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Up the Garden Path
The Path to Your Soulmate Can Be a Bumpy One
Cait Channing is a perfectionist, and she’s turned it into a career across three continents. Demanding as much of herself as of others, she knows what she wants and usually gets it. But something has changed, so Cait moves to the deepest, greenest, and most unfashionable corner of Gloucestershire. She wants to fall in love and find happiness, two things she’s never experienced.
Maisie Etherington is back in her hometown, fulfilling family duties she hadn’t counted on. Running her parents’ garden centre and trimming villagers’ hedges isn’t quite what she envisaged following her recent success at the Chelsea Flower Show. When she bumps into Mrs Path to Perfection Cait Channing, and Cait manages to insult everything about her, Maisie isn’t impressed… But she’s always loved a good challenge.
Cait’s unruly gardens bring them together but forced into such close proximity, will they keep their lives on track or will their undeniable connection lead them both up the garden path?
Cait Channing is a perfectionist, and she’s turned it into a career across three continents. Demanding as much of herself as of others, she knows what she wants and usually gets it. But something has changed, so Cait moves to the deepest, greenest, and most unfashionable corner of Gloucestershire. She wants to fall in love and find happiness, two things she’s never experienced.
Maisie Etherington is back in her hometown, fulfilling family duties she hadn’t counted on. Running her parents’ garden centre and trimming villagers’ hedges isn’t quite what she envisaged following her recent success at the Chelsea Flower Show. When she bumps into Mrs Path to Perfection Cait Channing, and Cait manages to insult everything about her, Maisie isn’t impressed… But she’s always loved a good challenge.
Cait’s unruly gardens bring them together but forced into such close proximity, will they keep their lives on track or will their undeniable connection lead them both up the garden path?
215 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 26, 2022
17 people are currently reading
22 people want to read
About the author
Maggie McIntyre
18 books22 followersMaggie McIntyre is an award-winning author living in rural Lancashire. Maggie believes in the power of storytelling to inspire, break down barriers, and help people discover their true selves. A lover of spring flowers, warm animals, and the smell of rain, Maggie finds joy in laughter and the connections she’s built with friends around the world.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
June 17, 2022
I have read every book by Maggie McIntyre & this definitely is my new favourite book by her. I actually already sensed it would become that when Maisie and Cait meet for the first time. They couldn’t be more different. Their back and forth (especially at the beginning) is hilarious and made me laugh a lot.
To be honest I didn’t like Cait much at the beginning. She is this celebrity life coach, who seems to preach water and drink wine. No idea if this saying also exists in English but it’s what we say in German about someone who gives others different advices than they follow for themselves. It‘s actually exactly how Maisie feels the first time she has to interact with Cait. But just like Maisie I changed my mind very soon, when we were able to see more and more of Cait‘s true personality. She is very successful and has more money than she probably can ever spend in her life, but she also has such a good heart. She is also insecure and inexperienced about some things. She has never dreamed of someone like Maisie being the one for her, but there is just something about her that draws her in.
For me Maisie was a totally refreshing character. She follows her heart and doesn’t give anything in appearances. For her matters more how someone acts and behaves. Material things are nice to have, but not her first priority. You see how selfless she is the way she helps her parents with their garden center, so they can travel the world for a year.
No matter their difficulties at first they fall for each other very quickly, but the way it was written it actually didn’t feel like it. It made perfect sense and I loved it. Also how their roles got reversed when it came to intimacy. And last but not least the one thing I loved the most was that there was no unnecessary drama. Especially how Cait acted, because it’s just how she always acted in her life, was so different and refreshing for me.
If you haven’t read anything by Maggie, this is a great book to start with. I definitely recommend it and am still smiling because of it.
I received an ARC from the author and voluntarily leaving a review.
To be honest I didn’t like Cait much at the beginning. She is this celebrity life coach, who seems to preach water and drink wine. No idea if this saying also exists in English but it’s what we say in German about someone who gives others different advices than they follow for themselves. It‘s actually exactly how Maisie feels the first time she has to interact with Cait. But just like Maisie I changed my mind very soon, when we were able to see more and more of Cait‘s true personality. She is very successful and has more money than she probably can ever spend in her life, but she also has such a good heart. She is also insecure and inexperienced about some things. She has never dreamed of someone like Maisie being the one for her, but there is just something about her that draws her in.
