Lost in Love by Emily Banting: Book Review

Lost in Love by Emily Banting is an age gap, enemies to lovers, rich girl/poor girl romance set in a small town. It’s about the resolve and trust it takes to leave sadness and pain in the past in order to find love in the here and now.

Anna Walker is walking a fine line. She’s simultaneously trying to wow her bosses at Nunswick Abbey as their new historical tour guide and provide her ailing father, Harry, with the best care she can. Being his full-time caregiver is proving to be more challenging than she’d imagined. It doesn’t leave any time to take care of her own needs, and it’s beginning to take a toll on her own health.

Dr. Katherine Atkinson is the newest addition to the small town, and she happens to be Anna’s father’s new physician. Katherine is equal parts intimidating and enchanting. Anna and Katherine clash when Katherine suggests Anna hire an outside caregiver for her father. Anna’s mother died in a care facility and it’s colored Anna’s opinion of the healthcare system.

Despite the friction between them, Anna and Katherine start having feelings for each other. Katherine is genuinely concerned about Harry and begins spending time with him. Whether she’s reading to him or cooking dinner for him and Anna, Katherine quickly becomes an integral part of their lives.

Anna still resents Katherine’s advice about caring for her father. When Katherine reveals a painful event from her past, Anna understands Katherine’s intentions come from a place of love. When a village busy-body reports Katherine and Anna’s relationship to the governing board, Katherine immediately ends their relationship. Although nothing untoward has happened yet, it’s unethical for doctors to become involved with their patients or members of their patients’ families. She doesn’t want to lose her license but more importantly she doesn’t want to lose Harry as a patient.

With so much at stake, will Katherine be able to find a way for Anna and her to be together? With her father’s condition worsening, can Anna let go of her fears and get him the full-time attention he needs? Both women have trauma from their pasts. Can they overcome their anxieties to be together?

Pros And My Favourite Parts

The combination of age gap, small town, enemies to lovers, and rich girl/poor girl tropes made it very easy for me to get comfy in this story. I enjoyed watching Katherine and Anna flirt their way through the beginning stages of their relationship, and I shared their broken hearts when things got muddled up. I was particularly touched by the relationship between Anna and her father. Her dedication to his care did a lot to show her generous and kind nature.

Banting did an exceptional job creating the environment of the book. The little town built around Nunswick Abbey is so fresh in my mind I almost feel like I’ve visited there. The architecture, landscape, food – every detail was satisfying.

Cons And Heads Up

Nothing from me.

The Conclusion

Lost in Love is a quick read I finished over a lazy Sunday afternoon. There’s a fair amount of angst, but not to the point where I was worried, I wasn’t going to get my happily ever after. I’m predisposed to be charmed by romances set in England, especially if they’re set in small towns. I love scenes set in pubs and tea shops where the main characters sound a bit like Mary Poppins. (That last observation is probably just me.) Banting didn’t disappoint. I enjoyed this book. I hope you do, too.

Excerpt from Lost in Love by Emily Banting

Anna had never been so grateful for the walk home being so short. She’d taken the maximum number of books from the library at lunchtime and had contemplated leaving some in the meeting room at work but decided against it in case she could manage to get an hour to work later that evening.

She knew it was unlikely, but she was excited to get back to where she had left off on medieval Nunswick. She knew she would have to contain her excitement until tomorrow when she could get back to it between tours.

Having been so preoccupied with her new project, she hadn’t even thought about dinner. Her nostrils flared at an aroma coming from one of the neighbouring houses. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her she’d skipped lunch again.

She turned the key in the door and opened it, only to be met with the inviting aroma at full strength. She drew in a nervous breath, wondering if her dad had decided to try and make dinner again.

Anna blinked and wondered if she’d walked into the right house. It was tidy and clean. The raucous laughter of her dad came across the living room as he watched the television; it was the right house.

Anna hung up her coat.

“You all right, Dad?” Anna asked, admiring the tidy sitting room.

“Never better,” he replied. “Can you smell that? Proper grub.”

Anna was about to question what the food she provided him was but was more intrigued by what was going on in the kitchen to bother. She entered the kitchen cautiously, unsure what she was about to find.

What she did find was Katherine, apron strapped on, hair tied back, with glasses perched on her nose. Anna felt her whole body fizz at the sight of her and gulped. It took her a moment to even question her presence, but she eventually gave way under the weight of the books she was holding.

“What’s going on?” Anna asked, setting the books on the dining table. “I thought you were just going to see him home after the library. You must have been here all afternoon” — she leaned down to peer through the glass door of the oven — “cooking lasagne.”

Katherine removed the apron and placed it on the back of the kitchen door.

“Before you shout and tell me I’m overstepping the mark, which I completely understand I am — ”

Anna interrupted. “I’m not shouting. I probably should be, but someone told me to watch my stress levels and I don’t like to cross her.”

“Well, he explained how he’d been struggling to read lately as he can’t turn the pages as well, and one of the library books he chose I wanted to read, so it made sense for me to read it to him. I hope you don’t mind.”

Katherine sounded a little flustered, and Anna found she enjoyed watching the doctor squirm for a change.

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