The Guesthouse at Lobster Bay is the story of a young woman called Emma, who decides to make big changes in her life after a traumatic event one Christmas Eve causes her to reassess the rut she has found herself in.

When Emma sees an advert for a guesthouse for sale in the tiny Scottish village of Lobster Bay, she sets her heart on recapturing her childhood dream and upping sticks for a fresh start. Little does she know of the trials and tribulations that lie ahead as she tries to give her new home a modern makeover, and get her hospitality business up and running - or about the little secret that the previous owner of the guesthouse has left for her in the laundry room.


As Emma settles into her new life, making friends and finding the sort of supportive community that she has always dreamt of being part of, she still finds herself following the habit of a lifetime by holding something of herself back from those around her. It is not just the guesthouse and making friends that are causing her some tricky moments either - love is in the air in the form of hunky next-door neighbour Aiden, but she is unsure about whether getting involved with him is a good idea with all the baggage he seems to come with, especially since her own mental state is far from clear with the trauma of a difficult Christmas Eve still haunting her. Will Lobster Bay become her forever home, or will the dilemmas she must navigate prove to be too hard to overcome?

This is such a wonderful escapist tale about friendship, family, love, and new beginnings, but at the heart it delves into some very real issues about modern life, mental health and grief that you don't normally come across in a romantic story of this type - with a lovely cast of characters of all ages coping with the pressures that come with relationships, money and human frailty.

Emma is a young woman aware that she is drifting in life, comfortable enough in her job and her choice of partner, but aware that things are stale and not terribly exciting on both fronts. When a traumatic event hits her for six, she knows she must make some drastic decisions about her situation if she is to achieve happiness and she grabs at the chance of a new life well out of her comfort zone, sure that she is strong enough to finally stand on her own two feet.

As the enormity of what she has taken on begins to dawn on her, and the legacy of the trauma she has been through threatens to derail her, it is actually the realisation that it is ok for her to ask for help from others, rather than trying to tackle everything on her own, that really makes this tale something more than a light-hearted yarn. As she learns to open up to friends, family and the possibility of romance, she is finally able to move on and really begin the new life she has been yearning for.

This is beautifully narrated by Eilidh Beaton who convincingly tackles all the accents here with her considerable voice acting skills and carries the story along with just the right amount of emotion. There are laughs and tears galore to be had as the story unfurls, and everything is rounded off with the kind of gorgeous, heart-warming ending that will bring a great big smile to your face.

I cannot recommend this story enough as something to completely engage you from start to finish, and I guarantee it will have you hankering after your own little idyll by the sea before well the story reaches its lovely conclusion.