There is something about a castle tucked away in the Scottish Highlands that makes you wonder about the people who lived there and what they may have left behind. Add holiday cottages, a family trying to protect what they've built, and a woman returning home when her life takes an unexpected turn, and there are plenty of reasons to pack an imaginary bag for another visit to Julie Shackman's Scottish Escapes series.
The Secret Castle in the Highlands by Julie Shackman
Series: Scottish Escapes #11
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Scottish
About the Book:

Returning to the Scottish Highlands was never part of Poppy Summers’ plan. But life had other ideas.

With her parents’ cherished holiday cottages losing money, Poppy is determined to carry on their legacy and save the business before they’re forced to sell.

Revamping the cottages is Poppy’s priority until she meets Mason Cooper, a charming historian drawn to the highlands for research. As their newfound friendship grows, is it possible that something more might be enough of a reason to make Poppy stay for good?

Tropes:🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scottish Highlands 💕 Feel-Good Romance 🏡 Returning Home 💼 Saving the Family Business 🛖 Holiday Cottages 📚 Historian Hero 🤎 Friends-to-Lovers 🌱 Fresh Start 🗝️ Family Legacy 🏘️ Small Community

Triggers:💔 Grief & Loss of Parents 💸 Financial Stress 🏡 Threat of Losing the Family Business / Property

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In this series: A Scottish Lighthouse Escape
Other books from this Author A Scottish Lighthouse Escape

I received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Secret Castle in the Highlands is my second book in this series, and Julie Shackman once again had me wishing I could book a cottage and spend a few days in the Scottish Highlands. Poppy’s story has a little bit of everything I enjoy in this kind of book. She’s coming home, figuring out what she wants next, reconnecting with her family, and trying to help protect a business that means far more to them than simply paying the bills.

I liked Poppy right away. She has this creative energy that comes through whether she’s painting or looking at one of the holiday cottages and imagining what she could do with it. I don’t have an artistic bone in my body, so I’m always fascinated by characters who can look at a room and see what it could become. Shackman’s descriptions gave me enough detail that I could picture Poppy’s ideas coming together without feeling like I was reading a decorating catalog.

What interested me even more was Poppy’s relationship with her family. There isn’t some enormous falling-out that needs to be repaired. Life simply happened. She moved away, her attention shifted elsewhere, and coming home makes her realize how much she’s missed. I liked that because family relationships don’t always need a terrible argument or twenty-year estrangement to become distant. Sometimes people just get busy living their own lives.

Poppy also has plenty of doubts about herself and what she’s capable of doing. Those moments made her feel more believable to me, especially when she was trying something new or wondering whether she’d made the right decision. She doesn’t suddenly come home and have her entire future figured out by lunchtime. She has to work through it.

Then we have Mason.

I wasn’t sure what I thought about him when he first appeared. There was enough uncertainty surrounding him that I kept watching for the catch. I wasn’t even convinced I wanted him as the romantic interest at first. He eventually won me over, though. He’s a historian, which fits perfectly with the castle and the questions surrounding its past, and I liked getting pieces of his own history instead of being told everything about him at once.

The relationship between Mason and Poppy develops alongside everything else happening in her life rather than taking over the entire book. Their friendship gives them time to get to know each other, and my opinion of Mason changed right along with Poppy’s. I went from side-eyeing him a little to understanding him much better once more of his past came out.

There’s also a mystery involving the castle, which gave me something else to follow besides the romance and Poppy’s plans for the cottages. A place with that much history should have a secret or two hiding somewhere, and I enjoyed watching the pieces come together.

The community continues to be one of my favorite parts of Julie Shackman’s books. People know each other, families have history there, and the supporting characters have enough personality that the Highlands don’t feel like pretty scenery placed behind Poppy and Mason. I want to know who lives down the road, who has known whose family for years, and who will turn up when someone needs help.

And those holiday cottages? I would happily take one for a week. Someone else can hike through the Highlands while I sit outside with a book and admire the castle. I know my strengths.