The Cottage in the Highlands by Julie Shackman

 

"I know you think of yourself as some do-gooding girl-guide-"

I clutched the phone to my ear. "I beg your pardon?"

"You want to go wading in there, solving everyone else's problems and making everything a happy ever after... But life isn't like that".

The Cottage in the Highlands by Julie Shackman is an enjoyable romance story set in Scotland.

Leonie Baxter has been working as a junior reporter for The Silver Ness News for two years, and she loves her job. Silver Ness is "a quaint little Scottish seaside town a good hour's journey away from the centre of Glasgow". She loves everything about it: her office and colleagues, their easy camaraderie and shared lunch breaks.

"It was a joy, working for a local newspaper that so many members of the community relied upon and which had been a part of their family for over a hundred years".

But Leonie's life has been turned upside down, when she finds out that The Silver Ness is going to be amalgamated with one of their sister titles, which means the office is being closed down and she is out of job. What a blow, to be unemployed in time for Christmas! 

"I felt as though I had taken several positive steps towards the future, only to be turned around and ordered back to the starting line".

Leonie's love life is on hold too. Her ambitious ex left her in search of better job opportunities and a more successful catch. Leonie is lucky to have loving parents, and a ten-month old rescue cockapoo puppy named Harley.

During one of her long walks, when doltish Harley manages to escape, Leonie stumbles upon "an old, grand house squatting in the middle of a beautiful but overgrown front garden". The house looks fully furnished but abandoned, with a melancholic air. As a journalist, Leonie is imediately intrigued by the house. Her Spidey senses reawaken, as she thinks there might be a story there.

Her initial enthusiasm is dampened by Lily Cruickshank who lives in the cottage next door. At first, Lily is rude and unwelcoming, trying to get rid of the unwanted visitors to the area. Why is Lily so protective of the old house, Merry Wood?

Looking for a new job, Leonie finds out that Goddess is looking for an investigative journalist. 

"Goddess was a gorgeous publication and it was setting itself apart in the world of glossy magazines, with its grittier features and human-interest stories, as well as fluffier pieces on beauty and fashion".

It would be an ideal position, that is if you fancy working for formidable Athena Mayhew, edior and Goddess owner, "the feared lioness of the glossy magazine world".

Merry Wood is calling to Leonie like a magnet, she is driven to uncover its mystery. "Something told me there was unfinished business there and she [Lily] needed closure". By pure chance, Leonie comes across an old letter from Flynn Talbot, which adds an extra poignant layer to the mystery of the old house. Leonie is determined to find out the truth.

Resolved to trace the enigmatic Flynn Talbot, Leonie searches online until she finds someone who fits the bill, only to be thwarted again by them being reluctant to talk about the past.

Will Leonie be able to work out the puzzle? Will she get a job she wants? And will her own heart be mended?

Leonie is a good-natured and likeable character, albeit slightly on the naive side. Well meaning, she believes it her right to pursue queries which have nothing to do with her. If Lily wants to keep her secrets, maybe respect her wishes? Personally I would not be happy if someone went behind my back to dig into my past. 

The journalistic career of Leonie will draw inevitable comparisons with Andy Sachs from Devil Wears Prada. The character of Athena could well be Miranda Priestly in Tartan.

There are two interlinked love stories, but the main focus of the story is the mystery behind the house and its tragic past.

The cover design is colourful and pretty, though it seems that the artist didn't look deeper beyond the blurb. The artistic impression of a generic cottage in the woods doesn't quite match the book descriptions of Merry Wood and Lily's cottage. 

The Cottage in the Highlands has strong female protagonists. There are two equally compelling romantic narratives.

Full of secrets and simmering passion, the story captures the darkness of relationships. There is a mystery, there is romance, with lashings of real drama and parallel love affairs through different generations.

Trigger warning: domestic abuse.

This review is part of the blog tour for The Cottage in the Highlands.

Many thanks to Julie Shackman and Rachel's Random Resources for my e-copy of the book!

Purchase Links:

UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cottage-Highlands-romance-Scottish-Escapes-ebook/dp/B09YLF6PL5

USA - https://www.amazon.com/Cottage-Highlands-romance-Scottish-Escapes-ebook/dp/B09YLF6PL5

Author Bio – Julie Shackman is a former journalist from Scotland, who has always wanted to write feel-good romance. As well as being an author, Julie also writes verses and captions for greetings card companies. Julie admits to having an obsession with stationery and handbags. She is married, has two sons and has a Romanian rescue puppy, Cooper. The Cottage in the Highlands is Julie’s seventh novel.

Social Media Links – https://twitter.com/G13Julie

https://www.facebook.com/julie.shackman

https://www.instagram.com/juliegeorginashackman