Meet Me at the Seaside Cottages

Jenny Colgan

IT'S a small town that sits on the very northern edge of Britain – higher even than the Highlands – a place where the swirling waters of the Atlantic and the North Sea meet and do their best ‘to whack the earth to bits.’

If you have adored every minute of your reading time with Scottish author Jenny Colgan’s (pictured below)  dazzling novels, The Summer Skies and Close Knit, then get ready to fall in love again with Meet Me at the Seaside Cottages, set on her stunningly imagined island of Carso, an enchanting destination where romance, drama, heart and humour have a habit of ruling those crashing waves.

And there’s certainly plenty to enjoy in this new slice of Highland-flavoured, feel-good escapism which stars a newly divorced mother and her prickly daughter who freely admit to having a strained and complex relationship. Reunited by unexpected circumstances at a time when they are both feeling alone, adrift and looking for new beginnings, they are about to prove that home really is where the heart is. Fifty-five-year-old Janey Munroe has a lot to be grateful for… she has a beautiful cottage by the sea in Carso which she renovated herself, a job as an audiologist that she loves, two children, Essie and Alasdair, and a network of kind and supportive friends.

But since her husband left her for another woman, and after a bitter divorce, Janey had to find another smaller home on the island and her confidence has taken a nosedive. Her friends are eager for her to get on dating sites but for the first time in a long time, Janey is sailing ‘in peaceful waters’ and enjoying living alone. And then, out of the blue, her ‘funny-contrary’ 25-year-old daughter announces that she is moving back home. Janey loves Essie dearly but they only just made it out alive from her adolescence and Essie – who thinks her mother is ‘wrong about everything’ – blames Janey for her parents’ divorce. Her arrival is going to cramp Janey’s soon-to-be-rediscovered dating style.

As for Essie, yes, she is grumpy but she's just lost her highly paid finance job, she can't afford her rent in Edinburgh and her boyfriend Connor isn't ready to commit. Her boss told her that losing her job wasn’t the end of the world but Essie comes from ‘the end of the world’ and doesn’t want to go back.

With no savings, there’s nothing for it but to admit defeat and hope the sea air soothes her soul. Living back under the same roof brings its challenges for the family duo but a combination of rescue dogs, pub quizzes and a surprise project doing up the rundown Seagate Cottages next door slowly brings mother and daughter closer together. Meanwhile, the steady stream of people coming past the house with fabric swatches and paint brings revelations for Essie, and offers Janey a surprise second chance at love as well.

It’s no surprise that Colgan, who lives in Scotland, has won various awards for her writing, including the RNA Romantic Novel of the Year Award and the RNA Romantic Comedy Novel of the Year Award, and this gloriously uplifting story – set amidst the unspoilt splendours of the Highlands – has everything that a true romantic could want.

Brimming with the author’s wit, warmth and emotional insight, Janey and Essie’s rollercoaster journey is a dazzling delight as we witness the two women battling through heartache, winning back lost self-esteem, finding the impetus and courage to carve out a new future, and slowly but surely repairing the broken bonds of a fragile mother and daughter relationship.

Add on the promise of new love, the alluring Scottish island backdrop that has made Colgan’s novels a must read for romance fans, and life-enhancing themes like community, friendship, healing, and discovering just what you can achieve when you dare to follow your dreams and desires, this is the perfect reading companion for summer getaways.
(Hodder & Stoughton, hardback, £16.99)