The Haunting of Willows Cottage (Strathbairn Trilogy Book 3) by Isobel Blackthorn

 

"There is something profoundly bad about this place, something ghostly and menacing, something that infuses the hearts and minds of all who spend muchtime under this roof".

The Haunting of Willows Cottage by Isobel Blackthorn is a Gothic story, set in the Western Highlands of Scotland.

This is book 3 in Strathbairn Trilogy. I would recommend starting the series from Book 1, as otherwise you will miss on the dynamics and undercurrents of all the relationships between the protagonists and the decisions they make.

Blurb:

The Haunting of Willows Cottage (Strathbairn Trilogy Book 3)

Ingrid and her daughter Susan return to the Western Highlands of Scotland, staying at Strathbairn with Gertrude McCleod while their new home, a cottage by the loch, is redecorated. The very same day, the ghosts of Ingrid's past return when Gertrude's brother Miles arrives with his new bride and his friend Timothy.

When her former beau turned betrayer Hamish starts work on a barn conversion, Ingrid is desperate to leave Strathbairn. She rushes to move into the cottage only to find she is sharing her new home with a violent ghost.

Realising the haunting is somehow connected to Strathbairn and sensing that something at Willows Cottage must be returned, she makes every effort to discover what that it is.

While Hamish and Gertrude conspire to force Ingrid into marriage, Timothy becomes a regular caller with a romantic motive. With two suitors and two marriage proposals, who will she choose - and can she solve the haunting of Willows Cottage?

A gripping conclusion to a classic gothic mystery trilogy laced with dark family secrets.

The story has all the right ingredients for a delicious Gothic drama, with its haunted houses, old betrayals, dangerous suitors and secrets festering beyind the heather.

Ingrid returns to the Western Highlands with her young daughter Susan, for a temporary stay at Strathbairn, while her farmhouse by the loch is being prepared. Their move back to Scotland from Winchester is not well thought-through. 

While Ingrid tries to justify their move by feeling isolated, and having terrible memories associated with the house in Winchester, where she was abused by her late husband, it's not exactly a happy space to come back to. There is a lot of past tragedies and secrets connected to Strathbairn, and the people living there are not her friends. Ingrid tries to convince herself that her daughter is fond of Strathbairn, and loves the cook. 

"My reasons seem insubstantial even to my own ears. What reasons can there be for such a move, other than Susan's longing, her tantrums, her abominable behaviour?"

Willows Cottage needs quite a lot of work to be done before they can move in, and Ingrid is impatient.

The big house offers little sanctuary, as should be expected, judging by the resident company and the previous encounters with violent ghostly inhabitants. 

Gertrude McCleod, the current owner of Strathbairn, tolerates rather than welcomes Ingrid and Susan's stay at her house. She has an agenda which she is trying to pursue.

"She is cold, hard woman, her character befitting the roles she plays as owner-manager of a whisky business and a guest house or hotel. I feel uneasy in the role of her ally, a role she seems determined to foster".

The ghosts of Ingrid's past stir once more when Miles McCleod (one of the sons of the family) appears with his beautiful new wife, and their friend Timothy. This arrival seems to unsettle the already fragile semblance of peace.

Then comes Hamish. Ingrid loved him once, but he cruelly betrayed her. Hamish arrives to oversee the conversion of an ancient barn at the estate.

Desperate to escape the suffocating painful memories closing around Strathbairn, Ingrid hastens her move to Willows Cottage, only to discover to her dismay, that she is not alone within its walls, and the calm she was looking for is an illusion.

There is a violent and restless spirit who haunts the cottage, its fury is bound to a long-buried secret connected to Strathbairn. Something hidden there has been taken away and must be returned.

The scary actions escalate in the night, and the haunting tightens its grip. Ingrid must uncover the truth before the evil lingering at Willows Cottage destroys everything she holds dear.

As if that isn't enough to endure, Ingrid finds herself trapped between two men: Timothy, whose growing devotion offers her a promise of tenderness, and Hamish, whose intentions are far darker than passion.

