A New Dawn at Owl’s Lodge

By Jessica Redland

Zara is the production assistant for documentaries about animal  rescue centers and also about country living. Twenty-six years old, she has recently had a breakup from a six month relationship with a man who had been unfaithful to her. She is also insecure because of her mother’s obvious preference for her brother Roman who is a star footballer.

Snowy is the reclusive former Olympic gymnast whose extremely fair coloring makes him highly recognizable. Raising his son with the help of his amazing grandfather after his wife Eliza passed away has not been easy. He needs to protect him from taunts based on his resemblance to his father and from the paparazzi who even years after his wife’s death seek him out for a “good” story.

An injured owl brings Zara and Snowy together, and Grandpa gives the potential romance some encouragement. Zara and Snowy see past each other’s hurts and discover the really kind people buried beneath the facades erected to keep others out. Snowy’s son Harrison is a talented and enthusiastic gymnast under Snowy’s tutelage. Snowy also home schools the boy who is bright and polite. Harrison and Zara take to each other quickly making it easy for Snowy and Zara to move past friendship and  develop a romantic relationship.

The road to happiness is not without its bumps. The reader will discover the inner workings of Zara’s family; her stepfather Owen has been stellar, if not always successful, in trying to smooth difficulties for Zara. Snowy had a very difficult relationship with his father who was also an Olympic gymnast.

Alcoholism is an issue for several characters in the book as they use alcohol to numb pain and grief. Of course, the alcohol just makes for more problems. The owl rescue work that Snowy and his family manage on their large property is an important focus in the book. Major threads include Zara’s need to think about her future employment prospects and Snowy’s conflicts about allowing friendships for Harrison and enabling him to achieve the competitive steps necessary to become an Olympian—if he chooses that pathway.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Rating: 5/5

Category: Fiction, Women’s Fiction, Romance

Notes: 1. Contains just a few instances of bad language and no open door bedroom scenes.

    2. #2 in the Bumblebee Barn Series. It could be read as a standalone because Redland does a great job of filling in the backstory. You might enjoy it even more if you read #1 first because there are overlapping characters.

  3. Clearly marked narration by chapter varies between Zara and Snowy and reveals their perspectives. It was a good choice for this novel. 

  4. Ending notes include interesting information on the various types of owls.

Publication:   May 16, 2024—Boldwood Books

Memorable Lines:

It didn’t matter how many times I saw a barn owl in flight, the silent majesty of its glide completely captivated me, the white face, body and underside of the wings giving the appearance of a ghost floating past. I watched it fly out of The Roost and ran to the open doorway to catch it disappearing into the night.

The universe was so much bigger than me and my problems and five minutes of stargazing helped put everything into perspective.

The Freak Show taunts from school circled round my mind and I pushed them aside. My appearance didn’t actually bother me. It was the taunts themselves which had bothered me because they’d led to me being an outsider and being alone like that had hurt. It still did.