he Lady of the Loch is told over two timelines in the same location--rugged Ravenscraig Castle in Scotland. In the early 14th century, loyal Scots are at war with the English. Feisty kitchen servant Agnes, 22, and a younger, meeker servant she is protecting have to flee from the castle where they work to Ravenscraig when English soldiers invade, setting their home on fire and killing those who fight to retain it. Although the girls are allowed to stay by the castle's owners, their lives are still full of back-breaking work and constant fear, as they are told there are traitors among them.

In the present day, 30-year-old twins Zoe and Leah move from Birmingham, England to Scotland as Leah takes a job as caretaker of Ravenscraig Castle. It's just what Leah needs to begin a more fulfilling life, and she convinces her sister to accompany her. Zoe has always been the stronger twin, with a good job and a brighter outlook on life, but she's not certain she will stay after the 3-month trial period. The castle is very cold and not very welcoming, but Leah is determined to turn it into more of a tourist attraction, perhaps even a wedding destination.

In both timelines, there is some romance to lighten the plot, as well as characters to root for. But in 1307 Scotland, the story is heavy with brutality and hardship, which was sometimes difficult to read. I felt the book was unnecessarily long and could be tightened up, but I enjoyed the story and the pulling together of the threads of both timelines to solve a mystery in the present.

My thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review of this book.

A beautiful story to match the gorgeous cover. A dual timeline novel set in 14th century Scotland and present day.
This novel has everything you would want from a dual timeline novel.
With the past we are taken back to the struggles Scotland and Robert the Bruce had with Longshanks and the English army, and Agnes a kitchen maid
Modern day and we are at Ravenscraig Castle where Leah and her sister Zoe have become caretakers.
I loved this book, both timelines had strong stories and was quite heartbreaking at times. The writing was very descriptive and evocative.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for the advanced copy which I am more than happy to leave a review for without obligation.

My thoughts:
This story is told over dual timelines based in Scotland in the 1300’s and in the present day. In the present day we follow twin sisters Leah and Zoe. Leah is having a difficult time and she needs a change so when a caretaker position opens in a old remote castle that has rumors of being haunted Leah talks her sister into coming with her. After living there they start hearing and seeing things they couldn’t explain that’s where the dual timelines intertwine. This story has romance, heartbreak, betrayal And sadness.
Thank you #netgalley for letting me read another great book by Elena Collins

With thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the arc.

The Lady of the Loch is a split time story; we follow Agnes in 1306, and Zoe and Leah, twins in the modern day. When an opportunity presents for Leah to become Caretaker of Ravenscraig Castle, she manages to persuade her twin to come with her and relocate from Birmingham to bonny Scotland for 3 months. However, whilst living in a castle may sound romantic, Zoe and Leah start feeling and seeing things that suggest that the castle has a much darker history.

What was a slow start turned quickly into a real page-turner. It's an intriguing historical fiction set in the time of Robert the Bruce - there's romance and heartbreak, and some truly spine-tingling moments where I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

I enjoyed this book, but I loved Elena's The Witches Tree so much and this didn't hit me in the feels quite the same. I didn't feel as connected to the characters and I kind of found the very ending a bit.... for lack of a better word, unrealistic ? It's hard to properly explain without spoilers! However, it's beautifully atmospheric, well-researched and really does make you want to up sticks and move to Scotland.

This book has all the magic of a wonderful Scotland, a place that is personally close to my heart.

I found the author injected just enough magic of the scenery into the writing and it felt authentic to imagine the past, as told from the time of Robert the Bruce.

I found the ‘past’ part of the story captivating and I really found myself invested in the life of those characters, particularly Agnes who was likeable. The ending was inevitable (thanks to the prologue!) which made it almost bittersweet to read throughout.

I must admit that in comparison the past, I found the present story quite… irritating! I liked Zoe but found the fact that she followed Leah, an unreliable and quite selfish character, into a new life in Scotland on a whim. I understand this selfishness and unreliability was written with the purpose to garner sympathy for Leah who was going through a hard time, but in all honesty, I found her issues a little ‘poor me’. I then found her an irritating character due to how she changed so quickly and became almost hyper in her selfishness when she was happy, as well as checking all these men’s hands for wedding rings!

I would recommend this read purely based on the story from the past, and I can appreciate how much time and research will have gone into perfecting this part of the novel.

