I have read and loved books by Julie Shackman and look forward to reading this one as well.
ABOUT THE BOOK
The Secret Castle In The Highlands
Prepare to escape to Scotland with a gorgeous feel-good romance this summer…
Returning to the Scottish Highlands was never part of Poppy Summers’ plan. But life had other ideas.
With her parents’ cherished holiday cottages losing money, Poppy is determined to carry on their legacy and save the business before they’re forced to sell.
Revamping the cottages is Poppy’s priority until she meets Mason Cooper, a charming historian drawn to the highlands for research. As their newfound friendship grows, is it possible that something more might be enough of a reason to make Poppy stay for good?
Pre-order Links
Publication Dates
30th August 2026 for Ebook and 10th September 2026 for paperback
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 has two sons and a Romanian rescue pup, Cooper.
The Secret Castle in the Highlands is Julie’s fifteenth novel.
Social Media Links –
Julie Shackman Author
Julie Shackman (@G13Julie) / Twitter
Julie Georgina Shackman (@juliegeorginashackman) • Instagram photos and videos
304 pages Publisher Revell Publication date October 1, 2024
ABOUT THE BOOK
Ruth “Dok” Stoltzfus is the kind of doctor who still believes in house calls, addressing not just her patients’ physical needs but their emotional ones too. When newly widowed Bee faces a breast cancer diagnosis, Dok connects her with Fern Lapp for support. When her painfully shy assistant Annie finds herself drawn to a new calling, Dok goes to great lengths to help her achieve her dream. And when an abandoned newborn mysteriously appears at her office one frosty morning, Dok’s world takes an unexpected turn as ripples of change touch several lives.
A Healing Touch is a captivating tale of compassion, resilience, and the bonds that form in surprising places. Bestselling and award-winning author Suzanne Woods Fisher invites you into a new story that’s like medicine for the weary soul. Join Dok, Annie, and the tight-knit Stoney Ridge community as they navigate the twists of fate, discovering that sometimes the greatest healing comes from the heart.
MY THOUGHTS
It’s wonderful to be back in Stoney Ridge once again and reading about familiar characters. Ruth “Dok” Stoltzfus is the type of doctor you just don’t see anymore. She treats the Amish and makes house calls. It’s not just about practicing medicine with her she really cares about her patients and treats them body and soul. Dok’s husband is a police officer, her brother the bishop. It’s a very tight knit community. As busy as she is in the office she needs and office assistant and it comes in the way of Annie, a painfully shy Amish young woman. She has a dream and Doc wants to help her achieve it but will the bishop approve of her plan. We once again meet up with Hank Lapp and his wife. Hank is a great character, he’s loud, boisterous and doesn’t want to take advice from anyone especially Doc. As his health seems to deteriorate can his wife convince him a helping hand is the way to go. We see character experiencing many different emotions from insecurity to grieving. There is compassion and healing, strong faith and encouragement. What an emotional book and I loved it. Now I need to read the next in the series.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
About the author
Suzanne Woods Fisher loves stories worth telling about people worth remembering. With over a million copies of her book sold worldwide, this bestselling, award-winning author of more than 30 books is always on the lookout for the unsung hero with an untold story.
365 pages Bookouture publisher Publication date February 18, 2021
ABOUT THE BOOK
From the attic of Driftwood House there are stunning views of the deep green sea and sapphire sky. But Rosie can’t tear her eyes away from the faded photograph in her hands, and the words written on the back that will change everything…
Back in the tiny seaside village of Heaven’s Cove after the death of her mother, all Rosie Merchant wants is to hide her tears, rent out her childhood home, and get back to her ‘real’ life, away from the gossiping villagers and wild Devon weather she escaped from years ago.
She’s surprised to find a smiling man in hiking boots – local farmer Liam – waiting on the stone doorstep. His kind offer to help clear crumbling, isolated Driftwood House is hard to refuse, and despite Rosie’s determination not to let anyone get close, soon they’re walking and laughing together along the clifftops. As clouds scud across the endless sky and green waves crash against the shore, Rosie is reminded that nowhere is more beautiful than home.
Then, up in the attic of Driftwood House, Rosie stumbles across a photo which exposes the heart-stopping truth about how her mother came to live at Driftwood House years ago… and Liam only seems concerned about the implications for his own nearby farm. Did he know this painful secret all along, and should she run from Heaven’s Cove for good? Or will facing up to her devastating family history mean Rosie can finally put down roots in this beautiful place?
