Was a lovely story.

I did just feel at times the dialogue might be a little be too modernized/casual for the actual more formal language used during that era, and other times did quite well with the formalities of the times. For instance, the word “hug” would not have been used, at least not by polite society, in those days, but “embrace” would have been.

Also, even in wealthy families, colloquial Scottish slang would have been used at times as opposed to always the more formal English. (Coming from an Englishwoman who is a history buff and has Scottish relatives who immigrated to Canada).

At one point she criticized her student’s knitting. Most teachers, even at the time, (at least the good ones) would give constructive feedback and then words of encouragement immediately after rather than leaving the words of encouragement until after the student has been self-depreciating after the teacher’s remarks.

Lizzie and William’s love story of learning to find love again through both grief and after past mistakes was unconventional, which I loved, as we don’t often hear those stories and it’s nice to hear more of them.

I enjoyed that equality for women and sharing ones abundance with/paying it forward to others were also themes within the book. It’s often not seen in books set in this era, so I thought that was wonderful to include it.

The descriptions of the food were also quite vivid and had my mouthwatering.

Overall, the book was sweet and cozy, and whilst it covered a couple of difficult topics, was mostly lighthearted, cozy, and gentle.

I was also quite touched by the dedication at the end to the author’s son. I lost a brother the same way, and feel the annual memorial she and her husband do in honour of their son is absolutely stunning, and is so important to spread awareness of that illness.

The story of two people with broken hearts and how they lean on each other to find live. A wonderful story. Thank you to NetGalley for a chance to read this ARC. The review is my own.