I really like this book. It had my emotions all over the place and I was crying at the end. What a great book this was! I highly recommend this book!
I just reviewed The Lady of the Loch by Elena Collins. #TheLadyoftheLoch #NetGalley
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The Lady of the Loch by Elena Collins

Loved the authors other book that I had read ( The Witches Tree ) which was one of my favourite read of 2022 so really looked forward to the opportunity of reading this one.
Big plus for me is the dual timeline which is a great genre for me , plus set in Scotland. Win , win.
We follow Agnes in 13th century along with Effie during a very bloody and frightening time.
Present day twins Leah and Zoe who go to the castle to become caretakers and also to support each other
Much happens to bring the two stories together in a magical way and I loved the characters and the plot in both of them.
A brilliant read.

A dual timeline story, this is set in modern times and in Scotland of the early thirteen hundreds. It focuses on Zoe and Leah in the present and Agnes and Effie in the past. Parallels are to be seen between the girls in both times.
The book begins with a prologue which is beautifully written.
I love this type of book and usually read them for the past story as I love history. However, with this one I found the modern story appealing to me more. Zoe I really liked. She had a great outlook on life and did her best with her twin Leah, who wasn't having such an easy time. When they go to be caretakers in a Scottish castle, life suddenly changed completely for them both.
The past story didn't grab me as much. I felt that I never got to know the real Agnes. At a certain point it didn't seem to move forward at all and the same things seemed to happen over and over but there is a great deal of history in this part which I found very interesting. Scotland at that time was a brutal and bloody place.
The descriptions of Scotland in both timelines were wonderful.
A very good read.

My thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood books publishing for the opportunity to review this book.
I really enjoyed this sad/Happy story. Particularly because of my Scottish Ancestry. It took me back to my wonderful holidays where I stayed in Gairloch.

I really enjoyed this book although I think the ghost could have been played up a bit more.
The story is a dual time line between present day and the 14th century.
It is set in the Highlands of Scotland and the 14th century bit is set at the time of Robert the Bruce. Perfect if you like Barbara Erskine but without the high body count

I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to read and review this book as I loved the author's previous book - The Witch's Tree and gave that one 5 stars. This is another historical dual time line novel based on true events but with fictional characters, and yet again I loved it! Again, if you love Barbara Erskine books you will certainly love this.
I enjoyed both time lines equally as well, and loved moving seamlessly between the two with it all coming satisfyingly together at the end. This one is definitely going to be a best seller.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this e advance review copy.

I loved how it was about two twin sisters and one was looking for a job and she calls for a caretaker in this beautiful castle far away and takes her sister with her. I loved how it went between back in the day and present day with two other characters and then the twin sisters. I loved the haunting mystery, romance, and the sad story about the past. This was a really long book but I enjoyed it. This was 100% my own opinion.

I really liked the back and forth timeline, and the emotions that this book made me feel. There was some sadness, mystery, and romance all in one.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is an enchanting read, A story centuries in the making. You will go though every emotion, Love, Betrayal, Angst, Hope, Anger…I could not put this book down. Told from the viewpoint of two sisters seven hundred years apart, each on their own quest for Love and Purpose. A great historical romance with mystery and intrigue.

The Lady of the Loch by Elena Collins is MY book of 2023!
The dual settings of past and present are woven together in such a way that it doesn’t miss a beat in the timeless sense of the love stories. Where past tragedy, horror, love and present day honor brings a new beginning to a beautiful castle in the wilds of wonderful Scotland. Strong characters, beautiful settings and a strong moral compass.
#The Lady of the Loch
#Elena Collins

I thoroughly enjoyed this timeslip novel set in Scotland. The two stories fit together seamlessly, moving from the 13th century to the present time. Each story filled in details to the parallel storyline that I had questions about.. The author did a good job of helping the reader understand what a brutal time in history this really was, without making the book terribly graphic.. I look forward to reading more books by this author.

This book is set in two timelines. The prologue sets it up to be bad for someone, and as we share Agnes's life in the 13000s in Scotland, there is an impending sense of doom. This is a period I know little about, so it was good to read about that. The present day sees twins, Leah and Zoe at a quandary. Things aren’t going well for Leah , as she hasn’t found her niche. Her history background leads her to the castle in Scotland, where she is a caretaker. Both she and Zoe find out about life, ghosts and love. The ending in this book was very engrossing, as the pages kept turning as the futures for Agnes, Leah and Zoe are revealed. There is strong historical research in this book, and gentle touch creating the lives of the various characters. I would recommend this book for lovers of historical fiction, as I am. Thanks to NetGalley for a copy to preview.