For me Maisie was a totally refreshing character. She follows her heart and doesn’t give anything in appearances. For her matters more how someone acts and behaves. Material things are nice to have, but not her first priority. You see how selfless she is the way she helps her parents with their garden center, so they can travel the world for a year.
No matter their difficulties at first they fall for each other very quickly, but the way it was written it actually didn’t feel like it. It made perfect sense and I loved it. Also how their roles got reversed when it came to intimacy. And last but not least the one thing I loved the most was that there was no unnecessary drama. Especially how Cait acted, because it’s just how she always acted in her life, was so different and refreshing for me.
If you haven’t read anything by Maggie, this is a great book to start with. I definitely recommend it and am still smiling because of it.
I received an ARC from the author and voluntarily leaving a review.
July 6, 2022
Up the Garden Path: The Path to Your Soulmate Can Be a Bumpy One
Author Maggie McIntyre
Cait Channing is self made, at the age of 20 , she took her life into her own hands and created a company. She morphed her business into multiple companies by the age of 35. She had her own show and was also named most inspirational British.
Maisie has a kind soul. Maisie is a talented gardener. She has g She had some internal struggles, she felt like her parents left for a year and did not take her feelings into consideration. It left her in a bad situation. Maisie and Cait meet when Cait runs into Maisie was tending to the flowers at the coffee shop.
Side note Maisie love for her teacher was very cute. She loved older woman.
Cain and Karen are best friends. They knew each before everything. Karen was a interesting character. She added some spice to the story , she was naughty and had a wild side. Karen was a great friend and had Cait’s back.
This story was sweet and fast paced. Maisie was a one of a kind gardener. She had put in her time and effort in school and she was brilliant at what she did. She definitely had a true gift.
Cait had no control when it came to Maisie , she wanted to see her and be around her no matter what. In 3 days they were both already heading towards love.
Cait’s son is a sweet guy. He was very understanding about his mother and how she felt about Maisie. He was kind and very accepting of his mother.
They story was very interesting, because the two MC fall in love in 10 days. The story doesn’t not feel rushed. I like the way Cait opened up to Maisie and let her know her true feelings and intentions, and Maisie realize she needed to handle Cait with sensitivity.
All the supporting characters were kind and very supportive of Maisie and Cait when they told them about the relationship.
This was a sweet story about finding love when you least expect it. A person that she would never consider to have an opportunity or chance with romantically.
I enjoyed this book. I highly recommend this book, it is available on Kindle Unlimited. This is my first book by the author and I will be definitely reading more of her books. 5 stars ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Author Maggie McIntyre
Cait Channing is self made, at the age of 20 , she took her life into her own hands and created a company. She morphed her business into multiple companies by the age of 35. She had her own show and was also named most inspirational British.
Maisie has a kind soul. Maisie is a talented gardener. She has g She had some internal struggles, she felt like her parents left for a year and did not take her feelings into consideration. It left her in a bad situation. Maisie and Cait meet when Cait runs into Maisie was tending to the flowers at the coffee shop.
Side note Maisie love for her teacher was very cute. She loved older woman.
Cain and Karen are best friends. They knew each before everything. Karen was a interesting character. She added some spice to the story , she was naughty and had a wild side. Karen was a great friend and had Cait’s back.
This story was sweet and fast paced. Maisie was a one of a kind gardener. She had put in her time and effort in school and she was brilliant at what she did. She definitely had a true gift.
Cait had no control when it came to Maisie , she wanted to see her and be around her no matter what. In 3 days they were both already heading towards love.
Cait’s son is a sweet guy. He was very understanding about his mother and how she felt about Maisie. He was kind and very accepting of his mother.
They story was very interesting, because the two MC fall in love in 10 days. The story doesn’t not feel rushed. I like the way Cait opened up to Maisie and let her know her true feelings and intentions, and Maisie realize she needed to handle Cait with sensitivity.