Gertrude and Hamish weave their own designs around her future. They are conspiring and enjoying Ingrid's discomfort.

One concern follows another, as Ingrid's daughter is going off the rails. 

Susan's character is infuriating, she is the epitome of a spoilt brat. And when it comes to her daughter, Ingrid knows she is a pushover, "a weak and ineffectual mother".  Easily manipulated by the cook, Susan is disloyal to her mother, and is a very unpleasant child overall (which is entirely Ingrid's fault, as she isn't able to teach or guide her daughter to behave).

Will Ingrid be able to solve the mystery surrounding Strathbairn once and for all?

The Haunting of Willows Cottage is a captivating conclusion to a classic Gothic mystery trilogy, steeped in dark family secrets, menacing spectral horror, and the stark beauty of the Scottish Highlands.

This review is part of the blog tour for The Haunting of Willows Cottage.

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

Purchase Links

UNIVERSAL BOOK LINK: https://books2read.com/u/mYJzVp

AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FXJDKJQ3

APPLE BOOKS: https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-haunting-of-willows-cottage/id6754550008

BARNES & NOBLE: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-haunting-of-willows-cottage-isobel-blackthorn/1148696029?ean=2940182364515

GOOGLE BOOKS: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=laCSEQAAQBAJ

RAKUTEN KOBO: https://www.kobo.com/ebook/the-haunting-of-willows-cottage

Author Bio –

Isobel Blackthorn is an award-winning author of immersive and inspiring fiction. She has penned over twenty-five books including a number of bestsellers. She majors in strong female leads and empowerment narratives.

Among her credits, Isobel’s biographical short story ‘Nothing to Declare’, which forms the first chapter of her biographical novel Emma’s Tapestry, was shortlisted for the Ada Cambridge Prose Prize 2019. One of her Canary Islands novels, A Prison in the Sun, was shortlisted in the LGBTQ category of the Readers’ Favorite Book Awards 2020 and the International Book Awards 2021. The Cabin Sessions was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award 2018 and the Ditmar Awards 2018. And The Unlikely Occultist: A biographical novel of Alice A. Bailey received an Honorable Mention in the 2021 Reader’s Favorite Book Awards.

Blackthorn is the author of the world’s only biography of Theosophist and mother of the New Age movement Alice Bailey – Alice A. Bailey: Life & Legacy.

Isobel has a background in Western Esotericism. She holds 1st Class Honours in Social Studies, and a PhD from the University of Western Sydney for her ground-breaking research on the works of Alice A. Bailey. Her doctoral thesis has been downloaded over 13,000 times.

Isobel’s first work, which she wrote in 2008, is Voltaire’s Garden. This memoir is set in the mid 2000s and tells the story of building a sustainable lifestyle B&B in Cobargo on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia, which gained international attention when a firestorm razed the idyllic historic village on New Year’s Eve 2019.

Isobel’s writing has appeared in journals and websites around the world, including Esoteric Quarterly, New Dawn Magazine, Paranoia, Mused Literary Review, Trip Fiction, Backhand Stories, Fictive Dream and On Line Opinion. Isobel was a judge for the Australasian Shadow Awards 2020 long fiction category. Her book reviews have appeared in New Dawn Magazine, Esoteric Quarterly, Shiny New Books, Sisters in Crime, Australian Women Writers, Trip Fiction and Newtown Review of Books.

Isobel’s interests are many and varied. She has a long-standing association with the Canary Islands, having lived in Lanzarote in the late 1980s. A humanitarian and campaigner for social justice, in 1999 Isobel founded the internationally acclaimed Ghana Link, uniting two high schools, one a relatively privileged state school located in the heart of England, the other a materially impoverished school in a remote part of the Upper Volta region of Ghana, West Africa. After working as a teacher, market trader and PA to a literary agent, she arrived at writing in her forties, and her stories are as diverse and intriguing as her life has been.

Isobel has performed her literary works at events in a range of settings and given workshops in creative writing.

