Introduction
Hello, Bookworm Buddies, Today I am going to review another ARC read. The book title is “Sailing Free at Loch Tunnagan” by Hazel Bray. It is her debut novel, and I must say I loved it. All the opinions and thoughts are my honest thoughts. And thank you to Hazel for trusting me with your ARC copy of the book. You can check out her Instagram here.
I also learnt a new word, which is in the book title “Loch”, it is the Scottish word for a lake.
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About Sailing Free at Loch Tunnagan by Hazel Bray
After every storm…
A shock discovery turns Jess’ world upside down and she finds herself fleeing from a busy life in Glasgow. With nowhere else to go she seeks refuge in a picturesque lochside village nestled amongst the Scottish hills.
When a storm blows in over the loch, it sends her in the direction of her handsome neighbour, Cal. Cal is grieving the loss of his wife, Lainey, and he must come to terms with the fact that she had been hiding parts of her life from him before she died.
As Cal and the close knit community help Jess to heal from heartbreak, she in return helps to bring some life back to the village. There is a mystery to solve, a boat race to organise and most importantly a renewed trust in love to be found.
The Loch Tunnagan series is literary comfort food, so find a cosy spot, curl up, and tuck into this sweet romance. It will suit the palate of readers who love a guaranteed happy ending.
A small – town romance with a touch of real – life drama. No steam, but some strong feelings and some strong language. Perfect for fans of Hannah Ellis and Jessica Redland.
So, without further ado, let’s start with the Sailing Free at Loch Tunnagan book review.
My Review
I will be reviewing this book in the CAWPILE rating system. To know more about the CAWPLIE rating system, check out this page.
Characters: (8/10)
I liked the characters of this book. Jess is our FMC who arrives at Loch Tunnagan for checking the “Sauncy Lass” boat that her company bought for their holiday let business, but because of some emergency she heads back home and gets the surprise of her life, her boyfriend is cheating on her with her bestfriend and to getaway from there she comes back to the Loch Tunnagan to process the situation where she meets Cal her neighbour by the lake in the boat. I liked the pair of Cal and Jess. I loved how they teased each other.
“Yes, mine was the red one, how many trucks did you walk in front of yesterday,” he chuckled. “Just yours,” she mumbled embarrased.
Cal opened both eyes and raised an eyebrow, “Are you trying to get me to make you a cup of tea! I’ve just had some kind of psychotic incident. You should be making the tea!”
Jess laughed, “I was trying to ground you by getting you to focus on each of your senses. The tea was just an added bonus.”
I also liked the friendship between Jess and Paul. Paul was really a good friend.
Jess smiled to herself; she could picture Paul tiptoeing around the office; giving it the full theatrics.
“I’m just phoning to say don’t you dare be coerced into anything you don’t feel ready for. He is like a dog with his tail between his legs who is desperate to be forgiven and have his belly rubbed…. and you shouldn’t rub his belly….. or anything else for that matter! Alan agrees.”
Other characters of the village were also great, and the community of the small village where everybody cares for each other was great to see.
Life in a small country village was so different to what she was used to. People in the city tended to be more wary of strangers.
Atmosphere: (10/10)
The atmosphere of this book was nice. I really liked the village and would want to live in it. And also get to see the beautiful locations of the Loch (or Lake), and get to ride in the boat, which would be amazing.
Writing: (8/10)
I liked the writing. It was simple and sweet and can be understood by anyone. You don’t have to use much thinking to understand any particular scene.
Plot: (10/10)
I liked the plot of this book very much. The whole mystery around how Cal’s first wife died and all the assumptions that Cal made about it, and finally, the revelation of the mystery, was very intriguing. And Jess finding something new to focus on, rather than working on her business, was also good. What went wrong between Jess and her boyfriend that led to the breakup in the relationship was very nicely done. Like you have to give time to your relationship, otherwise it will lead to its end.
Intrigue: (10/10)
The book was intriguing from the Prologue. I would love to read more books in the series.
Logic: (10/10)
It was well-written, and I would not want to change anything in the book.
Enjoyment: (10/10)
I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to all my bookish friends.
Final Rating: 66/70 (9.4)
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Miscellaneous:
Some other things I liked about the book were the cute symbols or images used at the beginning of each chapter, which would be mentioned later in the chapter; it was fun to guess what situation the image would be used for.
Other than that, I also liked the Fun Trivia at the end. It contained some interesting facts about certain scenes from the book and the author.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I loved this book and would recommend this book who love rom-com books with only kisses and a somewhat mysterious element to it.
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Let’s Chat!
Have you heard about this book? Do you like rom-coms with a somewhat mysterious element to them? If yes, could you recommend some? I would love to check them out. Let me know in the comments!
