This was new author for me & I really enjoy this read! I loved that it was an easy read with a side of mystery and low key romance! It really had everything I wanted in a story. The mystery of the tea set & letter was fun. Sophie was such a great MC! All in all an enjoyable read!

This was such a lovely story of family, love & friendship. I was completely enthralled from the first page to the last & wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book

A charming and delightful read.
Many thanks to Harper Collins UK and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

What a charming, captivating story with an adorable backdrop! This is the second book in a series, however, I did not read the first book and it was perfectly fine being a stand alone novel.

The main character, Sophie, was delightful and I thoroughly enjoyed following her journey from harried wedding planner to setting up her crockery shop, finding her confidence and even solving a decades long mystery! Xander was gruff but ultimately loveable and I smiled with delight every time the two interacted. I also enjoyed Sophie's grandmother's backstory that allowed the readers to understand why Sophie opened her crockery shop.

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An enjoyable read filled with interesting characters set in a lovely sounding location.
I’m not sure whether a shop primarily selling teapots & mugs would survive in the current climate and did find myself doubting the main character’s business plan a few times. However, as I collect handmade pottery I can hardly question her decision, can I … in fact, I’d definitely visit if the store were real.
The story held my attention throughout and I felt invested in the interactions between the two main characters and the ups and downs of their relationship.
A lovely feel good story.

I was hooked from the very beginning. I loved how the characters developed and enjoyed the mystery and romance. This was a really heartwarming and beautifully written book. A real page turner with a lovely ending.

A Scottish Highland Surprise by Julie Shackman

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK and I am leaving this review voluntarily

When wedding planner Sophie Harkness refuses to move a friend’s wedding to accommodate a spoilt bridezilla, she finds herself out of a job. That is until she discovers her late grandma has purchased a local shop for her in the pretty Scottish town of Briar Glen.

Surprised and delighted, Sophie opens her own porcelain shop in honour of her grandmother. But when an unusual tea set is left with Sophie, along with a mysterious letter, she can’t help but be intrigued by the story behind the antique.

And when the handsome but aloof art critic Xander North comes knocking on her door, Sophie is about to find out the true colourful past of her latest treasure.

This is an engaging and heart-warming read, with secrets, romance and mystery. An uplifting and enjoyable read, perfect for a lovely summer evening when you need a quick escape to the Scottish Highlands. There is a huge focus on teapot sets and it surprised me how much I enjoyed learning about them throughout this book.

Rating 4/5

Thank you Netgalley for this ACR for an exchange for an honest review.

Loved it, Very interesting.

A Scottish Highland surprise is an uplifting modern feel-good romance, with a cosy mystery (minus murder), set in a picturesque little Scottish town of Briar Glen.
The most exciting aspect of the novel for me was the talk about porcelain, all different varieties, history, descriptions. Loved every bit of that.
Whether you're looking for a rainy summer day book to escape in, or a beach read, A Scottish Highand Surprise is an easy, entertaining romance story, with a charming and intriguing mystery. It's a treat!

A Scottish Highland Surprise by Julie Shackman
(Scottish Escapes Book 2)
When wedding planner Sophie Harkness refuses to move a friend's wedding to accommodate a spoilt bridezilla, she finds herself out of a job. That is until she discovers her late grandma has purchased a local shop for her in the pretty Scottish town of Briar Glen.
Surprised and delighted, Sophie opens her own porcelain shop in honour of her grandmother. But when an unusual tea set is left with Sophie, along with a mysterious letter, she can't help but be intrigued by the story behind the antique.
And when the handsome but aloof art critic Xander North comes knocking on her door, Sophie is about to find out the actual colourful past of her latest treasure.
A Scottish Highland Surprise is the second story in the Scottish Escapes Series, A Secret Scottish Escape being the first. These stories can be read individually, but personally, I always like to read the prequels if possible, and in this case, it's worth the time as it is also a delightful story.
Again Julie has penned an original feel-good story, with a bit of mystery added to the mix. Like the first, I enjoyed everything about it, the mystery and romance and the way the author's descriptive writing allows you to visualise the area you are in and the items that the story is based on.
A lovely easy read, I am happy to recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins and Julie Shackman for this arc <33

A Scottish Highland Surprise was a super cute romance novel about Sophie who, when her Grandmother bequeaths her a shop in a will decides to fulfill their lifelong dream of opening a crockery store. When a mystery tea set turns up she is caught up in its mystery and tries to understand what happens to the previous owners alongside the people of the village and the sexy but gruff art critic Xander North.

