Jan 5, 20204 min read

The Man Across The Street: An uplifting story of love and hope for 2020 (The Hope Street Series Book

I was SO excited to be given an advance reader copy of this amazing book by Marci Steele. I hadn’t read anything by this author before, but I’ll definitely be watching for her other books in this series.

Description:

Maybe I’m scared to be happy…

Meet Hannah – she’s been her mum’s sole carer since she was eighteen. Now alone after Martha’s sudden death, Hannah feels lost in the only place she’s known as home, Hope Street. Coming up to a milestone birthday, she’s wondering what her purpose in life is.

Meet Doug – a workaholic, he’s in the office from dusk ’til dawn, and when he has a heart attack. Now on the mend, he needs to de-stress his life and focus on living it, to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Doug moves to Hope Street, number 35. Hannah lives at number 34, directly opposite. From the moment they meet, there’s a spark.

But there are secrets too. Hannah’s mum has been keeping something from her, her sister left over twenty years ago, and there can’t be such a simple reason why Doug has moved to Somerley. Can there?

The Man Across the Street is the first of a new series by bestselling author, Marcie Steele. It features a host of characters living on Hope Street in the market town of Somerley, also featured in The Somerley Series. Each character will have their own standalone story in books to follow.

Publisher: Blood Red Books (January 1, 2020)

Publication Date: January 1, 2020

Buying links here

Hannah Lockley is lost. Having cared for her mother after an accident, she has no career prospects and can’t afford to go to college. But is her life as dire as she thinks? Living down a cobblestone road at 34 Hope Street, she knows almost everyone in the neighborhood. You can’t help warming to her lively, social personality and (I agree with her mum) she’d make an excellent nurse.

Doug and Alex Peterson work in the Salford Business Quarter, an office building that overlooks a park. They are embarking on demolishing a derelict factory on the waterfront to build sixteen flats. But when Doug moves into a house on Hope Street, his life becomes forever changed. He cannot get Hannah, his new neighbor, out of his mind. But he also can’t get his workaholic, obsessive past out of his head either.

Told from both Hannah and Doug’s perspectives, I found myself emotionally invested from the start. Steele has a knack of getting under her readers’ sin and this book is no exception. I love books about love, loss, and relationships, and the trials the characters face through each chapter. But this book doesn’t come without it’s hardships, and there’s a mystery to solve—a Pandora’s box—which gives the story an added layer I crave as a reader.

As Hannah chases up questions of her past with the widow at number three, the intrigue thickens. Phoebe is the best friend a girl could want and she’s always there to pick up the pieces. But why was Hannah’s mum holding on to such a secret? Talking to her mother’s grave doesn’t help and working out the ‘wherewithals’ with Thelma and Renee isn’t getting her anywhere. Who else is left to ask? Doug is such a kind man, it’s hard not to fall in love with him. But he has his secrets too.

One of the reasons I loved this book from the start was the age group of the characters. Doug is in his late forties (so I can resonate) and Hannah is not that far behind. You can live their lives through them as the author delivers each character on point and so accurately that it’s impossible not to be affected in some way. You want to wrap Hannah in a big hug and tell her it’s all going to be okay, but in order to grow she has to face pain head on.

In my opinion, Marcie Steel totally smashes this one out of the park. A heartfelt examination of a woman’s most wrenching moments as she struggles to find out who she really is. Another bestseller and one I highly recommend to those who love Women’s Romance Fiction.

Many thanks to the author, Marcie Steele, to the publisher and to the blog tour organizer, Sarah Hardy, for the privilege of reading this book.

Reviews:

‘Marcie Steele writes with such down to earth warmth that you wish you could live in her stories. The Man Across the Street is no exception, full of characters that you’d love to be friends with.’ Tilly Tennant.

‘Love, secrets, intrigue, heartache. Find it all on Hope Street. An engaging tale of ordinary lives to warm you heart and restore your faith in mankind.’ Imogen Clark

If you love an uplifting story about new beginnings, then The Man Across The Street is the perfect read to curl up with. Fans of Hannah Ellis, Debbie Johnson and Emily Harvale will love this book.

About the Author:

Hi, I’m Marcie Steele and I also write under the name of Mel Sherratt.

As Mel, I write crime thrillers, psychological suspense and fiction with a punch – or grit-lit, as I call it. Shortlisted for the prestigious CWA (Crime Writer’s Association) Dagger in Library Award 2014, my inspiration comes from authors such as Martina Cole, Lynda la Plante, Mandasue Heller and Elizabeth Haynes. Since 2012, all eight of my crime novels have been bestsellers, each one climbing into the kindle UK top 20.

However, I’m a romantic at heart and I’ve always wanted to write about characters who were not necessarily involved in the darker side of life. Coffee, cakes and friends are three of my favourite things, hence Stirred with Love for my first book writing as Marcie Steele. The Little Market Stall of Hope and Heartbreak and The Second Chance Shoe Shop are also available now.

I live in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, with my husband and terrier, Dexter. You can find out more at Mel’s website http://www.melsherratt.co.uk or I’m on Twitter at @marcie_steele.