This book can be enjoyed as a standalone.
MY THOUGHTS
I have read other books in the series already so I’m reading out of order as this is the first one. What a beautiful introduction to Heaven’s Cove, the vast properties, the sea the sense of being home. Driftwood House, crumbling away it won’t be long before the sea claims it but Rosie has other ideas. She grew up in Driftwood House leaving as an adult but now her mother has passed, and she’s returned from Spain to pay her respects and fix up the cottage but she’s not sure what she’ll do with it as she’s settled into her life in Spain. With the brilliant idea of turn it into a B & B she’s devastated when she finds out her mother did not own the house and it is now reverting back to the owner’s name. A secret her mother never told her as she assumed her mother had ownership of the house. Contacting the owner, she decides to fix it up to try to persuade the owner to sell it to her. Clearing the house of her mother’s possessions she finds an unknown picture in the attic that sets her off on a quest to unearth answers to her questions. She has so many and it’s time to discover the truth. Heartbreaking as secrets are uncovered. Will Rosie find the answers she needs before more spirals downward? Such an excellent series. I am really enjoying it.
About the author
Liz writes heart-warming and uplifting women’s fiction about families and relationships, and romantic comedies full of love and laughs. You can sign up to her newsletter at http://www.lizeeles.com
Liz worked as a journalist for years and brought up a family on the south coast of England, all the while writing fiction on the quiet. After being short-listed in a couple of national novel-writing competitions, her dream of being a published author came true when she was signed by publisher Bookouture (a division of Hachette UK).
When not writing, Liz likes walking by the sea, catching up with friends and binge-watching box sets. She also loves hearing from readers and can be contacted at http://www.lizeeles.com, or on Twitter:@lizeelesauthor, Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lizeelesauthor, or Instagram: lizeelesauthor
Liz’s books are:
1. Annie’s Holiday by the Sea (Salt Bay Book 1)
2. Annie’s Christmas by the Sea (Salt Bay Book 2)
2. Annie’s Summer by the Sea (Salt Bay Book 3)
4. New Starts and Cherry Tarts at the Cosy Kettle (Honeyford Book 1)
5. A Summer Escape and Strawberry Cake at the Cosy Kettle (Honeyford Book 2)
6. A Christmas Wish and a Cranberry Kiss at the Cosy Kettle (Honeyford Book 3)
7. Secrets at the Last House Before the Sea (Heaven’s Cove Book 1)
8. A Letter to the Last House Before the Sea (Heaven’s Cove Book 2)
9. The Girl at the Last House Before the Sea (Heaven’s Cove Book 3)
10. A Key to the Last House Before the Sea (Heaven’s Cove Book 4)
11. The Path to the Last House Before the Sea (Heaven’s Cove Book 5)
320 pages Publisher Barbour Fiction Publication date August 1, 2023
ABOUT THE BOOK
Friendship Letters Series — Doretta Schwartz has always enjoyed writing letters and feels her letters can be a bit of a ministry to her friends. In this series, exchanging letters that contain open and honest feelings and struggles helps Doretta and two of her best friends through the darkest challenges of their lives.
A Ministry of Letter Writing Restores Hope to the Writer
Doretta Schwartz used to be so happy and passed her positive attitude along to friends in several letters she wrote each month. But that all changed the day she learned of her fiancé’s death and a heavy weight of depression fell upon her. Feeling empty, she puts away her letter writing and won’t even respond to calls from friends. William’s twin brother, Warren, is also grieving his loss, while at the same time, trying to be supportive to his parents and Doretta. Doretta responds to Warren’s friendship, but is he just becoming a replacement for the once-in-a-lifetime love she lost?
Find out in the second book of The Friendship Letters series by New York Times Bestselling Author Wanda E. Brunstetter.
MY THOUGHTS
It’s always a wonderful day when I have a chance to read another of Wanda Brunstetter’s books. This is the second book in the Friendship Letters series. Though it can be read as a standalone I suggest you read them in order as each book follows closely behind the other to get the full enjoyment of the story. This book deals with depression and follows a young Amish woman in her journey as she is set to marry her fiancée, and he tragically passes away due to an accident close to their wedding. She is also badly hurt, and it takes her a long time to heal. Her fiancée has a twin brother and it’s hard for her to see them as the brothers were identical and it brings back memories of the past. Her best friend sends her comforting and encouraging letters to try to help but at first, she is not receptive to them. Eventually as letters pass between the two friends honesty feelings come out as the friends share their struggles as they are able to help each other. Her faith is lagging but her friends keep encouraging her. As she starts to socialize more her healing both mentally and physically starts. A beautiful uplifting and encouraging story.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
Thank you for stopping in. I hope you have a wonderful day.
