Publication Date: 1/3/2017
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Imprint: Berkley
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 384
ISBN-10: 0451476409
ISBN-13: 978-0451476401
(Received for an honest review from Berkley)
Purchase: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, itunes
Patience Griffin on the WEB: Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads
Books in the series:
Kilts and Quilts
1. To Scotland with Love
2. Meet Me in Scotland
3. Some Like it Scottish
4. The Accidental Scot
5. The Trouble With Scotland
6. It Happened in Scotland
The Laird and I (novella)
Coverart: Click the image for a larger, clearer view of the covers in this series.
Excerpt from It Happened in Scotland, courtesy of Amazon's Look Inside feature
Synopsis:
From the author of The Trouble With Scotland—a charming new romance set in the beautiful Scottish Highlands.
Christmas in the sleepy Scottish fishing village of Gandiegow this year is a time for quilting, patching up broken hearts, and rekindling an old flame...
After pulling herself out of a three-year fog of grief over the loss of her husband, Joe, Rachel is bringing their five-year-old daughter to see his hometown of Gandiegow and visit with his grandfather. But Rachel wasn’t planning on running into Joe’s cousin, the man who made her have second thoughts at the altar...
Brodie has come home to help his grandfather’s fishing business, but he’d prefer not to see Rachel. Although she did break his heart six years ago, the grip she has on him hasn’t faltered. If they can stop butting heads long enough and learn to overcome the past, they may find new love in the new year...
Thoughts:
Patience Griffin continues her series about love in a small Scottish town with her sixth book, It Happened in Scotland. Fans of the series love the quirky characters, authentic setting and the aura of romance that surround Griffin's books. Readers get everything from stubborn hero's to a little bit of mystery in this one. A great new book, in this heartwarming series.
What I liked:
This series is a favorite of mine and Patience Griffin never disappoints. Contemporary romance is a genre that had to grow on me a bit. I started out reading historical romance and it took me a while to branch out to other areas of the romance genre. With this series I get a little bit of both. Scotland is of course near and dear to my heart. And finding an author who is able to bring the highland spirit and customs into the present day is a rare find. Griffin has created a town in Gandiegow that rivals the real thing. I want to go live there. LOL!
Rachel is more than just an average character. She has a past with this village and these people. She took away one of their native sons and returned without him. The sad part is she didn't really marry him because she loved him. She married him because of her mother. She was in love with his cousin all along. It gives a whole different meaning to her reasons for bringing her daughter to meet her father's family. I liked Rachel. She knew what she wanted and she wasn't afraid to fight for it, but I also felt like she knew when enough was enough. She didn't back track but she understood her limits and that was refreshing in a heroine.
Brodie nearly drove me crazy. And I thought I was stubborn. I realize that Rachel burned him in the past and it's to be expected that he would not want to make the same mistake twice. However, he took it a bit too far. His issues with his own family didn't make it any easier and his distrust of women, was down right insulting at times. He did however find redemption in the end. This was really a story about forgiveness and the affects of holding on to grudges as well as, a love story.
My grandmother's were both quilters. That was one of the things that originally drew me to this series as well as my own Scottish ancestry. The Quilter's Cottage is just a place of inspiration where characters in the story learn to quilt, but readers are not overwhelmed by too many terms and techniques. I like the subtle way Griffin uses the theme but doesn't go overboard with it. I always feel like I learn something about quilting and those who do it every time I read one of these books. Romance might be the main crux of the story, but there's a lot of other stuff going on in this little village.
What I didn't like:
There were several secondary stories playing out within this book. If readers are new to the series they may have a bit of a harder time seeing where all of these little things fit into the overall story. They may seem somewhat disjointed or unnecessary to some. To those of us who have followed the series from the git go, it was nice to see old friends and characters that we have read about before. So, it's not really what I didn't like, but something some readers might not.
Bottom Line:
Once again Patience Griffin took us back to Gandiegow and as I reader I wanted to stay. Griffin's characters were believable and easy to relate to. Rachel was a girl after my own heart. Determined and understanding. Brodie was not really my cup of tea, but in the end he complimented the heroine well and provided the overall theme of forgiveness. It was probably not my favorite of the series, but there are just so many good ones, you just have to read them all. A wonderful, heartwarming gem of a tale!
It Happened in Scotland is available NOW from your favorite bookseller.
I'm giving this one 5 out of 5 apples from my book bag!
About the Author:
2 comments:
I'very only read a couple of these, but they are fun and I like the covers!
I haven't read this series yet - I've put it on my tbr list
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