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A review by mjhpjansen
The Cottage in the Highlands by Julie Shackman
5.0
In a beautiful small coastal town in the Scottish Highlands we meet Leonie Baxter, a pretty, kind, warm and caring young woman who finds herself out of a job and out of a relationship. She’s not someone who gets depressed fast but now her life has been turned upside down, it's hard to stay positive. She needs to decide and turn her life around, but how? She has to figure out how to start again.
To ease her worries, she goes on a walk in the woods with her rescue puppy. When she starts chasing a fox, Leonie stumbles across a beautiful and intriguing house, fully furnished but unoccupied. She is determined to find out more, after all, she is a journalist and reporting is in her nature.
She soon finds out this will not be an easy task. The not so friendly neighbour chases her away and refuses to answer questions. Leonie needs a plan to find out more about the house and to get on the good side of Lily Cruickshank who lives in the cottage next door. Ofcourse she also needs to move on after the heartbreak and find a new job.
When she contacts the mysterious Flynn Talbot, finds out more and more about the house, the Talbots and Lily, things get entangled with one another and Leonie has to find a way to uncover all the secrets and make sense of it all as Cupid shoots some arrows too.
Julie Shackman has always wanted to write feel-good romance. The cottage in the Highlands will be published on the 1st of december, 2022 and is the third book in the Scottish escapes series. For next year she already has the publication of two more books planned so it's save to say she is quite good at it. The first two books in the Scottish escapes series were much loved and highly appreciated. I am convinced the cottage in the Highlands will be a success too. This book has everything you look for in a small town/Highlands/holiday season/ feel good romance and more!
It was obvious to me that ms. Shackman writes about what she knows and loves. As a former journalist, she builds great stories with a lot of love for details without it being too slow paced or too much described. The pace is just perfect. The details paint a picture right before your eyes. The plot has some twists I never saw coming. There are some secrets in this story that will break your heart as others will bring joy and laughter.
It's very interesting to read how journalists work. I really love the parts about Leonie's job. The investigation for a scoop, the way Leonie contacts people, the interviews, you can tell ms. Shackman knows the trade herself very well.
The way she shows the surroundings is wonderful too. I could see myself walking through the village, as well as Glasgow. The cozy atmosphere of the village, buzzing with seasonal preparations, the busy city, mysterious woods, the coastal view, it's dreamy and you can tell she lives there herself. It's shown with so much love and eye for detail.
The various characters in the story are portrayed to immediately steal your heart. Especially Leonie's rescue puppy. I read somewhere that Julie Shackman has a Romanian rescue puppy herself, named Cooper. I bet there are some true stories in here that are based on Cooper. Anyone with a dog will recognize each anecdote, it's just too cute!
Summarizing, Julie Shackman knows how to tell a great story. As a journalist living in Scotland, details about the surroundings and Leonie's job are well written and in-depth. As a dog mother she worked out the supporting act, Leonie's puppy, to perfection as well. The characters developed in a way you can feel for them all and they have splendid dialogues.
The pace of the story is very nice, the romance is clean and slow-paced. The mystery and the investigations are, to me, the cherry on top of this delicious pie. The last part of the book has a faster pace and is used to wrap up all the lose ends in an original way and perfectly fitting for the story. She did however, leave enough space for more. Personally I can't wait. I love stories like this. It's very complete, all the ingredients to make it a very good book are there.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for the review copy I received.
To ease her worries, she goes on a walk in the woods with her rescue puppy. When she starts chasing a fox, Leonie stumbles across a beautiful and intriguing house, fully furnished but unoccupied. She is determined to find out more, after all, she is a journalist and reporting is in her nature.
She soon finds out this will not be an easy task. The not so friendly neighbour chases her away and refuses to answer questions. Leonie needs a plan to find out more about the house and to get on the good side of Lily Cruickshank who lives in the cottage next door. Ofcourse she also needs to move on after the heartbreak and find a new job.
When she contacts the mysterious Flynn Talbot, finds out more and more about the house, the Talbots and Lily, things get entangled with one another and Leonie has to find a way to uncover all the secrets and make sense of it all as Cupid shoots some arrows too.
Julie Shackman has always wanted to write feel-good romance. The cottage in the Highlands will be published on the 1st of december, 2022 and is the third book in the Scottish escapes series. For next year she already has the publication of two more books planned so it's save to say she is quite good at it. The first two books in the Scottish escapes series were much loved and highly appreciated. I am convinced the cottage in the Highlands will be a success too. This book has everything you look for in a small town/Highlands/holiday season/ feel good romance and more!
It was obvious to me that ms. Shackman writes about what she knows and loves. As a former journalist, she builds great stories with a lot of love for details without it being too slow paced or too much described. The pace is just perfect. The details paint a picture right before your eyes. The plot has some twists I never saw coming. There are some secrets in this story that will break your heart as others will bring joy and laughter.
It's very interesting to read how journalists work. I really love the parts about Leonie's job. The investigation for a scoop, the way Leonie contacts people, the interviews, you can tell ms. Shackman knows the trade herself very well.
The way she shows the surroundings is wonderful too. I could see myself walking through the village, as well as Glasgow. The cozy atmosphere of the village, buzzing with seasonal preparations, the busy city, mysterious woods, the coastal view, it's dreamy and you can tell she lives there herself. It's shown with so much love and eye for detail.
The various characters in the story are portrayed to immediately steal your heart. Especially Leonie's rescue puppy. I read somewhere that Julie Shackman has a Romanian rescue puppy herself, named Cooper. I bet there are some true stories in here that are based on Cooper. Anyone with a dog will recognize each anecdote, it's just too cute!
Summarizing, Julie Shackman knows how to tell a great story. As a journalist living in Scotland, details about the surroundings and Leonie's job are well written and in-depth. As a dog mother she worked out the supporting act, Leonie's puppy, to perfection as well. The characters developed in a way you can feel for them all and they have splendid dialogues.
The pace of the story is very nice, the romance is clean and slow-paced. The mystery and the investigations are, to me, the cherry on top of this delicious pie. The last part of the book has a faster pace and is used to wrap up all the lose ends in an original way and perfectly fitting for the story. She did however, leave enough space for more. Personally I can't wait. I love stories like this. It's very complete, all the ingredients to make it a very good book are there.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for the review copy I received.