Hier klang schon mal der Klappentext richtig vielversprechend, das Cover ist ein Traum, und da ich letztes Jahr schon mal sehr begeistert von der Autorin war, habe ich hier zugeschlagen 😊.
Zum Inhalt auf Deutsch (und ich hoffe, es wird hier auch eine deutsche Ausgabe geben!): wir sind in den schottischen Highlands, auf Ravenscraig Castle, und die Geschichte spielt auf zwei Zeitebenen. 1306 sind wir bei Agnes, einer Küchenmagd, die über ungewöhnlich viel Eigensinn, Mut und Intelligenz verfügt. Anfang des 14. Jahrhunderts tobt in Schottland der Unabhängigkeitskrieg: die Schotten unter Robert the Bruce verteidigen bis aufs Blut ihr Land und wollen die Engländer vertreiben. Und auch Cameron, an den Agnes ihr Herz verlieret, ist einer der Krieger, die King Robert um sich geschart hat. Doch das Leben auf der Burg ist hart, und Verräter lauern überall. Und auch wenn Agnes und Cam von einer gemeinsamen Zukunft träumen, so sind die politischen Verhältnisse gegen sie. Kriege und Schlachten sollen zwischen Ihnen stehen.
Und dann sind wir immer wieder auch im hier und jetzt bei den 30jährigen Zwillingen Zoe und Leah. Die beiden so unterschiedlichen Schwestern ziehen von Birmingham nach Schottland, wo Leah einen neuen Job als Verwalterin von Ravenscraig antritt. Das Schloss ist wunderschön, die Highlands sind bezaubernd, aber als Verwalter hat es vor den Zwillingen niemand länger dort ausgehalten. Die beiden merken auch recht bald, warum: auf Ravenscraig gibt es eine Präsenz. Eine unergründliche Traurigkeit, ein Flüstern von Geistern …. und auch wenn die beiden nicht an Gespenster glauben, kommen sie an gewissen Dingen nicht vorbei …. Aber die Schwestern gehen dem auf den Grund und versuchen, den Bann zu brechen.
Mein Leseeindruck: Das war eine richtig spannende, emotionale, berührende Geschichte. Mich hat sie auf allen Ebenen abgeholt. Ich habe das Buch innerhalb weniger Tage durchgelesen. Die Story um Agnes und Cam war schon wunderschön: das waren hier echt die ganz grossen Gefühle. Zwei junge Menschen in gefährlichen Zeiten finden sich zu unsterblicher Liebe zusammen. Natürlich geht’s schief am Ende, und das ist selbstredend dann der Grund dafür, dass Agnes‘ Geist keine Ruhe finden kann. Das sind dann die im Klappentext erwähnten 700 Jahre Herzschmerz und Betrug, die ihre Seele herumgeistern lassen. Aber so profan das jetzt hier klingt, die Autorin hat das in einer mitreissenden Geschichte umgesetzt.
Und auch die zweite Erzählebene mit Leah, Zoe, ihren Problemen, ihren Männern und Lieben, auch das hat mich mitgenommen. Ich konnte mich wunderbar mit allen Protagonistinnen identifizieren, ich habe mit ihnen allen mitgefiebert. Also permanent hohes Spannungslevel, mit permanent viel Aktion.
Das Setting ist natürlich auch toll. Wer wäre nicht gerne zumindest zu Besuch auf einer alten Burg in den schottischen Highlands? Ein ziemlich guter Kunstgriff der Autorin ist es natürlich auch, einen Teil der Erzählung in den Jahren 1306 /1307 anzusiedeln, und immer wieder auf Robert The Bruce und William Wallace zu verweisen. Dank Hollywood und Braveheart hat man als Leser sofort Bilder im Kopf und kann sich das Leben im 14. Jahrhundert in Schottland recht gut vorstellen. Ich war zumindest sofort dabei.
Kurz noch mal zur Sprache: Englisch ist für mich ja eine Fremdsprache, und Ms Collins schreibt flüssig und mitreissend, aber ihr Stil ist schon ein wenig eleganter als die Mainstream-Belletristik, und von daher nicht unbedingt Einsteigerlevel. Hin und wieder ist hier auch alt-schottische Umgangssprache eingewebt, das hat gut gepasst, ich musste manches aber auch zwei Mal lesen. Für mich war es insgesamt definitiv ein sprachliches Lesevergnügen, aber wie gesagt, das hier ist ein wenig anspruchsvoller.
Mal schauen, ob und wann eine deutsche Ausgabe herauskommt – die würde ich definitiv empfehlen und verschenken 😊.
Herzlichen Dank an Netgalley und den Verlag für das wunderbare Rezensionsexemplar, ich habe es geliebt!