The Meeting Ground (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9791224322801)

1^st June 2013.

In north-east Hampshire, England, care-worker-cum-amateur-musical-star Ash is celebrating the last night of her company's run of Jesus Christ Superstar. Fifty miles away in London, cult film star and notorious playboy Joe is getting ready for another night on the town, but it's no ordinary party he's going to: this time, he's going beyond the horizon. By the end of the night, Ash has let co-star Rich rope her into running a gardening club at the exclusive rehab clinic where he works, while Joe is rushed to hospital, having been found at death's door by best friend Yoni.

Joe is not at all happy when he wakes up at the clinic, but starts warming to his situation when he spots a quirky but attractive young woman toiling alone in the garden. One fine day he stumbles upon her and, in her shock, she hands him a spade and enlists his help getting the plot ready. Joe is surprised to find himself enjoying the work and even more so when he not only joins the gardening club but volunteers to become Ash's assistant. Over the next two months, the bond between Ash and Joe deepens as they tend the garden together, despite Rich's repeated attempts to keep them apart. However, Joe can't stay at the clinic forever. When Yoni comes to reclaim his friend, Ash begins to realise that her and Joe's story is coming to an end - outside the equalising space of the garden, their worlds are just too different. Or can love bridge that gap?

This slow-burn romance testifies to the power of human connection while delving into issues of mental health, identity and self-fulfilment with delicacy and humour. Although the story evolves as slowly as buds becoming blooms, readers quickly warm to the cast of highly engaging characters and remain transfixed as two people from very different worlds work their way towards The Meeting Ground.