Following a recent break up and loss of her job Zoey finds herself back at one of the happiest places of her childhood, her Aunt Ivy’s cottage on Dune Island. She knows her Aunt is struggling with the house, especially since her sister-in-law recently passed away but Zoey is perturbed when she arrives to see her cousin Mark at the house. He is keen for Aunt Ivy to go into a care home because he thinks she isn’t coping well with the upkeep of the house.

Zoey thinks he wants Aunt Ivy to leave so he can get his hands on the house he is due to inherit when Ivy passes away. Zoey does her best to help her Aunt but can’t help but think that maybe Mark has a point, and that Aunt Ivy is not going to be able to cope when she returns back home.

With work needing to be done on the home a local carpenter comes to help. Over time Nick and Zoey get to know each other but due to past hurt Zoey is wary and doesn’t fully trust if Nick has Aunt Ivy’s best interests at heart or Marks.
The first thing I want to say about this book is that Zoey has got to be one of the biggest worries out there. She literally frets, worry, stresses about everything possible and it was starting to get a bit annoying as the story went on. I wanted to reach into the book and grab her by the shoulders for a damn good shake. The bit with the rose bushes really was really her lowest point (you’ll understand when you read it)

I also felt that the end of the book seemed a bit anticlimactic, I was expecting a bit more of a blow out from Mark. Throughout the majority of the book Mark is painted as a really unpleasant character who is out to manipulate his relatives to get what he wants. In the closing part of the story you get to find out a little more about Mark which tries to paint him in a more positive light. I think this could have been developed a bit further so you can really make you mind up about him. I felt like I was meant to have a bit of sympathy for him but at the end I still thought he was pretty horrible.

I liked that this was a well developed book, and that there was more than one story run through it. I felt the glimpses to the past helped to provide more depth to the characters in the present and you really got a sense of how important that house was to everyone who had stayed there. I do think the ending wasn’t as much of a surprise as I think it could have been but the growing relationship between Nick and Zoey was well done.

Aunt Ivy's Cottage is Kristin Harper's second novel set on the picture perfect Dune Island.
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This novel is an excellent beach read! The characters are well-rounded, each dealing with their own issues, but Aunt Ivy's Cottage is the one place that brings them together and allows them to feel like kids again, and to feel close to all those they've lost.
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Aunt Ivy's Cottage is a light, easy read, with the mystery laid out early on for the reader. There is a little bit of intrigue, and a little bit of romance, but overall, I found myself rooting for the characters to find their happiness.
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I greatly enjoyed all of the female characters in this one, but I wasn't quite as thrilled by the men, Mark especially. His frequent tantrums and mood swings had me honestly wondering if he isn't a tad bit bipolar.
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With this chilly weather we've been getting, sometimes a cozy beach read is just the ticket!

This is a fantastic read, once I started reading I didnt want to stop. It's a great mystery story. Looking forward to reading more from Kristin

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishing house and the author for the opportunity to read a complimentary advance reader copy of this book in return for a review based upon my honest opinion.

I really enjoyed this book, it was a lovely quick read, perfect for reading while curled up with cocoa during a winter storm., a nice escape to a warmer climate. While Zoey l‘s life has taken a wrong turn, leaving her almost destitute and unemployed, she stays with her two elderly aunts while one of them is at the end of her life, in the family home by the sea. When her aunt Sylvia passes she stays to help out her aunt Ivy to whom the home currently belongs to assist her and to try to get her life together. Her orphaned niece needs a place to stay for a few months and comes to stay at the home with them.

This book is a lovely story about three generations of a family and their bonding, about getting to know one another and themselves. The center of it all is the home, with it’s beautiful widow’s walk. For Zoey, knowing that it will go to her cousin Mark kind of hurts her, but as it is to be passed to the oldest blood relative she knows it is a done deal but what about the town rumours that Mark may not be a blood relative, could they be true, if so, the home will be hers. I enjoyed this book and the characters were well written. I felt like the end was kind of rushed but still good.

Will definitely be looking for more books by this author.

I have just finished this beautifully written book by Kristin Harper. It was brilliant and had me totally engrossed from the beginning.

Highly recommended and definitely a 5☆ from me. I cannot wait to discover more of Kristin's books.

Many thanks to Kristin, NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read this ARC for an honest review.

A most enjoyable book that I had set aside for a day where I could have hours of undisturbed reading. Glad I did so as I couldn’t put it down from start to finish. A tale of family and friendship with a slow burning romance built in. The characters were strong, love them or hate them in some cases. Secrets were revealed, complete with a red herring. An excellent read.

Charming family story of loves and losses going back decades. The characters are interesting and varied,the story moving along quickly.

I chose to read this book based on the synopsis. I had high hopes for this story, unfortunately it did not deliver as I expected.

This is the second book set on Dune Island by Kristin Harper. Each book is its own story, so they can be read as standalone stories. This story introduces us to Zoey, who has moved to Dune Island to take care of her Aunt Ivy. Aunt Ivy has lived with her sister-in-law, Sylvia, who recently died. She is in her 80s and is having her own health issues. Zoey and her great-nephew Mark are both on the island for the funeral. Zoey overhears Mark telling others about his plans to take over the house and put Aunt Ivy in a home somewhere. According the the trust set up many generations ago, the oldest blood relative gets possession of the house, which is Mark. Zoey will do whatever it takes to help Ivy remain in the home she loves.

