#Review: The Island Cottage by Jane Lovering @janelovering @BoldwoodBooks @rararesources #blogtour #BoldwoodBloggers #romcom #RespectRomFic

It’s a delight today to be joining the blog tour for the latest book from Jane Lovering, The Island Cottage, and sharing my review. Published on 9th January by Boldwood Books, it’s now available as an ebook (free via Kindle Unlimited), as an audiobook, and also in paperback. My thanks, as always, to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for the invitation and support, and to the publishers for my advance reading copy (provided via netgalley).

It’s become a bit of a tradition to start a new year with a book from Jane – I didn’t quite manage that this year, but I always really look forward to seeing what she’s come up with. I so enjoy her books, with their wonderfully drawn characters, combination of tears and laughter, and engaging storylines – the only problem I ever have is deciding which to choose as one of my Books of the Year. In 2023, it was The Recipe for Happiness (just 99p, or free via Prime) that claimed its place – the wonderful Yorkshire setting, the individuals who entirely won my heart, the humour I always enjoy so much, the whole book infused with warmth and filled with love (you’ll find my full review here). But it could so easily have been There’s No Place Like Home (yes, also just 99p, or free with Prime reading) – life under canvas on the Yorkshire Moors in the depths of winter, in pursuit of a giant black cat that might or might not exist, with its cast of characters I really cared for and the usual helping of life’s issues and complications (you’ll find my review here). But it’s Orkney this time, I see – goodness, what if I don’t like it as much as Yorkshire…!

When Brid Harcus is sent to the Orkney Islands, in the far reaches of Scotland, she has high hopes for her trip being short, straightforward and lucrative.

 

Her mother has inherited a cottage from her Great Aunt Jennet which has been unlived in and unloved for decades, and the time has come to make it habitable and saleable. Easy, right?

 

But Midness Cottage has other ideas. For one thing it’s rather more ‘fixer upper’ than Country Living, with a resident goose and her goslings who have made themselves at home. And Brid definitely hadn’t planned for the strongly-held local belief that the cottage is meant to be the home of the Orkney Witch, and whomever lives in it must fulfil this role. Not the best message for the estate agent brochure and of course Brid doesn’t believe in magic, let alone have healing powers.

 

But Orkney does have healing powers. Its beauty and peace are enchanting, its people welcoming, and Brid’s handsome new friend Magnus is rather charming too. When her life back in York starts calling her home, will Brid sell up and ship out? Or did the last Orkney Witch cast a spell and leave a legacy of love if only Brid believed in magic…

On arrival in Orkney, Brid finds that Great Aunt Jennet’s cottage is going to need rather more than some coats of on-trend grey paint and a few cushions to turn it into a saleable property – and she’d been rather hoping that the proceeds would provide the money she needed to get her foot on the property ladder in York. One room that’s been used as a feed store, a bed in a cupboard, no bathroom (hey, but there is a flush toilet – and wifi!), and the approach means picking your way across the boggy land that surrounds it – and the goose and goslings that have taken up residence in the pantry might just be a little off-putting for potential purchasers too. And then there’s the cottage’s reputation as the home of the resident witch – and when the locals look to her for the same healing Jennet used to dispense, how can she possibly let them down?

But York is home – there’s her work as an accountant, she has friends there (or does she, really?) and her parents need increasing support (although they seem to be managing just fine in her absence). The farming family who’ve been looking after the cottage show her warmth and friendship, she finds herself embraced by the community, the cottage is beginning to feel more homely – and then there’s the enigmatic Magnus, a helpful friend with real potential to become more as his depths are slowly revealed. And then there’s Orkney itself – that wild scenery (wonderfully described, but shame about the rain…) really is balm to the soul. But no, she’s there to sell up, and it looks as if that might just happen – but, with a touch of real magic, plans might just be made for breaking.

Brid is one of those characters that the author always draws so wonderfully – a little broken, an ever present sense of humour and wry take on life, and an essential loneliness and vulnerability that immediately made me take her to my heart. And Magnus, he’s just so thoroughly lovely – kind and sensitive, definitely a case of still waters running deep – and I became really invested in the developing relationship between them. The supporting cast is just wonderful – including Cushie the goose and her family, making themselves increasingly at home despite the streaks they leave on the flagstones – and there are some lovely twists and turns to the story, and a few moments of drama and a bit of villainy that kept me pinned to the seat with the pages turning faster. As always, the author’s emotional touch is just perfect – but with those lovely laugh-out-loud moments that she always introduces so well. And then there’s the witchcraft – beautifully woven into the story, nothing in the least uncomfortable if it’s not really your thing, but I really loved it, a touch of real Orkney magic.

So, a heroine I adored, a developing romance I entirely believed in, such an engaging story, and the Orkney setting was simply perfect (and immediately added to my travel bucket list…). Can I say – as I do with every book she writes – that this is my new favourite? Well, I think it just might be – I really loved it, and I’d highly recommend you add this fantastic book to your reading list.

About the author

Jane Lovering is the bestselling and multi-award winning romantic comedy writer. Most recently Jane won the RNA Contemporary Romance Novel Award in 2023 with A Cottage Full of Secrets. She lives in Yorkshire and has a cat and a bonkers terrier, as well as five children who have now left home.

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