Jessamine, a Countess, escapes her public divorce to hide in her Scottish castle with her cat Rufus and assistant Petra. She meets Mac, the gardener, who assumes she's a tourist or seasonal worker. Despite their initial assumptions, they both realize they're wrong. Jess can't tell Mac who she really is until it all blows up in her face. The story is superficial, with few backstory details, especially for Arran and Mac. The characters are mostly LGBTQ+, but the story feels like a frenemies to lovers.

Thank you to Netgalley for this advanced copy. Sorry it took me so long to review.

Jessamine's story was quite unique and I liked the formal tone that the writer used. The third person narrative worked well. Unfortunately I couldn't connect with this book as well as I had hoped and did not finish it before it expired. I will look out for it again though as the premise did intrigue me.

Jess and Mac come from very very very different lifestyles, which in most cases would mean they'd have never crossed paths had the events off Jess's life not gone totally sideways.

Mac is a wonderful, loving, caring and slightly grumpy foster dad who would do anything for the people he loves. He wants nothing more then to keep his child safe, happy and with him.

Jess has had her life turned upside down and thrown out the window. Her marriage is over, he's dragged her through the mud and back. She runs away to get away from all the drama and relax. Little does she know she's going to where she's meant to be!

Overall this is a heartwarming romance, once I started reading I couldn't put it down. The chemistry between Jess and Mac is wonderful especially with all the tension due to things Jess has omitted.

Definitely recommend as a great summer read!

Summer at the Scottish Castle by Rachel Bowdler

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Embla Books and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Blurb

A Scottish castle. A summer escape. A love story that could change her life forever...

It's always been expected of Jessamine Byron to settle down with someone her family would approve of. But Jess is tired of living a lie.

When her so-called perfect life as the Countess of Cheshire goes up in flames, and her marriage in tatters, Jess packs her bags and flees to her family's Scottish ancestral home, Rosemire Castle...

...and runs into ruggedly handsome and surly gardener, Mac Douglas. To her surprise, Mac doesn't recognise her as the infamous lady of the house. Meeting someone who has no idea of the life she's left led, instead seeing and accepting her for the woman she really is, feels like a breath of fresh air.

As the summer unfolds, with Mac by her side, Jess finally discovers what it's like to find a community to belong to and be free to love whoever you want. But sometimes the past can't be outrun. And when her two worlds unexpectedly collide, can Jess find the courage to take charge of her own future?

My Opinion

Usually when I take weeks to finish a book it is because I am not enjoying the book, in this case it was because I wasn't ready for it to end. This was such a lovely romance with some much deeper topics. Jessamine has never really felt like she has had a family - can she finally find somewhere she belongs as she hides out in her castle.

I really enjoyed Honeymoon For One, so I selected this book without reading the blurb - I was very pleasantly surprised as this was such a joy to read. It is hard for me to write about this emotional read without giving away any spoilers. So all I am going to say is that I loved this book and it should definitely be on your want to read list.

Rating 5/5

Lovely feel good book to read. Really lifted my spirits. I couldn’t put the book down. Lovely plot. It was very well written. Lovely characters. The whole thing played out so well. Such a breathe of fresh air

What a wonderful setting, a beautiful Scottish castle. This book had lovely characters and an easy to get into storyline, a will she, won't she falling in love tale. Thank you Net Galley for the opportunity to read

Wonderful setting and great characters. How to keep people from knowing that you live and own a Scottish castle whilst falling in love. Not easy but makes for a great story. Really loved this book and I am giving it 5 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for this ARC

A great cozy read, set in a Scottish castle. Good fun. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

A traditional cosy-romance with a pleasing representation of LGBTQ+ representation. At first, I was worried this was a token nod to inclusion, but the representation deepened as the storyline developed and as such, I would definitely recommend. Lots of emphasis on being true to yourself and the importance of 'found' family so excellent messages throughout.

**Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read an advanced e-copy of this book. All opinions are my own **

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a fun, heartwarming read. But it was also pleasantly diverse. I enjoyed it a lot.

Jessamine Byron, is the Countess of Cheshire and she’s fled to her castle in the Scottish highlands following a really rough time due to her messy divorce and the media portraying her as someone she is not.
One day she meets the handsome Mac Douglas, the grumpy gardener for the castle and introduces herself as Jess. Mac believes she’s a tour guide and is unaware of her title or who she really is.
For the first time in forever, Jess begins to make connections with the community around her, with Mac and his foster child Aaran and she feels that she can make a difference.
Will Jess tell Mac the truth about her title and her family and will they be able to continue with their budding romance?
Just as things start to fall perfectly in place for Jess and the whole village the nosy journalist who wrote salacious stories about Jess and her divorce is sniffing around – will the fairy tale end in tragedy?

This is a sweet contemporary novel which isn’t very racy so definitely suitable to read at work on a lunch break.
As well as Jess and Mac, there’s other characters we get to know including her assistant Petra, Mac’s adoptive parents, Gemma Mac’s friend and owner of the local pub and members of the local committee including grumpy Hamish!
There is positive LGBTQIA representation especially with Mac’s simple and quiet support of Aaran.

The plot was really enjoyable, plenty of romance, and found family, and people choosing what’s right for them.

This was such a heartwarming and lovely romance.

Very predictable from the off what was going to happen in this book. Thankfully an okay storyline to keep your attention while we got to that position.

This was a beautiful story and a wonderful summer read. I thought it was heartwarming, humorous with some emotional moments (pack the tissues just in case you need them, but I cry at anything emotional)

This is a contemporary slow burn romance with a really enjoyable storyline I loved the found family aspect, especially people choosing what’s best for themselves and finding who they are. I really appreciated the variety of characters, especially the main character representation of both LGBTQ+ and plus sized, but the fact that these aren’t just relegated to supporting roles is what made me most happy.

All the characters were engaging, well developed and you really connected with them. The story was a lovely and steady pace, building to such a lovely and fitting end. The beautiful and descriptive imagery of Scotland is just amazing, as someone who loves it and has been many times I can say it’s so accurate and just adds so much atmosphere to a lovely romance.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is a delightful book with engaging and well-written characters. It is one I'll be re-reading as I found it so enjoyable,

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is just such a beautifully written book. I loved it so much i have read it twice already. Its one of those books that just makes you feel every emotion that the characters feel.

This is such a fun read with lovable and relatable characters. I was in love with them from the start. The writing is easygoing and fast-paced and I love the banter between Jessa and Mac. Definitely add this to your list, it's a perfect spring/summer read.

Jessamine has fled to the family castle in Scotland. A chance to start life without her husband and maybe find herself again. Along the way she meets Mac and Arran. They could be what she needs but starting on a lie is never a good thing.

This was a lovely story. A great summer read. I love all the aspects to the story especially Arran's part and connection to them. It was good to see the different relationships. The plot was a steady build to a very sweet ending. I would have liked a little more back story on some of the characters. A modern romance

I really enjoyed this, it’s my first read from this author and I must say I was pleasantly pleased. I am a sucker for a heart-warming story, which this was. It flowed really well and was written well.

I thought this was a beautiful book - it's heartwarming, funny and tinged with sadness at times. I loved the variety of characters, with plus sized and LGBTQ+ representation - most importantly that this is through the main characters not just background ones. Not just a romance, but a story of fostering, finding family and discovering who you are.
Huge thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc ebook.

This is my first read of a Rachel Bowdler book and what a truly stunning read it is. Heart warming and beautifully written.