All the supporting characters were kind and very supportive of Maisie and Cait when they told them about the relationship.
This was a sweet story about finding love when you least expect it. A person that she would never consider to have an opportunity or chance with romantically.
I enjoyed this book. I highly recommend this book, it is available on Kindle Unlimited. This is my first book by the author and I will be definitely reading more of her books. 5 stars ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
June 29, 2022
So Sweet!
Maisie, a successful horticulturalist, finds herself running the family business, a garden centre, when she is hired by Cait, who has turned her perfectionism into a career. Cait doesn’t know when she hires Maisie, that she is the same person she had a run in with in the local café, so when Maisie starts clearing the gardens at the manor house Cait has bought, the two of them learn there is more to one another than they thought.
This was such a sweet story about unexpectedly finding love and coming out at an older age. It is filled with awkwardness and tension from the beginning because Cait and Maisie just can’t help bumping heads at every opportunity. Cait has a very spikey personality, almost ice queen like, but you can tell she has a vulnerability she is hiding behind this persona that suits her career. She quickly makes judgements of Maisie, and on several occasions is really unsettled when she discovers she was wrong.
Maisie was very cute and misunderstood. So successful in her own right, she didn’t brag or want everyone to know. She was hard working and dedicated, so the tension instantly formed between them when Cait made assumptions about her was really believable. What I loved was how Maisie didn’t let that get to her, she still did the same level of hard work and tried to understand and get to know Cait, even though she herself had also been quick to judge.
The story worked well with the setting, plot, and character dynamic with the age gap. It was easy to follow and was simple to read and just enjoy.
Maisie, a successful horticulturalist, finds herself running the family business, a garden centre, when she is hired by Cait, who has turned her perfectionism into a career. Cait doesn’t know when she hires Maisie, that she is the same person she had a run in with in the local café, so when Maisie starts clearing the gardens at the manor house Cait has bought, the two of them learn there is more to one another than they thought.
This was such a sweet story about unexpectedly finding love and coming out at an older age. It is filled with awkwardness and tension from the beginning because Cait and Maisie just can’t help bumping heads at every opportunity. Cait has a very spikey personality, almost ice queen like, but you can tell she has a vulnerability she is hiding behind this persona that suits her career. She quickly makes judgements of Maisie, and on several occasions is really unsettled when she discovers she was wrong.
Maisie was very cute and misunderstood. So successful in her own right, she didn’t brag or want everyone to know. She was hard working and dedicated, so the tension instantly formed between them when Cait made assumptions about her was really believable. What I loved was how Maisie didn’t let that get to her, she still did the same level of hard work and tried to understand and get to know Cait, even though she herself had also been quick to judge.
The story worked well with the setting, plot, and character dynamic with the age gap. It was easy to follow and was simple to read and just enjoy.
June 30, 2022
Fun read and so darn cute 😉
June 10, 2022
Up the Garden Path by Maggie McIntyre is a sweet, age-gap, summer romance with little angst where enemies turn into lovers.
Cait Channing has encased her heart in proverbial ice many years ago, using her drive and determination to become not only a businesswoman but a celebrity life coach. She leads a jet-setting millionaire lifestyle with commitments in London and America before she packs up her life and moves to rural Gloucestershire to hopefully conquer the one thing in life that has eluded her so far: love.
Maisie Etherington was a raising star in the garden design and an expert in horticulture when she had to return home to take care of her parents’ struggling garden center. She spreads herself thin running the business and caring for various flowers and hedges for the villagers, hoping to earn enough money to make ends meet.
When Cait intrudes into Masie’s workspace on her first day in Gloucestershire, the dislike between them is instant. To Cait, Maisie is little more than an uneducated country bumpkin, while Maisie isn’t impressed by Cait’s high maintenance personality and rude behavior. As fate has it, their paths keep crossing and their annoyance for one another grows into something more.
