This Bad Girls story starts off as a continuation from the end of series three, with Nikki into her fifth day of freedom…..but with no Helen in sight. The joyous ending we all remember didn’t happen.
So Nikki, with support from Trish (their relationship is purely as friends,) sets about starting a new life for herself and Lyn27 sets in motion the reunion we know must be coming.
Finding herself in a quaint village, Nikki rescues a local estate agent after the woman has a mishap in her car and drives her to large house in the middle of renovation, about to be inhabited by the person it was inherited to. This person is unknown.
As Nikki scouts the nearby village, she sees a local business for sale and takes the plunge in buying it, keeping the original staff. Before long, Trish is helping out in between running their old club and Barbara Hunt, now released herself, tracks Nikki down and Nikki employs her also.
All seems fine until Nikki takes a nosedive emotionally and physically, becoming very sick, and her friends start to fear for her life. It’s Barbara that has the obvious solution. If she and Trish can find her.
And to their great joy and relief, they do!
From here on in, Lyn27 starts an emotional journey of reconnection for Nikki and Helen, amidst a fight to save Nikki from her inner nightmares.
It’s a hard road for both of them, but Lyn27 keeps up the emotion and angst as they each battle their own feelings. Nikki, too proud to let Helen know the reason for the state she’s in, and Helen not about to give up on Nikki again.
Of course, we eventually have the reunion we all expect, but it doesn’t stop there. There is a mystery to solve as well. An old family secret starts to unravel. And on top of that, Helen and Nikki must face their own families, too.
Just when you think Lyn27 is about to wrap everything up, she throws a spanner in the works with another cliff hanger and a surprise and you’re left wondering where this will lead and eager to find out.
One of the remarkable things about The Garden is that this is Lyn27’s first Nikki and Helen story. The amount of energy and enthusiasm she maintains over the chapters has to be admired and it’s infectious, keeping the reader invested in these characters.
Lyn27’s descriptive passages of places is very detailed, giving the reader a written ‘visual’ of the scene she sets. The dialogue is great and the banter among the characters is highly humourous. Its obvious Lyn27 has a great love of the characters she is writing about and there is a lovingly portrayed relationship that develops between Trish and a young woman, Emily, who works for Nikki.
This is great storytelling in my opinion. So, I would highly recommend a nice comfy armchair, a glass of your favourite tipple, turning off the TV, leaving the phone of the hook and indulging yourself. You’re in for a treat!
The Garden can be found at the Bad Girls Riot site (per the link) under the “Chateau Larkhall” section of the board.
I've read the garden and though it was a good read, I did feel that the writer became too focused on sex, once the characters got together. The constant mention of the smell of sex, soon became irritating. like it was just there for eroticism sake. And the description soon lost its punch. I enjoy her writing but I am starting to find that she relies too much on sex and the story soon fades away to nothing but a 'shagfest'.