visit because she told her mother a lie because her mother doesn’t agree with work and could easily destroy it.

I enjoy this read.



I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.

I wanted to like this book so much more than I did.

Amanda Radley’s writing is great, but something just didn’t connect for me. This is no fault of the characterisation (which was wonderful as ever), the plot (some wonderful classic tropes) or the setting (rural Scotland, need I say more?) but for whatever reason, something was lacking and it simply didn’t gel for me this time around.

Regular Radley readers are unlikely to be disappointed, however.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Bold Stroke Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Reclaiming Love by Amanda Radley is a character driven romance with appealing protagonists that will capture your heart. The story also contains some reader-favorite tropes including age-gap, slow-burn, fake girlfriend/relationship, and enemies-to-lovers.

The two characters meet when Sarah Campbell is sent to a small Scottish island by her high tech employer to work on a very secret project. Sarah has a few problems though. The house her company bought for her to live and work in is in shambles, and Sarah is worried it will collapse with her inside one day, especially since she has absolutely no maintenance or handyperson skills. Enter Pippa Kent, the best handywoman on the island even if she is a bit outspoken in her thoughts about Sarah’s lack of household repair skills. The two have a rough start but eventually become friends with an undercurrent of simmering chemistry. Then Sarah’s eco-terrorist mother shows up to visit her daughter and “Natalie”, the nonexistent girlfriend Sarah invented to explain to her mother why she moved to this remote island.

Both Sarah and Pippa have baggage from their pasts that cause angst in this tale. Sarah has a mother who has always been distant and emotionally abusive to Sarah, disparaging everything from her looks to the job she chose. Pippa is a widower who is determined not to fall in love again. Both women are very well written. Their story had me hooked from the beginning. The setting is both beautiful and vivid. Now I want to visit a remote Scottish island just like this one. I just have to talk my partner into it.

Ms. Radley has created a love story that all romance lovers, and especially her many fans with enjoy. I’m very glad I had the chance to read this novel.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

What an interesting read. There is a secret and Sarah Campbell has to keep it especially from her mother. Her mother, Angela, wow is all I can say. Mother and daughter in general want the same thing but go about it in very different ways. Pippa Kent, semi-retired structural engineer, loner grieving from a personal loss. This age-gap romance is entertaining to watch as they pull and push each other. The read is also educational in regards to technology which in my opinion is a good thing. An opportunity to think about something that I never previously thought about. I did wonder what happened between Sarah and Angela after the epic fallout.