This book was a fun romance read with enjoyable characters a silly little mystery (which I love) slightly cheesy and very wholesome it was exactly what I wanted from this book!

My only issues with the book were 1) it didn't feel very Scottishy / aside from vague references to Glasgow and thistles I felt like it could be located anywhere which made me, as a Scottish person, very sad. 2) The jake character felt like a knock-off Daniel Cleaver and I just got annoyed by the Bridget Jones parallel in him and Xander.

Overall though, the issues did not detract from the overall book I really enjoyed it ! 3.5 stars

A gentle read, but too much time spent on describing people/things, which was distracting from the story.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my review.

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

This was a lovely read, a nice escape to a little Scottish village, without even leaving my armchair. I did find the book started out a little slow, but I quickly became invested in the book and the outcome of the story. Sophie's beloved grandmother, Helena died and left a surprise, very expensive tea sets to sell for capital, a busines location and a wish for Sophie to open her own crockery store; to do what she had never had the nerve to do.

Sophie is a successful but somewhat unhappy wedding planner with no plans to open a crockery store but as chance happens, she decides to take the plunge. While preparing the store for opening, a lady mysteriously drops a tea set and runs off; Sophie is floored but then intrigued when she sees the tea set, she has never seen anything like it., more interestingly, a faded letter from 1900 slips fromthe case. This brings her into contact with Xander, a stuffy, handsome art critic and appraiser. As she and Xander work to solve the mystery, she feels a connectio but as in all good romances, their are obstacles and misunderstandings that keep occuring.

I was satisfied witht the ending. Everyone needs a nice romance now and then, especially when it is based in Scotland. I will definitely read more books by this author.

I really enjoyed this book. I love the way it goes between past and present. Delightful characters and some not so keen on. Lovely storyline and an enjoyable read. Easy to follow and feel good.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an arc in exchange for an honest opinion

A nice easy read, loved the mystery of the abandoned tea set and finding out how her grans love of crockery came about when they found some expensive sets after she had passed away and they were clearing her house out
I would love to be able to find a crockery shop like Sophie's it sounded lovely

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins for the opportunity to review this book!

Sophie makes the decision to leave her job as an event planner for a local venue after the people in charge make some questionable choices. She opens up a crockery shop using the start her grandma leaves for her after she passes. When she ends up with a crockery set with a mysterious origin, she teams up with Xander, an art critic, to figure out if it’s valuable and who the mysterious girl is that left a letter with the set. There are three generations of love in this story!

The story for this was like Pride and Prejudice meets Jenny Colgan. She starts up a niche business in Scotland after her life feels like it’s falling apart but the people she meets and especially the love interest(s) are straight from P&P.

The negatives: I don’t mind a slow burn but the first third of this book was horrifyingly slow and boring. There’s an adjective overload on things that don’t particularly matter like (this is an example I’m making up) the curtains in a former coworker’s bathroom (who we don’t really see again) were buttery yellow with blue stripes and little birds accenting it. Or her black shiny clip over boots squeaked as she leaned forward. That’s too much for something doesn’t have any consequence to the story. It also bothered me that every time the main character shook her head, it was written “she shook her plait” or “she shook her high ponytail”. That was just weird to me. Most people shake their head, not intentionally their hair. Lastly, regarding the men, Xander needed way better character development, like there should have been more time together between the Sophie and Xander. Another character (don’t want to spoil for those that haven’t read P&P) was obviously shallow and childish from the beginning, so being deceived by them only reflected worse for Sophie.

Combine romance with mystery and a setting in Scotland and you have me hooked from the start. This was a very nice story to escape to. Perfect summer reading! Overall, it's a positive story and an easy read with mystery and romance set in idyllic small community in Scotland. I liked it.

Whilst this book was light hearted and easy to read it felt lacking in so many ways.

A grandmother leaves a shop and mystery in her will. Unfortunately, the characters are a bit wet. There is no attachment. It's a shame! I loved the mystery of the tea set, but if I read 'The Cup that Cheered' one more time, I might actually pull my hair out.

I won't be recommending this one, unless you've got absolutely nothing left to read. Thanks Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read for honest reviews!

Who knew you could craft a whole story around crockery? I enjoyed this fun contemporary romance against a crockery shop backdrop, with a parallel historical crockery romance as a subplot. Didn’t love the not-fully-wrapped up unrequited historical love story, and didn’t like the sneaky husband. Apart from that, loved the teapot description, art history, handsome Xander, and the old scandal surfaced by historical letters and diaries. Fun little cosy mystery wrapped up in a light coming of age / romantic story.