Cait is a classical ice queen, polished and high maintenance. She is rude and stand-offish to strangers and demanding with her staff. Even the relationship with her own son seemed strained. She is not an easy character to like, especially in the beginning of the story. The small acts of kindness from Cait towards her staff seem barely enough to balance her exacting nature. It takes a while for the reader to see Cait through Maisie’s eyes and understand what she sees in her.
Maisie seems a little clumsy and rough around the edges at first. It makes her very human, the kind of person you’d like to be friends with as a reader. It’s easy to root for her and cheer her on when she finds her footing, and when she shows her backbone in interactions with Cait. Maisie is eighteen years younger and allows herself a celebrity crush moment on Cait, thinking that the older woman is unattainable.
The story unfolds in a matter of days. The more both women find out about each other, the deeper their attraction and feelings grow for each other. The transition from enemies to lovers is almost instant. Both characters are going through their coming out in some way. While Maisie had female lovers before, she has never officially come out to her family or friends. Cait, on the other hand, has never been with a woman but has finally decided it’s time to jump in with both feet. The fast pace in this romance is a little reminiscent of the old U-Haul cliché.
This is an easy, low-angst romance that’s ideal for a light summer read. Maggie McIntyre doesn’t disappoint with the beautiful rural settings and spunky side characters. Cait becomes deeper and more likeable as the story moves along. For me, some of Cait’s revelations could have come earlier in the storyline since I would have liked to relate to her a little more early on. Nonetheless, the book drew me in and had me turning pages late into the night. Four stars from me.
Cait Channing has encased her heart in proverbial ice many years ago, using her drive and determination to become not only a businesswoman but a celebrity life coach. She leads a jet-setting millionaire lifestyle with commitments in London and America before she packs up her life and moves to rural Gloucestershire to hopefully conquer the one thing in life that has eluded her so far: love.
Maisie Etherington was a raising star in the garden design and an expert in horticulture when she had to return home to take care of her parents’ struggling garden center. She spreads herself thin running the business and caring for various flowers and hedges for the villagers, hoping to earn enough money to make ends meet.
When Cait intrudes into Masie’s workspace on her first day in Gloucestershire, the dislike between them is instant. To Cait, Maisie is little more than an uneducated country bumpkin, while Maisie isn’t impressed by Cait’s high maintenance personality and rude behavior. As fate has it, their paths keep crossing and their annoyance for one another grows into something more.
Cait is a classical ice queen, polished and high maintenance. She is rude and stand-offish to strangers and demanding with her staff. Even the relationship with her own son seemed strained. She is not an easy character to like, especially in the beginning of the story. The small acts of kindness from Cait towards her staff seem barely enough to balance her exacting nature. It takes a while for the reader to see Cait through Maisie’s eyes and understand what she sees in her.
Maisie seems a little clumsy and rough around the edges at first. It makes her very human, the kind of person you’d like to be friends with as a reader. It’s easy to root for her and cheer her on when she finds her footing, and when she shows her backbone in interactions with Cait. Maisie is eighteen years younger and allows herself a celebrity crush moment on Cait, thinking that the older woman is unattainable.
The story unfolds in a matter of days. The more both women find out about each other, the deeper their attraction and feelings grow for each other. The transition from enemies to lovers is almost instant. Both characters are going through their coming out in some way. While Maisie had female lovers before, she has never officially come out to her family or friends. Cait, on the other hand, has never been with a woman but has finally decided it’s time to jump in with both feet. The fast pace in this romance is a little reminiscent of the old U-Haul cliché.
This is an easy, low-angst romance that’s ideal for a light summer read. Maggie McIntyre doesn’t disappoint with the beautiful rural settings and spunky side characters. Cait becomes deeper and more likeable as the story moves along. For me, some of Cait’s revelations could have come earlier in the storyline since I would have liked to relate to her a little more early on. Nonetheless, the book drew me in and had me turning pages late into the night. Four stars from me.
June 10, 2022
Cait Channing is a self-made jet-setting millionaire who has moved to rural Gloucestershire from the hubbub of London. Maisie is an accomplished garden designer, come home to run her family’s failing business while her parents go travelling. Their first meeting is a disaster but, thrown together fixing the overgrown gardens of Cait’s new home, they find themselves increasingly drawn to each other.