381 pages Bookouture Publication date February 28, 2022
ABOUT THE BOOK
The girl stands on the clifftop, feeling the soft breeze lift her shining red hair and dry her tears. She can almost hear Ireland calling her home across the wild sea. But she can never go back. And in that moment, she swears no-one will ever find out why.
Freya is desperate for escape from her messy break-up when she’s offered a job caring for elderly Kathleen in the seaside village of Heaven’s Cove. Kathleen’s once-red hair is now a brilliant white, but there’s always laughter in her Irish lilt – until the day Freya finds her weeping, her gaze fixed on Driftwood House, perched on the cliffs above the village. She refuses to say what’s wrong…
Kathleen’s son Ryan, quiet with striking emerald eyes, resents that a stranger is caring for his mother. But as Freya presses him for answers on a long walk across a windswept beach, Ryan finally admits that Kathleen breaks down in the same way, on the exact same day every year – never telling anyone what is causing her pain.
Finding a photo of Kathleen as a young girl standing outside Driftwood House years before she says she moved to the village, Freya is determined to find the source of Kathleen’s heartache. But as she gets closer to Ryan, and to the sad, forgotten history of the house, Freya is faced with an impossible decision…
Should she share this heartbreaking secret with Ryan and risk their chance of happiness together? And will facing the truth bring Kathleen peace in her final years – or will it tear them all apart?
This book can be enjoyed as a standalone.
MY THOUGHTS
The Girl at the Last House Before the Sea
Though this is part of a series I’ve read the others in the series so long ago I no longer remember what they were about so reading as a standalone. Kathleen made a mistake many years ago. She is elderly now and relives this mistake every day of her life. Her son sees her crying on a certain day every year, but Kathleen won’t say what’s wrong. A new hire, Kathleen’s caretaker knows the secret but can’t tell it she made a promise. Freya has become close to Kathleen, but it has become so hard to keep this secret especially when Kathleen’s son Ryan has also become close to her and a romance may be starting up. There are a lot of family dramatics and tensions because of long kept secrets. Secrets that have caused heartbreaking and sadness for many years. The setting by the sea was beautiful. The village charming. For the most part I liked the characters but not always how they acted. Healing comes at long last as secrets come to light.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
MEET THE AUTHOR
Liz writes heart-warming and uplifting women’s fiction about families and relationships, and romantic comedies full of love and laughs. You can sign up to her newsletter at http://www.lizeeles.com
Liz worked as a journalist for years and brought up a family on the south coast of England, all the while writing fiction on the quiet. After being short-listed in a couple of national novel-writing competitions, her dream of being a published author came true when she was signed by publisher Bookouture (a division of Hachette UK).
When not writing, Liz likes walking by the sea, catching up with friends and binge-watching box sets. She also loves hearing from readers and can be contacted at http://www.lizeeles.com, or on Twitter:@lizeelesauthor, Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lizeelesauthor, or Instagram: lizeelesauthor
Liz’s books are:
1. Annie’s Holiday by the Sea (Salt Bay Book 1)
2. Annie’s Christmas by the Sea (Salt Bay Book 2)
2. Annie’s Summer by the Sea (Salt Bay Book 3)
4. New Starts and Cherry Tarts at the Cosy Kettle (Honeyford Book 1)
5. A Summer Escape and Strawberry Cake at the Cosy Kettle (Honeyford Book 2)
6. A Christmas Wish and a Cranberry Kiss at the Cosy Kettle (Honeyford Book 3)
7. Secrets at the Last House Before the Sea (Heaven’s Cove Book 1)
8. A Letter to the Last House Before the Sea (Heaven’s Cove Book 2)
9. The Girl at the Last House Before the Sea (Heaven’s Cove Book 3)
10. A Key to the Last House Before the Sea (Heaven’s Cove Book 4)
11. The Path to the Last House Before the Sea (Heaven’s Cove Book 5)
Hope you’ve enjoyed your weekend. Thank you for stopping in.
I really can’t think of a particular teacher that really influenced me. But I am still learning, learning every day. Learning by my experiences every day.
I would like to have more time to read during the day . I have a Chihuahua puppy, just turned a year last month and I adore her but she takes so much of my time.