British by birth, Isobel entered this world in Farnborough, Kent, UK. She has lived in England, Australia, Spain and the Canary Islands. She now lives and writes in Spain. She is currently at work on two novels composed in Spanish.

Social Media Links – 

https://isobelblackthorn.com/

Social Media:

https://www.facebook.com/Author.Isobel.Blackthorn/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5768657.Isobel_Blackthorn

https://www.instagram.com/isobelblackthorn/

@isobelb-author.bsky.social

The Bookshop by the Loch by Julie Shackman

"As I sat there and reflected, I realised that I woke up every morning and looked forward to heading into Book Ends. Whether that had something to do with a tall, dark and brooding portrait painter was another thing".

"Families. Parents. What a painful, emotional mess they could make of things, when they put their minds to it". 

Blurb:

Lexie Dunbar is a book lover. And her favourite place in the world is her local bookstore, Book Ends. So when she hears that it's going to be sold, Lexie decides she needs to do something to help. 

Lexie's plan to save the ailing shop is fully underway until gorgeous-but-grouchy artist Tobias Black arrives on the scene determined to turn the bookstore into an art gallery. Lexie is horrified, the last thing the quaint town of Bracken Way needs is a pretentious artist, even if he does seem to charm everyone but her. 

Tensions continue to rise until Tobias discovers a shocking secret that shows they might have more in common than they realise. 

As sparks fly, can Lexie and Tobias work together, or will opposing ideas get in the way of them finding their very own happy ever after.

The Bookshop by the Loch by Julie Shackman (One More Chapter, published on 31 January 2024) is a cosy escapist romance set in Scotland. This is the 6th book in the Scottish Escapes series. The book reads as a standalone, and is not connected to the previous instalments, except by the general theme (romance set against the Scottish background).

Lexie is an ambitious young woman who works as a junior editor at Literati Publishing and loves her job. When she is looked over for an anticipated job promotion in favour of someone with a more impressive name, Lexie decides to take a leave of absence for three months and return to the place of her childhood, Bracken Way, to rethink what she actually wants to do with her life.

She stays with her Mum and grandfather, both of whom welcome her with open arms. 

While staying at home, Lexie discovers that her favourite bookshop, Book Ends, is going to be closed down. The owner of the shop, Trevor, plans to retire. He believes that he cannot compete with online shopping. After a pep talk by Lexie on what she would do to save business, Trevor comes up with an idea of "giving his store a new lease of life and purpose, dragging it kicking and screaming into the modern day". Lexie is startled when Trevor offers her to manage the book shop for him. "Come and turn Book Ends around".

"He was asking me to take over the revamp of Book Ends? Manage the shop? A place that had been part of Bracken Way for thirty years? This was crazy".

Crazy or not, Lexie agrees to manage the full overhaul of the shop. They agree to give this arrangement a year, and if things won't work out as planned, then so be it. Lexie is free to move on, and the shop will be closed down for good.

Lexie is full of ideas, and decides to make a real go of this. However, she is stumped, when a newcomer challenges her plans. Trevor's nephew Tobias Black, a temperamental artist, arrives to the store with a vision of turning it into an art gallery. And Trevor cannot say No to his family.

Bookshops and art galleries have been known to share premises, but it would need a careful planning, and an amicable agreement between the managers, and they seem to be at loggerheads.

On top of the struggles of overturning the fortunes of the ailing book shop and establishing a successful business, Lexie has to deal with a strange request from a random visitor to the book shop. 

Maeve Marshall comes to Book Ends with a story about her elderly mother Celeste, who has a bucket list of things to be done before she dies. Lexie and Tobias get involved and dedicate a huge amount of time on helping someone they don't know.

Lexie's life is further troubled by someone from her past coming back with a shocking revelation. Tobias has devastating news of his own to deal with. Confiding in each other, they find comfort and mutual support. And their initial hostility is disappearing to give way to new feelings.

