The School of Starting Over

Nell’s going back to school... but now she’s learning lessons of the heart.

An uplifting and hilarious romantic comedy that will delight fans of Milly Johnson, Holly Martin and Heidi Swain

Reception class teacher Nell Shackleton has a plan. At least, she did until she arrived at her new home of Humblebee Farm, a dilapidated farmhouse on the Yorkshire moors. The roof’s full of holes, the back door’s hanging off and there’s a sheep in the front room... but sometimes a new beginning means starting at the bottom, right?

Xander Scott is one of the youngest headteachers Leyholme Primary School has ever seen. But managing over-zealous parents and their semi-feral kids proves a tricky task for shy Xander – as does keeping his mind on the job when his feelings for the new Reception teacher become more than strictly professional...

At 43, Nell’s new friend Stevie Madeleine has given up on love. After losing her wife, Stevie’s decided that her four-year-old daughter Milly and cocker spaniel Red are the only girls she needs in her life. That is until larger-than-life dog-walker Deb arrives on the scene. But will Stevie’s past stop her new romance dead in its tracks?

Meeting Xander and Stevie brings joy back into Nell’s life – but when old secrets start to surface, there may be some hard lessons to learn for them all...



Lisa Swift grew up in rural West Yorkshire, right in the heart of Brontë country... and she’s still there. Lisa also writes romantic comedies under the pen name Mary Jayne Baker.

Lisa is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association.