Pages

Thursday, 1 April 2021

A Secret Scottish Escape by Julie Shackman


Title: A Secret Scottish Escape
Author: Julie Shackman
Publish Date: May 21st, 2021
Publisher: One More Chapter
Source: Huge thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC for review!                                                                
When Scotland’s sleepiest hamlet becomes the centre of hot gossip, Layla Devlin finds herself caught in a mystery…

When Layla’s fiancĂ©e has an unexpected heart attack and dies – in another woman’s arms, no less – Layla is determined to pack up and leave Loch Harris, the village she’s always called home. But an unexpected inheritance and love for her quiet corner of Scotland send her down a new path.

Now Layla finds herself facing a whole new kind of drama. Rumours swirl that a celebrity has moved into Coorie Cottage and Layla is determined to have him headline her opening night at local music venue The Conch Club. But the reclusive star is equally determined to thwart Layla’s efforts. Rafe Buchanan is in hiding for a reason, and soon his past comes to Loch Harris to haunt him…


Penelope's Review

This was a cute, fun read but I would say it's definitely one that you can pick up and put down and read in between other books. It had an interesting storyline, and went in a couple different directions, but I did find it a bit slow at times. 

The book follows Layla Devlin, who, right from he beginning of the book finds out that her fiancĂ© dies of a heart attack while in his ex-wife's arms. It was an interesting start to the book, I'll admit. I liked Layla, I found her to be a pretty relatable character and enjoyed the close relationship she had with her dad. I liked her drive and courage to try new things, including a very cool business venture! 

*P.S. kind of a spoiler alert for this next paragraph... but nothing that you couldn't figure out from the synopsis*

I was looking forward to a good bit of romance, but unfortunately that wasn't quite the case here. Layla meets Mask aka Rafe a few times throughout the book, and he's rude pretty much every time (not that I cared about that, it's a book not real life lol!) but it just made it kind of unrealistic for them to get together at the end. I mean yes, they did open up a bit to each other but... I dunno I just wasn't feeling it. There wasn't really any growth or great connection that made me root for them, you know what I mean? So that was kind of a let down.

The story itself was good, but not amazing. The book was written well, I just found that it took me quite awhile to get through what with the slow bits making me put it down more often than I usually do. That being said, I like it enough as a "background book" and I'm glad I read it regardless. I wouldn't be opposed to trying out other books by this author. 

Rating: 3.5/5 Devils!






No comments:

Post a Comment