Emma's Review: The Scottish Island Inn by Kennedy Kerr

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

The Balhennie family raised their six daughters on the Isle of Skye amongst early breakfast services and fully booked summers. Their inn is never short of gossip – and when eldest daughter Sorrel turns up for the first time in ten years, the island rumour mill begins.

Always the one left to corral her younger siblings, resourceful Sorrel now runs her own successful property business on the mainland. She throws herself into the repairs, praying her curious sisters will stop asking about the real reason she left home…

But Sorrell didn’t count on brooding, blue-eyed Tam Blackwood – the man she thought was her forever – supervising the works. Now they’re thrown together again, Sorrel realises just how much she’s missed him.

And with her secret in danger of tearing her family apart for good, only Tam has a plan to fix the inn and heal the rift between the Balhennie sisters. With his help, can Sorrel finally open up? Or will the inn close its doors forever?

Book Link: Kindle

Emma's Review: Inheriting the Cottage by the Loch by Kennedy Kerr

Reviewed by Emma Crowley 

Catriona McGovern and her sister Bridget have never seen eye to eye since Catie left Loch Cameron years ago. So when they learn of a mysterious inheritance from a woman they have never met, Bridget and Catriona are stunned. The will states they must put aside their differences and live together in the beautiful, ivy-covered house overlooking the loch for at least one year.

Catie needs all the help she can get untangling historical property records and housekeeper diaries for the manor. The local laird’s wayward younger brother, Matt Cameron, is tasked with helping out: although surly Matt, newly returned to the Highlands under a cloud of his own seems less than pleased. But spending time together at the old mansion, they soon bond over their love of old movies and Matt’s increasingly cheeky jokes.

But Castle View House is hiding more secrets than the sisters ever thought possible. And when a battered wall safe in the attic reveals a clue as to who left them the house and why, the sisters are pulled into a decades-old family mystery that could finally reunite them, or tear them apart for good…

Can Catie and Matt work together to see that there’s more to life than burn out in the big city, and that family is the most important treasure of all?

Book Links: Kindle or Paperback

Emma's Review: Lost Memories of the Cottage by the Loch by Kennedy Kerr

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

When Lottie Fox escapes to the heather-strewn hills of Loch Cameron, she is still heart-sore after the man she thought she’d spend her life with upped and left. Visiting the elderly residents of the village care home to ask for their help tracing local history is the perfect distraction. And soon Lottie is drawn to the outspoken, twinkly-eyed Gretchen.

Senior in years but still young at heart, Gretchen’s outrageous stories bring Lottie out of her shell. And meeting Fred Mackenzie in the village bookstore, with his kind eyes and floppy hair, Lottie starts to think about the future again. She even brings Fred to meet her new friend, Gretchen, and is totally charmed by his care for the elderly lady.

But there’s one story Gretchen has never shared. When Lottie confides in her about how lonely she once was, she realises that Gretchen is desperate to share her own heartbreaking tale of a great love, and a devastating betrayal.

Then Gretchen is rushed to hospital. The last thing she whispers to grief-stricken Lottie is how she must take the blue leather-bound photo album tucked away on her bookshelf. The secrets Lottie and Fred find inside could upend everything Lottie thought she knew about Gretchen, and shatter the community Lottie has come to know and love in the village…

Book Links: Kindle or Paperback

Emma's Review: Keepsakes from the Cottage by the Loch by Kennedy Kerr

Reviewed by Emma Crowley 

Tara Ballantyne hasn’t been home to Loch Cameron since her childhood sweetheart and fiancé Ramsay Fraser suddenly broke her heart. She’s certain the secret she’s kept ever since is why he left without saying goodbye. But when her mother Dotty has a fall, Tara knows she must return to help her family with their guesthouse.

Dotty has never been able to understand why Tara left the village in the first place. And on an errand for her mother at the local farmer’s market after another row, Tara is stunned when she runs into Ramsay. His deep, achingly familiar voice sends butterflies spinning through her stomach as they make plans to catch up. Could now be the moment to tell him her secret?

Then Tara sees Ramsay holding the hand of a little girl with a crooked smile just like his. Even if Ramsay still holds on to the other half of Tara’s gold pendant, it looks like he’s moved on for good. And she still can’t confess what she did all those years ago…

But seeing Ramsay again makes her mother light up, and Tara realises Dotty has missed him too. And as she comes to understand her mother more than ever before, Tara wonders if she’s been running away for all the wrong reasons. Will Ramsay always be the one who got away? Or if Tara finally opens up, will she find happiness in the village?

Book Links: Kindle or Paperback

Emma's Review: An Invitation from the Cottage by the Loch by Kennedy Kerr

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

After losing her sense of self recovering from a serious operation, event planner Deb Sutherland is desperate to reconnect with her family and start living again. So, when an email arrives from the Laird of Loch Cameron asking her to plan his annual Spring Fling, Deb packs her life into her car and makes for the rolling hills of the Highlands. This could be her chance to explore the Scottish roots her beloved grandmother refused to speak about.

