Reviewed by Emma Crowley
Carrie Anderson searches under the flowerpot by the bright blue door and finds the keys to the little whitewashed cottage. Still recovering from the heart-wrenching loss of her beautiful sister, Carrie hopes that staying on the edge of the glittering loch, where the siblings used to spend summers with their great-aunt Maud, will help her heal from her grief.
On a trip to the tiny village store, Carrie literally bumps into ex-Navy officer turned chef Rory McRae. Tall and broad shouldered, at first Rory is infuriatingly distant, but his enthusiasm for his farm-to-table restaurant lights up his rich brown eyes. When he tells Carrie that he’s understaffed, she is quick to offer help. She soon finds Rory’s warm smile and playful jokes are a balm to her heart. Suddenly, Carrie begins to feel less alone.
But then she discovers a diary her aunt Maud kept as a young woman after World War Two. The faded sepia photograph of a baby boy tucked into the back reveals a heartbreaking secret about her family she can scarcely believe. Opening up to Rory, could the discovery of a long-lost relative finally heal the loneliness that has been plaguing Carrie’s heart? Or will the secrets the diary unravels destroy her hope for a new future in Loch Cameron?
Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of The Diary from the Cottage by the Loch to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
It hasn’t been that long at all since the publication of the second book in the Loch Cameron series by Kennedy Kerr so I was delighted to see that book three is already with us. Once again, the author has written another gorgeous book, pure escapism at its very best and The Diary from the Cottage by the Loch proved to be another relaxing and enjoyable read. I found these sort of books ideal for a breather from the huge number of World War Two fiction I read. They are at the complete end of the spectrum and sometimes you just need something that little bit lighter to take your mind off things. Yes, the plot may have been slightly predictable in terms of some aspects of it but that didn’t detract in any way from my enjoyment of the entire story. So much so that I flew through it and read it in two sittings. I sound so far as if this was all light and happiness and that there wasn’t that much depth to this story but the opposite is true as Kennedy Kerr has touched on a topic we can all identify with. That of death and the loss of a loved one although in this case I couldn’t say that I felt the guilt that our main character does.
The story opens as Carrie and her sister Claire are travelling to a wedding in Devon. It’s raining heavily and the roads are narrow. Carrie had asked Claire several times to turn down the music so she could concentrate but Carrie was being obstinate and refused to do so. Unfortunately, the worst occurs, a young driver driving way too fast ploughs into them leaving Claire dead and Carrie with serious injuries. When Carrie wakes up in hospital to learn the news of her sisters passing, she is distraught and inconsolable and a huge wave of guilt descends upon her and one which will prove very challenging to shift combined with the sense of loss and grief she feels. In time, as we get to know Carrie as a character we see that she hides alot of her true feelings as to the reasons for the guilt she feels regarding the loss of Claire. Yes, the fact she wouldn’t turn down the music contributed to the crash but from fairly early on I could sense there were much deeper, darker and heavier things weighing on her mind to do with the relationship she had had with her sister up until the point of her death.
Carrie knows deep down that she hadn’t been a good sister to Claire for many years and now the one family member she had left (their mother had died at an early age and their relationship with their father had disintegrated and was virtually non-existent) is gone and she has no chance to repair their relationship. It’s too late to say sorry. Carrie decides she needs to get away from everything, to take some quiet time for herself for some reflection and healing. She finds a cottage to rent on the shores of Loch Cameron which is owned by Gretchen Ross, who has featured in the previous two books. The cottage is near to where herself and Claire spent holidays with their Great Aunt Maud and she has many happy memories from her time there. ‘It was a familiar place where she could hide away and not see anyone else, if she didn’t feel like it, a place she could be alone and walk in nature without being disturbed. A place she could grieve, and a place that reminded her of happier times’. To be honest my heart went out to Carrie because she was literally torn in two. She was heartbroken and deep down she was also trying to hold together the anger and guilt that she was feeling.The cottage would offer her sanctuary from the human race where she could fall apart unnoticed and then attempt to piece herself back together again but she had a difficult road to traverse in order to reach that point and given she was so fragile and endlessly beat herself up about things I really did wonder whether she would reach that point?
Loch Cameron and its residents are as welcoming as ever. It’s a small town where everyone knows each other, and they are always there for one another in times of trouble or strife. I love how they welcome newcomers with open arms and offer solidarity and support when needed. Carrie takes the opportunity to join the local choir as run by June and this really gave her a much needed outlet. I enjoyed how some familiar faces also made a reappearance as I love to know how they are now getting on as I dislike when in a series there is no mention of previous characters and it’s as if they never existed. But also the introduction of new characters helps keep things fresh and new and interesting for the reader.
Chef Rory McCray literally bumps into Carrie in the village shop and to say things don’t get off to a good start is an understatement as she finds him to be rude and abrasive. But when she meets him for a second time in the inn run by Dotty and her husband Eric, well Carrie views Rory differently and it’s at this point I could see a change in her. There was a stirring of emotions within her and a spark of physical attraction ignited but given how she felt about Claire and the relationship she had had with her partner Graham. I did selfishly think why is it ok for Carrie to start to feel a little bit of simmering romance yet she was horrible when it came to her sister? I felt there had to have been a very good reason for her stance when it came to Claire and Graham. That it better be justified and worthwhile when it did come to light.
Carrie gets a job as a kitchen assistant in Rory’s restaurant and although you can tell that she wants to get closer to him she is reluctant to fully let herself go. Rory too is hiding things although he does reveal that he previously worked in the navy. When Carrie finally feels that she is able to release her emotions and some truths she does so to Rory and I was almost cheering in delight that she had found someone she could confined and perhaps have things develop into something much more and perhaps long term. Overall, I did think the Carrie/Rory thing could have been developed a bit more. He disappears (although an explanation is given) for a good chunk of the book and then when he reappears again it’s like things happened way too quickly but on reflection, I suppose this is the nature of this kind of book.
As for the diary that is mentioned in the title I liked how this came into play in terms of the overall plot and how it really helped Carrie with finding herself again and trying to reach a point where she gained understanding and acceptance. It was an interesting tale as told in the diary which in turn opened up a new and exciting avenue for Carrie. Loch Cameron has strange healing powers and as Carrie travels on her journey of acceptance, healing and self-discovery, it truly was a joy to travel with her. I found her to a character that as a reader I could identify with and that made me care for her more. Despite the sad nature of the main theme of the book, I found this to be a story that will help many and you will root for Carrie every step of the way.Reading the Loch Cameron books is a source of familiarity and comfort for me and I hope there will be plenty more to come in the series.
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