DESCRIPTION:
The cottage stood alone on a rocky outcropping at the edge of the loch. Standing in the garden amongst the wildflowers, she felt the weight of the tattered envelope in her hands. Maybe there was something keeping her here in Scotland, a secret waiting to be uncovered…
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?
Title: The Cottage by the Loch The Cottage by the LochAuthor: Kennedy Kerr
Series: Loch Cameron Book 1
Publisher: Bookouture
Genre: Women’s Fiction; Romance
Date of Publication: January 24, 2023
My Rating: 5 Stars
In this wonderfully sweet book by Kennedy Kerr, Zelda Hicks is grieving her mother and desires to get to know her extended family. A work assignment that takes her to Scotland just might serve her well. Now she is in the village of Loch Cameron, and not only will she have a chance to possibly get to know her family, but she might even possibly find hope for the future.
She soon meets people that end up having an immediate affect on her life. One of these people is the mysterious Hal Cameron, the laird, or property owner of the village. Finding a cache of old letters seem to connect to Hal and her past. Aside from meeting Hal, Zelda meets an older lady named Gretchen. She also befriends a local bookstore owner named Ryan. She gets time to find out what those letters consist of because her stay in Scotland is extended after an injury that she sustained. An even longer stay ends up happening because she soon discovers her job as a journalist has been lost due to a company buyout.
Zelda’s life has completely changed. What will her future bring? As this endearing story is told, we see the changes that happened with Zelda, especially as she grows closer to close to her new friends. It is wonderful to see what happens when it comes to her finding a happy future. I love how this is first book in a new series, and if this book is any indication, the other books in this series will be fabulous.
Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Kennedy Kerr is a USA Today Bestselling fiction author. She adores beaches, lochs and stone circles, and loves writing about small communities, mysteries and family secrets. She has a very cuddly cat called Twinkle who spends her days sleeping: Kennedy aspires to having Twinkle's nap schedule one day.
Kennedy also loves cooking and baking all types of food, which is almost as much fun as eating it. Her favourite foods include (but are not limited to) Indian food, Victoria sponge, breakfast pastries with coffee and sushi. The only thing she's not particularly keen on is artichoke, and she'd eat it, anyway.