This story is told with joy. It is small town romance, mystery, and drama, all with a Scottish setting.
Many thanks to HarperCollins UK and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

So heart-warming, so inspiring and so nice story to read!
I was compelled by these words from the very beginning to the very end!

To be clear - Layla has a lot on her shoulders. Her fiancee has a heart attack and dies. In his ex-wife's bed. It turned out that the man has a lot more secrets than anyone expected and Layla is not only hurt but also feels betrayed. All is she looking for is his escape. Far away from here, from all these.

But she stayed. Find the courage, strength, and inner power to start from the beginning. Step by step, trying to get back to life. She started a new project decided to have her investment, spending some time with her friend, with father, and find someone who is an unexpected surprise for both of them.

I was looking forward to such a story. So warm, so beautiful, so full of magic and hope. I'm in love and I would recommend everyone everywhere!

My first comment has to be that this one is a long book at 432 pages which I sometimes find quite taxing. But onto the review!

I love Scotland and as this book is based in a Sleepy Hamlet in Scotland I just had to read it. A Mystery romance that is a bit of fun made this a fairly easy (if not long) book to read. Layla is a great character, Loch Harris is a great community town and story is well written.

A fun, easy book to read that would make a great read for your next holiday (in Scotland).

Layla Devlins fiancé has a heart attack and dies very unexpectedly. It turns out that he was keeping many secrets from her as well as dying in the arms of his ex wife. Layla decides she’s leaving the village as she doesn’t feel she can stay there after everything that has happened. After an unexpected inheritance she finally changes her mind. She decides to start a new business and then faces a new drama with the resident of Coorie cottage. A celebrity and love interest is in hiding and doesn’t want to involve himself in village life. Layla wants him to headline the opening night of her new business but he is reluctant and then his past catching up with him and Layla supports him. I highly recommend this book and really enjoyed it. It’s different from the other books I’ve read and I will look forward to reading other books by this author.

If you like soap opera level drama and the kind of chaos that you get by watching things like Maury, then A Secret Scottish Escape is probably made for you. The book opens in a depressing fashion and includes lots of trauma. Unfortunately, the pacing is way slower than it should be which makes the story hard to get into. Despite being important enough of a plot device to be mentioned in the synopsis, the Mask character was not introduced until the book was over halfway done. Yet somehow, the ending felt rushed. The pace of the latter portion of the story was okay, but it was not consistent with the first 2/3 of the book so it felt wrong.

There is a painful overuse of adjectives. Simply put, the book is too wordy. The plot of A Secret Scottish Escape is promising, but the unnecessarily excessive adjectives are distracting. On the flip side, the story's location and setting descriptions are beautiful. You can can definitely close your eyes and see imagery of the club, and get a vibe of what the countryside looks like.

One more issue that I had was that the characters are warm at best and not overly likeable. The lead character is a nosy neighbor who whines a lot and has bad judgement, and the supporting characters are all just... meh. A Secret Scottish Escape is narrated solely from the viewpoint of the lead character Layla. I feel like it would have definitely helped this book if there had been multiple narrators to give different perspectives.

An enjoyable, heart-warming read.

Layla's fiance, Mac, dies of a heart attack in bed with his ex- wife. What a way to start a book!

I was instantly invested in Layla's character. She is a likeable, quirky individual who held my interest throughout.

When she is left money in his will, she decided to renovate an old boat house in her village and open a music venue, The Conch Club. The decor, drinks and tasty Scottish snacks made me wish it was a real venue I could visit.

There were several interesting threads. I particularly liked the story of the musician, Mask, who moved into Coorie Cottage (another lovely name). The author's descriptions of the garden and scenery throughout the book were vivid and I could almost smell the flowers. The question over whether Layla's dad was he biological father also added interest.

I really enjoyed this read and look forward to reading more by Julie Shackman.

Thanks indeed to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Who doesn't love a book that provides a TOTAL escape to Europe? I have always wanted to visit Scotland and I loved that I got to do that in this book. It really ignited my desire to visit my home country and the story was just so divine.

Layla inherited a large sum of money from her dead fiancé, who died in the arms of another woman. Layla used the money to build herself a music venue in the Loch Harris, hoping to bring back the town to life. In the midst of searching for musicians to perform at her grand opening, she found herself face to face with Mask, a rising artist who moved to Loch Harris. She became intertwined with Mask, but Mask had a past that started haunting him, from Australia to Scotland.

I find myself anticipating something big to happen in the book. The book is a bit slow and dragging for me, but I enjoyed reading it. The ending is very interesting, although I would have loved to know how Mikey ended up staying in Loch Harris. Shackman is very detailed with the imagery, that I felt like I was in Loch Harris in the book.

Thanks to #NetGalley, the publisher @onemorechapterhc and the author @juliegeorginashackman for providing me with a digital ARC of A Secret Scottish Escape in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and not influenced in any way. I loved reading this book Layla is a lovely character and you want her to succeed right from the start. The book is well written with the mysterious character of Mask and her lovely dad with his gang of ex-rocker friends keep you reading. This book comes highly recommended.

As an American, I was so excited to get to “travel” with this book and it was wonderful! This was a heart-warming book about a woman named Layla who loses her husband in a horrible way and this story is her redemption and finding herself and where she belongs. This was a quick, easy read that I really enjoyed. The characters were well-developed and most were likable. Definitely a minimum 4-star read!

This was a very cute little book that had a lot going on. Family drama, scandal, a bit of mystery and some suspense.
Layla lives in a sweet little Scottish town, she thinks she has her life planned out with a happily ever after, and then tragedy strikes, along with revelations of a scandalous nature that shock her and threatened to change the course of her life.
I enjoyed the setting and descriptions of the little town but felt the plot kept abruptly changing and was a bit hard to follow at times. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a copy in exchange for review.

A Secret Scottish E by J. Shackman, published by Harper Collins UK/ One More Chapter, is a story you can't not fall in love with.
It's a lovely story, excellent written, beautifully thought out and beautifully told.
A read cover to cover in one sitting, unputdownable, gives you all the feels read that brightened my day consireably.
I read the synopsis, I knew that this would be a great book, and I so right. This new to me author writes some creative characters that make you love them at first glance.
The storyline is set in a rural Scottish town, smallish, quiet.
Layla is about to marry, when suddenly everything changes. But deciding to stay is the right thing to do so. And sobis a new lovestory around the corner waiting for her. A beautful story, 4,5 stars.

I loved the setting and the sense of community in this book. There are many secrets that come to light that threaten to darken her light but you can't do anything but admire her determination to see a project through!

I was really drawn into this story from the very beginning – Layla’s obviously stricken by grief at the death of her fiancé Mac, but that turns to anger when she finds out that he died in his ex-wife’s bed and that there were layers of secrets that he’d been keeping. She’s so very angry that she initially refuses to accept his generous bequest, and decides that she must leave her home at Loch Harris and start again – but that changes when she discovers that a large boatshed is up for sale, and instead decides to stay, using her inheritance to turn it into a music venue that might change the fortunes of the village she loves.

There’s a lot of music in this book – Layla’s love of cranking up the volume was always a bone of contention between her and Mac. Her father (and they have a really lovely relationship) is an ageing rocker, the band he played with having died some years ago, amid the usual fallings out and recriminations – but they’d be the perfect act for the opening night at The Conch Club, if they could set aside their differences. And then there’s Mask/Rafe – Australian, newly arrived in the area, living as a recluse in a remote cottage with a particularly beautiful garden, making waves with his music but adamant that he won’t reveal himself and wanting nothing to do with the new venue.

The narrative is driven by all the work that’s needed to convert the boatshed into the venue of Layla’s imagination, and I found all the detail quite fascinating – the setting is gorgeous, on the shore of the loch (with some wonderful descriptions), and I loved seeing it taking shape. But the story diverts in a number of different directions before the long-awaited opening night – Layla becomes increasingly intrigued and involved in Mask’s life and his reasons for wanting such an extreme level of privacy, and the reuniting of her father’s band members brings about issues that turn her life upside down. Through it all, she has the support of close friend Faith – and perhaps gets a little more involved that she should in trying to sort out her love life and find her some happiness.

I really did enjoy this book, but will admit that I did sometimes wonder whether there might have been a sub-plot too many – but the threads are very well managed, every one never less than engaging, and certainly make the story considerably more than the “Beauty and the Beast” story I’d been rather expecting. It’s certainly a strong and convincing romance, but there are a number of other elements that take centre stage at times – family drama, mystery, and a few really edge-of-the-seat moments as Layla becomes dangerously embroiled in a few situations she doesn’t fully understand. There’s a strong sense of community about the book – something I always enjoy – and a substantial cast of interesting characters, their interactions sometimes opening up additional threads to the already engaging story.

I enjoyed this one – it kept me on my toes throughout, the story took me in directions I really hadn’t expected, I enjoyed the characters and the surprises, and the author’s story-telling style was a pleasure to read. This is the first time I’ve read one of the author’s books, and I’ll look forward to seeing what she does next.

Lovely characters, descriptions and story. Makes me want to holiday in the Highlands. . .

This was a totally captivating story, following the story of Layla who is dealt a devastating blow when her fiancee dies and discovers a secret about him that crushes her. She had been so settled in the area, but all her thoughts now are about running away and starting again elsewhere as she's feeling so let down.

The local community are very supportive to her, and she has such a wonderful relationship with her Dad that doubts start to creep into her mind about leaving, and she starts to get excited about creating a new local music venue. Music has always played a big part of her life and she wants to find a way to attract new tourists to the area.

Layla is one of those characters who can't NOT get involved in things, despite her best efforts! She feels like she wants to help everybody, and there are plenty of people to help in this book as she reaches out to a reclusive musician who lives in the area - his story intrigues her, as does he as a person, and she finds she becomes more involved with wanting to know more. He's a very jekyll/hyde personality with her so she knows he's hiding something....her journalistic skills come in very handy trying to get to the bottom of it all!

I loved the setting and the sense of community in this book. There are many secrets that come to light that threaten to darken her light but you can't do anything but admire her determination to see a project through!

Rating 3.5 stars

Following the life of Layla as she struggles to come to terms not only with the death of her fiance but his betrayal and finding out he'd been keeping even more secrets from her. She is supported by her best friend Faith and her dad and they want to accept the unexpected inheritance she has been left and stop her from leaving her home.

We then see her set up the club once she accepts the money, getting her dads old band back together to play on opening night, though that is marred by her estranged mother, who claims she had an affair with one of the band members at the time she got pregnant. Her dad and Layla take DNA tests to discover the truth and confront the other band member with the information.

Layla is a bit of a busy body, and that probably comes from being a freelance reporter, though I'm surprised she does want to write about this reclusive musician. She meddles in her friend Faith love life, and also get involved in the rumours surrounding the reclusive musician.

Its a simple story of betrayal, finding out truths and moving on. It was a quick read, though I did get bored with the tiny details of the napkins, menus and so forth of the upcoming club.

Overall its an alright story, nothing to tax the brain or to surprise you, and could be set almost anywhere, as the descriptions of this Scottish village are sparce.

I received this book from netgalley in return for a honest review.

This was such a delightful read. I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys a feel good story. Aging rockers, a secretive star and a little bit of love makes for an excellent read.

I struggled with much of this book. I thought the problem was that it just didn't translate well from British to American. Then, as I got further in, I realized that there was just too much going on - DNA tests, toxic parents, murder accusations, infidelity, band reunions, and so much more.. Way too many subplots. Too much detail where it wasn't needed. If only the author had devoted as much time to expanding on Rafe and Layla's relationship as she did to Layla's shoe choices. It was almost a DNF at 87%, but I pushed on.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for the opportunity to read a digital ARC in return for an honest review.

What a very enjoyable book that was to read. Nothing complicated, just great characters and a very enjoyable storyline that had you wanting to keep on reading until you’d finished the book. Very happy to recommend!