I very rarely share a review in the afternoon (my advance planning seems to have failed me for once…), but I really didn’t want today to pass without sharing my review of Fixing a Broken Heart at the Highland Repair Shop, the first in a new series by the wonderful Kiley Dunbar. Published today (24th July) by Boldwood Books, it’s now available as an e-book (free via Kindle Unlimited), in paperback, in hardcover, and as an audiobook. My thanks to the publishers for my advance reading e-copy (provided via netgalley).
I’ve told you so many times about Kiley’s lovely books – I’ve been such a fan since I discovered her writing through Christmas at Frozen Falls back in 2019 (one of my Books of the Year that year), and you’ll find my many reviews if you pop her name into my search bar. The Gingerbread Christmas Village was another real personal favourite – and if you’ve never experienced a Christmas with Kiley I’d highly recommend both books (they’re still available at £1.99 each for your kindle). But I’ve entirely loved her Borrow a Bookshop series – I’ve only missed one – and can there be any reader who wouldn’t love to run a bookshop for a fortnight in that wonderful Cornish location and in the midst of such a lovely community? I’m still hoping we’ll return there at some point in the future – the series never ran out of fresh ideas, and I’m sure there are many more stories to tell. But Kiley’s had a change of publisher – well done Boldwood! – and it was the right time to leave Clove Lore behind, and head off to the Highlands…
Never take broken for an answer…
When her career stalls and her boyfriend betrays her, Ally McIntyre’s dreams shatter into a hundred little pieces. Which is apt, given Ally’s family has built a haven for the worn out and broken: the Cairn Dhu Community Repair Shop and Café in the heart of the Scottish Highlands, famous for its band of expert fixers (and delicious baking). But repairing gadgets and restoring heirlooms is one thing, fixing herself is quite another.
Jamie Beaton is on a temporary summer transfer to Cairn Dhu as a Special Constable, though there’s a deeper, sadder reason that’s drawn him to the Highlands. When a scandal threatens the repair shop and Ally and Jamie’s paths cross, an instant connection – and attraction – sparks. Could finding new love, and the missing piece of Jamie’s past, help Ally’s heart to heal?
As the long summer days draw in, however, Jamie must leave. An unexpected job offer also comes Ally’s way, which could take her far from the Highlands. Should she take a leap into the unknown? Where does she truly feel whole?
Full of wit, romance and community spirit, Fixing a Broken Heart at the Highland Repair Shop is the first novel in a gorgeously feel-good new series by bestselling author Kiley Dunbar.
McIntyre’s garden workshop has always been overflowing with things that’ll come in handy one day – all organised in crates and boxes, and neatly labelled. And it’s a broken paper shredder – he had just the right part – that gives birth to the idea of setting up a repair shop for the community of Cairn Dhu, the small village in the Cairngorms. Everyone there has really embraced the idea, bringing in their broken items of all kinds rather than throwing them away. There’s now a cafe too, run by two distinctly quirky sisters – but their baking is to die for – and a good sized group of people who bring their different skills. Including McIntyre’s daughter Ally – she’s their techie, working there on Saturdays (during the week, she works at home for an IT call centre), dreaming of changing her life. Her twin brother did just that, with a dream job based in Geneva, regularly travelling the world. Her love life’s a bit of a disaster area too – but perhaps she’s better off without Gray in her life.
Enter Jamie – a special constable, hoping to join the force, but currently volunteering to prove his capabilities. Their paths first cross under rather unfortunate circumstances, but he can’t get Ally out of his mind – although there are good reasons why it’s impossible for them to be together. But just as the barriers start to come down – and Ally’s interventions help him with some of his own rather complex issues too, as well as making his heart beat rather faster – the opportunity she’s been waiting for suddenly appears. And his time in Cairn Dhu is coming to an end too – it’s time to return to Edinburgh, pursue that application for a permanent job. Perhaps it just wasn’t to be…
And, I have to say, there’s considerably more to this lovely story – different threads and unexpected developments, moments of really well written drama, and times when the future of the repair shop looks distinctly shaky. I always love a community with strong and well-drawn characters – a little quirkiness never goes amiss either, or the opportunity for some laughter. Friends and family – that’s something else I always enjoy, and I especially liked Ally’s efforts to reconnect with her friendship group who seem to have moved on with their lives and left her behind. And all those lovely emotional touches – especially when they involve a bothy when the mists come down, or the healing possibilities of repairing the voice chip in a highland cow.
The setting is so perfectly drawn – I’m not familiar with the Cairngorms, but the author captures the scenery so beautifully. There’s a little folklore too – something I really enjoyed. And I liked the whole theme of sustainability – it’s not laboured, but nicely woven into the story, along with the whole notion of fresh starts, making things (and people) whole again, and new beginnings.
And then there’s the writing. I loved the way the story was told from both Ally and Jamie’s viewpoints – I took them both instantly to my heart. And I really enjoyed some of the (for want of a better word) “asides” to the reader – explaining things like the setting or the Scottishisms, often bringing a smile. And, although I’ll tell you nothing about it – that would be unforgivable – I really loved the ending, which wasn’t entirely what I expected, but I wiped away a stray tear and it left me in just the right place to look forward to whatever comes next in this series.
I do rather hope the next book might follow Ally’s brother Murray – there’s certainly a “to be continued” story there I’d like to read – but there are so many individuals in this book I’m looking forward to getting to know better. A really lovely start to the series, a feel-good and uplifting story I thoroughly enjoyed, and a book I’d very much recommend to others.
About the author
Kiley Dunbar is a Scot living over the border in Northern England where she teaches English and creative writing, devours romance novels, fusses over Amos the Bedlington Terrier, and loves two little Dunbars. She thinks making imaginary people find happiness and fall in hopelessly in love has to be the best job in the world.
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Thank you, thank you, thank you. I always know if Anne enjoyed it, I must be doing something right. Thank you for reading and reviewing my book, I’d no idea you were going to, and it has made my day. Love, Kiley, x
Kiley, I always love your books – the review was a pleasure! xx