First, Aunt Ivy's cottage is not a cottage at all. It is a large, rambling home situated on top of a hill with amazing views. It sounds wonderful, if a bit outdated. I would love to have seen it. The characters were all very well developed and I liked all of them, even Mark by the end. Gabi, Zoey's niece had a lot of issues she was dealing with, but she was still a very likeable kid, even if she did have some adolescent outbursts. Zoey was a loving, caring and loyal person. I enjoyed how her relationship with Nick, the carpenter, handyman and friend to Aunt Ivy progressed. It was slow and steady. Both of them has some baggage and trust issues, so it was a nice way to help them deal with that baggage. Ivey was a dream. I would love to have a great-aunt like her. Kristin Harper has such descriptive writing. I felt like I could see all the things being described and I learned about the older homes built on the cape. Overall, this is a story of family, heritage, history, loyalty and love. Romance is there, but it is not the main storyline. I connected to these relatable characters, and would love to have met them and been friends. They are so likable. I would have given this book 5 stars, but the ending was tied up just a bit to nicely for me, it was a bit too abrupt. I still very much enjoyed this story and will definitely watch for more from Kristin Harper.

A lovely tale that was a bit unbelievable in places. Good characters apart from cousin mark as the pantomime villain!

Aunt Sylvia has died and left everyone at sorts especially Aunt Ivy that has been with Sylvia for decades. Sylvia married Ivy's brother and the two women were like sisters. Zoey has been living with the women since she has lose her job. Her cousin Mark keeps dropping in and out and wants to rent the house out to tourist on Dune Island. Zoey's niece Gabi comes to live there as well.
A story about lose and love in a .family. Plus how family can help each other in times of crisis.

Slow start but a good family story about love and loss. The book isn’t just a regular family/romance story. It’s a family mystery. This book has so many layers and it’s complexity is wonderful. My favorite character/s isn’t even a person. It’s the Island and the house. Such a lovely story.

This was a lovely story about relationships - with complex siblings, with tricky cousins, with mysterious aunts, difficult teenagers, and with hunky handymen. All in the idyllic setting of an old cottage in a small community on an island. It has all the ingredients I like and the romance wasn't syrupy. Very enjoyable.

When Zoey has an acrimonious split with her partner she decides to move to Dune Island to help her aging Great Aunt Ivy who is in poor health and living alone since her Sister in Law Sylvia died. When she arrives she finds her cousin Mark, who is next in line to inherit the house, is trying to get Ivy moved into a home, Zoey is determined to look after Ivy and keep her in her own home where she wants to be but can she fight Mark and what will the secrets in the attic reveal?

A lovely story in a great setting, loads of good characters, apart from Mark, and plenty of secrets to keep your interest and keep you turning the pages

Zoey has returned to her Aunt Ivy's home as she is ill and needs help. It also helps Zoey because she is out of a job, her entire savings have been swindled by her ex lover and she is in a bit of a state.

Aunt Ivy lived with Aunt Sylvia and now that Sylvia has passed away, Ivy does not seem to be able to get to grips with living again. She is depressed, always having a odd spell, severe angina and to top it all her heir apparent Mark is snooping around trying to get his Aunt into assisted living though that is not something she wants. He is using every persuasive trick in the book to get his Aunt to move but this is something that Zoey opposes. She feels her Aunt is happiest in her own home and eventually the property will revert to Mark. So why is he intent on alterations, decorations and major construction whilst her Aunt is still living and happy with the situation she is in.

On top of it all, Zoey has to look after her niece who is playing truant at home after her mother's death and her father's alcoholic lapses. Managing all these is hard and trying to do what is best for everyone is not going to be smooth. Especially in the face of a determined Mark, out to get his own way.

The story is about family, about money and greed and the setting of Dune Island is quaint and a very simple background setting.

A very nice afternoon's read.

A lovely family story with some beautifully described characters. How could you not enjoy a book with such a pretty cover. Highly recommended

Absolutely loved this story. Island living in a family mansion which holds secrets to who really inherits the house.
Zoey needs somewhere to live. One great aunt has passed and the other needs assistance as she is frail.
Family drama and put it together and results in a wonderful storyline. Thankyou

I am a sucker for rambling old houses full of secrets and of things found in the attic so I was super excited to pick up this read! Harper did a fantastic job creating the setting and I felt like I was right there in the house with Zoey in the house. I also loved all of the characters she created, well excpet Mark but that's for obvious reasons. Overall I really enjoyed this book!

I chose this book because I head seen a lot of good comments about it on line. I wasn’t disappointed.
It’s the story of Zoey who comes back to stay with her elderly aunt Ivy after the death of Ivys sister in law Sylvia.
Zoey is trying to look after Ivy in her family home with the threat of her cousin Mark trying to put her into assisted living.
Gabi Zoe’s niece also comes to stay as she’s struggling with her alcoholic dad after losing her mum a few years before.
Along with Nick and his son the local handyman they manage to help Ivy and Gabi to get over their losses.
This was a new Author for me but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Was a lovely easy read. Will look out for more Kristen Harper books.
Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the early copy of Aaunt Ivys Cottage.

This book had a lot of things in it that kept you guessing wondering if they will come to light.

I really enjoyed this book telling you a bit about the lives of the people that live in this cottage.

We have two sister in laws who have lived with each other for over 60 years Ivy and Sylvia.

Sylvia is on her death bed and has said a few things just before she died to Zoey who is her Great niece that has her thinking.

Zoey has lost her job and other things happen to her that she sublets her house and moves in with Ivy and Sylvia to help look after them.

We also have Mark who has been trying to persuade Ivy to move into an assisted care facility so he can then rent out the cottage to holiday makers.

The book certainly kept you on your toes wondering what would the outcome be in the end. It was sad in places.