Cait is an archetypal Ice Queen. Rude and offhand to strangers, an exacting if confusingly generous boss, and on the verge of estrangement from her son. She is not an easy character to empathise with, and it is difficult at first to see what could possibly attract Maisie to her. For Maisie is the polar opposite. She is the friend and family we would all like to have. Well liked in the community and beyond, often thinking of others before herself. It was easy to feel anger whenever Cait belittled her, and easy to cheer her on when she stood her ground against the older woman.
As the story unfolds, both women find out more about each other, and their attraction deepens quickly. For fans of romance, all the essential ingredients are there. Plenty of intimate moments, angsty reflections on lives that are not going to plan, and humorous asides.
Revelations later in the book flesh Cait out and make her easier to understand and like. I personally would have preferred to have had them a little sooner to help with that process. The action is compressed into a matter of days. The transition from enemies to lovers is very fast paced, even for lesbians, and McIntyre falls back on familiar cliches to push the story along. The story has the air of a fairytale by the end, which many will like.
In conclusion, if you are looking for a fantastical romantic journey Up the garden path is the book for you.
Cait is an archetypal Ice Queen. Rude and offhand to strangers, an exacting if confusingly generous boss, and on the verge of estrangement from her son. She is not an easy character to empathise with, and it is difficult at first to see what could possibly attract Maisie to her. For Maisie is the polar opposite. She is the friend and family we would all like to have. Well liked in the community and beyond, often thinking of others before herself. It was easy to feel anger whenever Cait belittled her, and easy to cheer her on when she stood her ground against the older woman.
As the story unfolds, both women find out more about each other, and their attraction deepens quickly. For fans of romance, all the essential ingredients are there. Plenty of intimate moments, angsty reflections on lives that are not going to plan, and humorous asides.
Revelations later in the book flesh Cait out and make her easier to understand and like. I personally would have preferred to have had them a little sooner to help with that process. The action is compressed into a matter of days. The transition from enemies to lovers is very fast paced, even for lesbians, and McIntyre falls back on familiar cliches to push the story along. The story has the air of a fairytale by the end, which many will like.
In conclusion, if you are looking for a fantastical romantic journey Up the garden path is the book for you.
June 9, 2022
Heartwarming
The amazing Maggie McIntyre has done it again! This is such a beautiful age-gap romance full of misunderstandings and funny mishaps.
Highly recommend for anyone in need of low-angst and awesome.
The amazing Maggie McIntyre has done it again! This is such a beautiful age-gap romance full of misunderstandings and funny mishaps.
Highly recommend for anyone in need of low-angst and awesome.
June 7, 2022
Omg wow what a beautiful storyline I loved the main characters their journey through it all flowed seamlessly congratulations
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 23, 2024
Excellent.
An absolute delight of a book. Loved it all.No dithering just took you away and let you enjoy a really good book. First time I have read this author and despite it being very late I am off to find more books by this author.Read the book its great.
An absolute delight of a book. Loved it all.No dithering just took you away and let you enjoy a really good book. First time I have read this author and despite it being very late I am off to find more books by this author.Read the book its great.
July 29, 2023
Lovely British romance between an earthy horticulturalist and a take-control TV personality. Well written and enjoyable.
October 3, 2023
Better-than-expected. 😌
June 27, 2022
The start sets out one of the main characters Cait’s character very well. Then we get a bit more of the other mains, Maisie’s, back story and an other side of Cait. A great start as I definitely want to continue reading.
I love the reveal aspects of the book. I love the point where Cait finds Maisie has achieved a lot and she didn’t know about it because she had made assumptions. It’s a book I read with a smile on my face and that is a treasure among weeds…… of course weeds are just flowers in the wrong place. This book was totally in the right place for me at this time.
I love the reveal aspects of the book. I love the point where Cait finds Maisie has achieved a lot and she didn’t know about it because she had made assumptions. It’s a book I read with a smile on my face and that is a treasure among weeds…… of course weeds are just flowers in the wrong place. This book was totally in the right place for me at this time.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews