When Sophie’s grandmother dies and leaves her a shop, she opens a crockery shop. Then a mysterious set appears, bringing with it the handsome art critic, Xander North, and Sophie’s life changes completely.

A Scottish Highland Surprise is a delightful read, light but very entertaining. Sophie is a character easy to like and support, and the enigmatic Xander is equally pleasing on the mind’s eye! With a supporting cast of friends, exes and dodgy characters, it’s a perfect escape for dark nights.

Thoroughly recommend

A casual trip to the highlands awaits the reader of this cosy romance.
Want to snuggle up and drift away from the real world for a while? Then this is the book for you..

Some of my most favorite books are ones that show the journey of a woman who is coming into her own after dealing with hardship or struggle. In this case of this book, our main character, Sophie, experiences a shift in careers upon the death of her grandmother. There's a little bit of mystery and a little bit of romance, which was delightful and really made the story fly by. I look forward to reading more by this author!

This wasn't quite the book I expected - but I enjoyed it all the same. The back and forth POVs of Sophie and her grandmother were really great. I was so heartbroken for her Gran by the end of her story!

Sophie Harkness is a hard working wedding planner but when she refuses to move a couples wedding to please a spoilt bridezilla, she finds herself out of a job. She soon learns that her grandmother has left her a shop to set up and sell porcelain teasets.

When Sophie also finds a rare antique tea set that her grandmother also left to her with a cryptic note, she sets out to find out the provenance of the tea set.

She soon meets the enigmatic Xander North, a renowned antique dealer who offers to help her solve the mystery of the tea set - but something doesn't quite feel right to Sophie. Can she trust Xander?

A lovely gentle read

Fantastic escapism, lovely romance set in my favourite place and I thoroughly recommend this to all lovers of romance, Julie is one of my favourite romance authors , highly recommended

A brilliant read and one I really enjoyed. The characters are loveable and varied, the plot is one that is engaging and medium paced. I found myself completely drawn into the story and enjoyed the writing style.

Thanks to Netgalley I got an early copy of this book. This is such a great book. I love Sophie, she's fiesty and is going for it with the exciting new venture.

I love tea and cake from pretty China, there is something about it. Its such an elegant way of drinking tea. Afternoon tea is my favourite past time so reading about a shop selling pretty crockery is lovely.

Xander North is unexpected.

This book is exciting, I remember going to my first auction and the feeling of excitement came flooding back when I was reading about the auctions in this book.

I really love the idea of owning my own shop, the tea set shop I would also have a reading corner and craft evenings and sell cake and coffee. This is what I love about books they can transport you to other places. Brilliant book, I'll defin read more by this author.

I loved this story from start to finish and thought it was such an involved narrative. I enjoyed reading about Sophie’s new venture whilst learning about her grandmother and the story of a mysterious tea set.

For sure, the foundations of this plot are similar to many stories: a woman leaves her job to start afresh – usually a result of some inheritance or deep wish. However, this book felt different from the beginning and I think this was because I felt so connected to Sophie’s character. Watching her as a frazzled wedding planner never felt right; it was a career for Sophie that wasn’t the right fit for her. The showdown with a wealthy and influential client produced the catalyst of change for Sophie and I loved how she moved to fulfil her nan’s wishes – even if she didn’t feel completely confident herself.

Opening a ceramic shop in the Scottish Highlands sounded wonderful and I loved Shackman’s description of the interior of Sophie’s shop. It did not pervade that sense of wealth and exclusivity: Sophie is catering for all budgets and tastes, even if she does stock some more expensive pieces. This strengthens the link to her grandmother as it is her older collections that allow Sophie to open her shop.

Whilst readers follow Sophie’s venture, I enjoyed how Shackman switches the timeline back to Sophie’s nan. Instead of Sophie’s nan being an absent relative who is sorely missed, she comes to life in this narrative. Learning about her passion for ceramics and becoming a working woman, Shackman shows how Sophie’s nan had more to her than just a large collection of teapots and tea sets. I was fascinated to see how she alters as a result of having a job, but also felt fearful of the stable life she has with her family being threatened.

The other element of the story – the mystery of the older tea set – added a further dimension to this story. It meant the story was almost dual-timeline, but not heavily so. Furthermore, the way that Shackman narrates the older timeline meant it still felt fresh and relatively modern. Learning about the tea set through newspaper clippings and local historians was a great way to add to this plot and link Sophie to the past.

Not only does this novel feature lovely ceramics and a mystery too, there is also romance. I thought this part of the plot to be the most predictable but I still relished in the developing relationships that emerge in the story. As a reader, it was clear when Sophie was making mistakes but I think this reflected her growth as a person – spurred on by her growing business.

This was a great read and I enjoyed it so much more than my previous Shackman book. Although both are set in the Highlands, they are completely different stories and this one was far more interesting. A layered narrative with love and mystery, it definitely had me reaching for a cup of tea.

With thanks One More Chapter, Harper Collins and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.

A Scottish Highland Surprise was an easy read with plenty of beautiful moments to appreciate in the story. Sophie’s career change from wedding planner to porcelain shop was one of my favorite parts of the story, and I loved watching her coming into her own as she comes to terms with her grandmother’s death and opens the tea shop. Some of the romance moved a little quick for me, but the book overall was fast paced. There is a little mystery wrapped into the story, as a beautiful porcelain set is dropped off suddenly to Sophie as she’s setting up shop, which was a fun addition to the plot.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced digital copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I love Scotland, and I do love a surprise.
Sadly, Scotland was hardly there whilst the surprise was totally missing from this book.

A yound wedding planner ditches her job in an effort to save her dignity and moves into a village where her grandma bought a shop for their shared dream: to open a porcelain shop. Shackman combined quite a few genres and tropes into this novel, where the enemies-to-lovers storyline is the main trope and it worked out nicely. Definitely not boring, but not too exciting either. The characters are a bit shallow, village life, the villains and the whole story I am afraid are quite predictible. I did not feel transported to Scotland, the unique roughness of the Highlands did not really come across, but it was still a nice scene and lovely villagers, and it is written nicely.

Good, light read for a rainy day.

I enjoyed this; I thought it was such a heart-warming book.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

Sophie is down on her luck and in a job she doesn’t like when she finds her recently deceased grandmother has left her a shop and the means to run it. Sophie quits her job and sets off to open up the shop in a quaint little town.

While this could have been a cute story, everything was way too convenient for my taste. There was no build up or real conflict. It ended up being predictable and I still didn’t really care what happened.

Also, I found the descriptions to be repetitive and I felt they were used over and over to extend the length of the book. How many times did we need to be told that the shop was painted lilac and white?

Thank you NetGalley for an eARC copy in exchange for an honest review. 2.5 stars.

I loved the setting of this book, and initially, the story was really engaging. Likeable characters, adorable premise of the grandmother leaving a shop for her granddaughter. However, the book got a little long at times with a dragging on plot. Cute cover.

Really enjoyable read. Heart warming and such lovely characters (there is an exception). Warm and immersive writing. The crockery descriptions are so enchanting. There a touch of mystery and intrigue that just endears this book to me more. Perfect comfort read.

Thank you Netgalley

This book is SO GOOD! Every time I picked up "A Scottish Highland Surprise", I was whisked away, and went on an emotional journey with this story.

Firstly, I LOVE this cover!

Julie Shackman is such an incredible author! Her writing style is visceral, vivid, detailed, full of heart, and truly jumps right off of the page. As the reader, I could envision each and every moment. Her passion for writing is truly so clear.

I do not want to say too much about the plot of the novel due to spoilers, so, I will simply say, this book has so much in it. It has romance, mystery, history, and is full of heart. You get pulled into Sophie's story, as well as her grandmother's, and learn so much about the tea set as Sophie discovers more about it's story. And, oh my goodness, I want to travel to Scotland even more now!!

I highly recommend this book!

Thank you so much to HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and NetGalley for the ARC of this book! All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Book 2 in a series set in Briar Glen, but this is a standalone book . A funny engaging easy read, set in Scotland with likeable characters and a bit of mystery and romance .
I enjoyed it and would recommend

This is the second book in a series, which I didn’t realise when I chose it but it read perfectly fine as a standalone novel. Having more background from the first book may have added to the story though and I always prefer to read a series in order.

When Sophie Harkness, a wedding planner, refuses to move a friend's wedding to accommodate a spoilt bridezilla she finds herself out of a job. She soon finds out that her late grandmother has purchased a local shop for her in the beautiful Scottish town of Brair Green, where Sophie opens a porcelain shop in her grandmother's honour. She soon finds herself seeking the mystery behind a tea set she has been sent, which leads to information and adventures she wasn’t expecting.

This was a lovely story, engaging and heart-warming. Its filled with secrets, romance and mystery, perfect for dreamy days on the beach.

The scenery is beautifully described and makes you want to take a little trip yourself. The tea set is a big focus but is enjoyable to learn about. Sophie was a delightful character, Xander was gruff but loveable and I loved hearing Sophie’s grandmother’s backstory which leads us to understand why Sophie chose porcelain for her shop. A delightful summer read.

Delightful story--engaging plot and precious characters in an idyllic and fantastic setting! This is the type of story that I love to absorb and fill my reading time with! I highly recommend it as it is sure not to disappoint!

Lovely feel good book to read. It was a joy to read. Lovely characters. Great plot. The book was charming. Very well written. I’d definitely recommend this book. The idyllic setting was a huge hit. I was born in Scotland, so love novels based on Scotland.