This is the third book in the series that I've read, and there is clearly a recurring theme, and the enemies-to-lovers trope. There is a determined female protagonist at her career and personal life crossroads who starts a new venue/business, and meets a tall, dark and brooding man, usually with a creative profession. At first he appears as a totally self-absorbed egoist, but gradually he reveals his vulnerable side and is actually a real softie and darling.

There was a lot drama going on in everyone's lives. On top of the developing business and budding romance plotline, there are family dramas in the main protagonists' lives, plus we get an elderly lady with a life-limiting illness, who has a tragic secret of her own. 

I thought the book that Lexie was helping to edit and publish was rather Mills and Boon, and the ending was truly cheesy.

The Bookshop by the Loch will appeal to readers of sweet/clean romance, where a happy ending is assured, and to those who love books about books. This is an entertaining and charming tale of family bonds, love and forgiveness.

For me, the more enjoyable parts were related to the book store, and how Lexie helped to spruce it up. The scenic Scottish location creates a lovely setting for the story.

Thank you to Julie Shackman and NetGalley for my e-copy of the book!

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

A Scottish Country Escape & The Christmas Highland Lodge by Julie Shackman (Double Cover reveal)

Today I'm delighted to take part in a double cover reveal of Julie Shackman's brand new romance books, A Scottish Country Escape & The Cottage in the Highlands. 

A Scottish Country Escape

Escape to the Scottish Highlands with a brand new spring romance from bestselling author, Julie Shackman

*Julie Shackman’s brand new romance The Cottage in the Highlands is exclusively available on First Reads for November*

Determined to overcome a family tragedy, Elle Cassidy decides to reopen her late mother’s ailing newsagent as a stationery shop in the quiet Scottish town of Fir Haven.

But when the arrogant yet handsome crime writer Dexter Grayling almost runs over Elle in his beast of a sports car, the town is thrown into a tailspin – especially when Dexter claims that local resident Linda Carlucci has put a curse on him and he is no longer able to write.

Can Elle put aside her dislike for the self-absorbed writer and help Dexter uncover what is really going on with the Carlucci family? And in the process will Elle realise that there’s a lot more to her beloved Fir Haven than she first thought…

For fans of Donna Ashcroft, Jane Linfoot and Rachael Lucas.

 

Pre-order Links

UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0B9SK1DHM 

US - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B9SK1DHM

Publication Date: 16^th March 2023

 

 The Christmas Highland Lodge

The brand new Christmas romance filled with love and second-chances

Fall in love with the Christmas romance of the year, full of love and second chances!

Lottie Grant loves the festive season so much that she works at the incredibly successful Christmas shop, Christmas Crackers, in her pretty Scottish home town of Craig Brae. But when the shop is sold, her world is turned upside down, leaving her wondering what she will do next.

Just as she’s about to give up hope on finding a new dream job, an offer comes that she can’t refuse, managing a set of luxury wooden cabins… and opening just in time for Christmas!

As she gets to work decorating the cabins, and hanging lights on the fir trees, Lottie can’t believe her luck. That is until the arrival of Blake Dempster, a moody but handsome hiking expert, who threatens to bring down her festive joy. But never one to shy away from a challenge, Lottie is determined to change Blake’s mind about all things festive.

And as the snow falls and the fairy lights sparkle, will work-obsessed Lottie and frozen-hearted Blake make their Christmas wishes come true?

Pre-order Links

UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0BDBT59L4

US - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BDBT59L4

Publication Date: 20^th October 2023

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.

She admits to having an obsession with stationery and handbags and has an impressive pile of gorgeous To Be Read novels she is wading her way through.

She is married, has two sons and a Romanian rescue puppy, Cooper. A Scottish Country Escape and The Christmas Highland Lodge are Julie’s eighth and nineth novels respectively.

Social Media Links –

Website - Julie Shackman Author

Julie Shackman (@G13Julie) / Twitter

Julie Georgina Shackman (@juliegeorginashackman) • Instagram photos and videos

(2) Julie Georgina Shackman | Facebook

And here comes a thrilling moment! 

Ta Da! 

Feast your eyes on these pretty book covers.