Happy Saturday!
Coming at you with another comfort read today! This is such a sweet story that made me want to visit Scotland and weave (never thought I’d say those words).🧺
Summer at the Highland Coral Beach
Escape to the Highland Coral Beach – where broken hearts can be healed
Beatrice Halliday needs a break from life. Booking a trip to the Highlands on a whim, Beatrice hopes learning Gaelic in a beautiful Scottish village might help her heal her grief after losing her baby, her husband and her much loved job in a space of months.
But Port Willow Bay isn’t exactly as the website promised. Instead of learning a new language, she’s booked in to learn the ancient skill of willow weaving, her hotel room is Princess and the Pea themed (with a stack of mattresses for her bed!) and worse still, her tutor is Atholl Fergusson, grumpy landlord of the hotel where Beatrice is staying – and she’s the only one doing the course.
But as Beatrice finds herself falling in love with Port Willow Bay and its people, and as she discovers the kind heart beneath Atholl’s stony exterior, can she really leave?
Escape to the beautiful Scottish Highlands with this utterly romantic, feelgood book; one visit to Port Willow Bay and you’ll want to come back! Fans of Sarah Morgan, Carole Matthews and Holly Martin will be captivated.
My Thoughts
Heartfelt, charming, emotional, sweet. Kiley Dunbar brought the Scottish highlands and these quirky characters to life with her vivid storytelling. The book starts off with Beatrice and a stick with two pink lines, then it jumps forward to Beatrice in Port Willow Bay, a small Scottish town. She is less than pleased with her accommodations at the Princess and the Pea. She is staying in the “princess“ room with a bed of mattresses piled one on top of each other and a ladder to the top(Can you imagine?). To top it off instead of learning Gaelic she is now learning to Willow weep and her teacher is the irascible Atholl. As the story unfolds we find out not only has Beatrice left her husband and lost her job, but she also lost her baby. We also see a strong bond form between Beatrice and Atholl(Who is much sweeter than he first appears). Willow weaving, cattle run, turquoise waters, Scottish dancing, riptides, lists, and a dog named echo.
Beatrice was such a relatable character I really felt for her and her many losses. As someone who has gone through two miscarriages I felt Beatrice’s grief was portrayed very authentically. I really like how she and Atholl really brought out the best in each other. I do wish however the story took place over two months rather than a week, it would’ve been a little more realistic (for me anyways). This did not detract from the story, it’s fiction and I went with it. Even though Beatrice took this trip to deal with her grief, the story was really so full of humor and heart. Also the way Kiley Dunbar wrote the dialogue I could hear the Scottish accent. A well told story that made me feel good and want to visit Scotland, although I’m still not sure about those kilts.
This book in emojis 🐶 🗝 🧺 🐮 🌊 💞
*** Big thank you to Hera Books for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***
Purchase Links
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2UHgS2w
Author Bio
Kiley Dunbar is the author of heart-warming, escapist, romantic fiction set in beautiful places.
JOAN HESSAYON AWARD FOR DEBUT NOVELISTS FINALIST 2019 FOR ONE SUMMER’S NIGHT.
Kiley is Scottish and lives in England with her husband, two kids and Amos the Bedlington Terrier. She writes around her work at a University in the North of England where she lectures in English Literature and creative writing. She is proud to be a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and a graduate of their New Writers’ Scheme.
Kiley’s third novel, Summer at the Highland Coral Beach (coming 27th March 2020) The first of the Port Willow Bay series is on Pre-order right now!!
One Summer’s Night was Kiley’s first novel (published by Hera Books) and is on sale now!
Don’t forget there’s also a fabulous audible audiobook narrated by Eilidh Beaton.
Kiley’s cosy, sexy-swoony, very snowy festive romcom Christmas at Frozen Falls is on sale NOW too!
Social Media Links –
https://www.facebook.com/KileyDunbarAuthor/
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