It’s a real pleasure today to be joining the blog tour for Summer Escapes on the Scottish Isle by Lilac Mills, and sharing my review: this is the second book in her Coorie Castle Crafts series, published by Canelo Romance on 17th July, and now available in paperback and on all major ebook platforms. Thank you, as always, to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for the invitation and support, and to everyone involved in providing my advance reading e-copy.
I’ve loved so many books by Liz Davies – you’ll find all the reviews if you pop the name into my search bar – but it took me rather longer (far too long really!) to discover the lovely books she writes as Lilac Mills. Last year I had the pleasure of visiting The Tanglewood Bookshop, and (although I’d missed the first three books in the series) it was a book I totally adored – characters I took to my heart, that wonderful community feel I always enjoy so much, and every special Christmassy touch I could have hoped for (you’ll find my review here). But this series, set on the beautiful Isle of Skye, is one I discovered from the very beginning – and thoroughly enjoyed the first book, Surprises on the Scottish Isle, when I read it in January (you can read my review again here). Tara and Calan entirely won my heart, the supporting cast was superbly drawn, the focus on crafting was fascinating, and the Skye setting just perfect – it was such a well-told story, with real emotional depth, and left me very much looking forward to the next in the series…
Will she give everything up for love?
Freya Sinclair has it all. An exciting life in London, a successful career as a ceramicist and a handsome boyfriend. But when she receives a call that her elderly father is in hospital, she drops everything to support his recovery in Skye.
Back on the island, Freya finds a new lease on life – Coorie Castle’s craft centre is firing her creativity and she’s glad to be back with her dad again. Being so close to her schoolgirl crush, Mackenzie Burns, is an added bonus. The two share an instant connection and Freya misses her old life less and less.
But Freya has a boyfriend at home and now a dazzling job offer in New York. She must figure out what she truly wants, before anyone gets hurt.
A heartwarming, feel-good cosy romance perfect for fans of Sarah Morgan, Julie Shackman and Sue Moorcroft.
Freya’s childhood home at Duncoorie on the Isle of Skye is in a particularly beautiful location, but she’s rarely visited since the loss of her mother, and the grief is very much still with her. But her father’s coping ok, with friends and neighbours keeping an eye on him – and he doesn’t want to intrude on her new life, in London, where she’s finding success as a creator of ceramic art while working as a college lecturer. And a new opportunity has now cropped up – a role at a top art college in New York that would be the stuff of dreams – and, after some soul-searching, her relationship with Hadrian has perhaps run its course.
But then her father has a fall, and it seems it might not be his first – so Freya heads home to care for him for a while, to get his home organised and him settled enough for her to be able to leave. He’s not the easiest patient – and she’s glad of the help of childhood crush Mackenzie for the heavy lifting, some distraction, and a shoulder to cry on. She finds he has depths she never expected, but a relationship isn’t something that’s on her mind – there’s too much else to think about, and she’s on the verge of leaving. But that spark she remembers is still very much there, and his every act of kindness makes her heart grow fonder – he gives her the use of an outhouse to use for her ceramics and, knowing that her father misses his boat, thrills him by taking him along on his own boat tours in the bay.
And things have changed since Freya last spent time in Duncoorie – the craft village at Coorie Castle is now well established, with Mhairi in charge and Calan at her side, and she’s delighted to find herself among equally creative people, all of whom play their parts in the story. And, surrounded by people who draw her into the community, she slowly loses her fear of being overtaken by tears at the thought of her mother’s final farewell – the surrounding countryside is stunning (and so vividly described), and being near (or on) the water isn’t anything like as awful as she thought it would be. But there’s really no chance of her staying, however much she begins to want to… until some issues she wasn’t aware of make it all the more difficult for her to walk away.
The budding romance is simply perfect, the community beautifully drawn and the individual characters so well developed – and the story’s a particularly emotional one, gently and beautifully told, that I thoroughly enjoyed. There’s nothing to stop you reading this one as a standalone if you missed Tara and Calan’s story – but I loved meeting them (and the wonderful Mhairi) again, and spending time among friends. And I do think you might fall in love with Mackenzie as much as I did – and I might just not be the only one. The loveliest read – and one I’d very much recommend.
About the author
Lilac Mills lives on a Welsh hillside with her very patient husband and incredibly sweet dog, where she grows veggies (if the slugs don’t get them), bakes (badly) and loves making things out of glitter and glue (a mess, usually).
She’s been an avid reader ever since she got her hands on a copy of Noddy Goes to Toytown when she was five, and she once tried to read everything in her local library starting with A and working her way through the alphabet.
She loves long hot summer days in the garden, and cold winter ones snuggled in front of the fire, but whatever the weather she’s usually writing, or thinking about writing, with heartwarming romance and happy-ever-afters always on her mind.
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