Auditioning bands and designing decorations at the Laird’s grand castle, Deb runs into property developer Kyle Abernethy on the edge of the manicured gardens. Kyle is maddeningly arrogant, but Deb can’t deny how his icy blue eyes make her stomach flip. And as they share a bottle of wine overlooking the glittering loch, Deb finds herself laughing like she hasn’t in years.

But when Deb finds an old map of tumbledown worker’s cottages in the castle archives, her heart stops. She remembers how tearful her grandmother would get when asked about her childhood. Was Loch Cameron her home before her family was tragically torn apart? Has Kyle been hiding this truth from her all along?

As the Spring Fling approaches, should Deb run from Loch Cameron for good? Or will confronting her heart-breaking family history mean she can finally move forward with Kyle by her side?

Book Links: Kindle or Paperback

Emma's Review: The Diary from the Cottage by the Loch by Kennedy Kerr

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?

Book Links: Kindle or Paperback 

Emma's Review: A Secret at the Cottage by the Loch by Kennedy Kerr

Reviewed by Emma Crowley 

When thirty-seven-year-old Liz Parsons first sets eyes on the cosy, whitewashed cottage perched on the edge of the loch, she feels the knot in her chest begin to unwind. After a terrible tragedy and sudden break-up, she’s looking forward to putting the past behind her and focusing on her new job running the tiny Loch Cameron Whisky Distillery, nestled between the highland hills.

With the villagers welcoming her with open arms, she meets ruggedly handsome distillery owner Ben Douglas and feels inspired by his passion for the history of the local area. Although Liz and Ben have very different ideas for the future of the business, their hectic days spill over into long walks exploring the wild landscape, and Liz feels lighter for the first time in months.

When Ben confesses he is considering selling his family’s legacy, Liz is desperate to change his mind. The small community relies on the distillery for jobs and tourism, and she can’t let her newfound friends lose their livelihoods.

But just as she hears whispers in town that there’s more to Ben’s story, she receives a letter at the cottage that could change her future. The thick paper and faded postmark are a heart-wrenching reminder of the life she left behind.

Can she trust Ben with the shocking truth about her past? Or will she be forced to pick up the pieces of her broken heart and run away from Loch Cameron forever?

Book Links: Kindle or Paperback

Emma's Review: The Cottage by the Loch by Kennedy Kerr

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

New Yorker Zelda Hicks has just lost her mother, and the only thing she knows about her father is that he was from Scotland. So a work trip to the Scottish village of Loch Cameron couldn’t be better timed. Maybe a break in the beautiful rolling hills of heather will help her reconnect with her roots and recover from her grief.

Then, on a walk around the loch one bright morning, she comes across a tiny, tumbledown cottage, nestled on the edge of the forest. The elderly owner, Gretchen Ross, invites her in for buttery shortbread, and after learning that Gretchen might lose the cottage that has been in her family forever, Zelda vows to help her. She didn’t bargain on butting heads with the handsome, blue-eyed laird Hal Cameron in the process. Zelda can’t seem to forget Hal’s shy smile and she soon learns they might have more in common than she first thought.

But when Zelda discovers a bundle of old letters hidden in the back of an antique wardrobe at the cottage, they lead her back to the mysterious Hal. Pushing Zelda to examine her own family history, the letters reveal a secret that the community has kept hidden for over a generation. Hal says he wants to help Zelda, but just as she begins to open up, she learns he isn’t being entirely honest either… Can Zelda trust him, and finally come to terms with her own past, or will uncovering this secret force her to leave Loch Cameron for good? 

Book Links: Kindle or Paperback

Emma's Review: Dreams of Magpie Cove by Kennedy Kerr

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

Ellie McTavish’s world turns upside down when a deadly diagnosis comes out of nowhere. Feeling adrift as she recovers from life-saving surgery at home, she impulsively bids on a vintage caravan, only to discover the next day that she’s won it. So she grabs her friend Fee and takes it on an impromptu road trip… well, that’s the plan, until it breaks down outside the tiny village of Magpie Cove in Cornwall.

Unexpectedly stranded, the two women don’t have much choice but to stay there until it’s fixed. At least the local mechanic, Mark, is distractingly handsome. Not that Ellie would ever act on her feelings – after the surgery she’s not sure she’ll ever feel beautiful again. If only she’d stop running into him everywhere in town…

As Ellie settles into life in Magpie Cove – even daring to swim in the icy sea with a group of local women each morning – she can feel herself slowly healing. But just as she begins to let herself grow closer to Mark, a midnight attack on her rented beach house once more puts Ellie’s fragile courage to the test. Sometimes the deepest scars are on the inside – will Magpie Cove be able to mend Ellie once and for all?

Book Links: Kindle or Paperback