Book Review and Giveaway: A Cottage in the Country by Linn B. Halton

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Review by Suze

Maddie's husband cheated on Maddie with her best friend. Maddie needs a place to live and when she sees Ash Cottage she immediately falls in love with it. She can pay for it from the divorce settlement and has a small budget left to renovate it. She needs help though. Fortunately there's a local guy called Lewis who can do the work for her. When Maddie first meets him he's unbelievably rude to her, but he takes the job and there's nobody else she can find at such short notice. 

Maddie's boss Ryan is a good friend to her and he stands by her. He doesn't understand her love for the country and the cottage though. He's a city man and he likes to have certain luxuries. Maddie discovers the worst part of country life when she moves into the cottage straight after receiving the keys. She's planning on staying there during the renovation process. At first it's uncomfortable being in her new home while Lewis is working on it. He's an army man and lives by his own rules. He's a man of few words and when he says something it isn't particularly nice. Slowly they're starting to feel comfortable in each other's company though. Does Lewis have an ulterior motive for helping her? While the village is trying to battle horrible floods Maddie is trying to get her life back on track. Is living in the country really what she fancies or will she be happier elsewhere? 

Ash Cottage is a beautiful countryside home that needs a lot of work. I could totally understand why Maddie liked it so much. Linn B. Halton describes it so well that it immediately comes to life. I could see the renovations and had the idea I was watching them instead of just reading about them. I admired Maddie and instantly liked her. She's been hurt so badly and she's vulnerable, but she's trying to be brave. She's never been on her own and now she's bought a house and she decides to do the renovations and redecorating with just one person to help her. Even though it might sound like a stupid decision it wasn't. She was perfectly capable of handling the situation and I kept feeling proud of everything she achieved. It was wonderful to see her grow. She isn't perfect, she makes mistakes, a lot of them, but eventually she learns from them. That makes her human and for me that made the story even better.

It is great that there are some small chapters written from Lewis's point of view. I liked to know what he was thinking and it was great to see inside his mind as well. That gives the story an extra dimension which makes it even better. I think Linn B. Halton has written a fantastic story. As usual in her stories the main characters need a little bit of help, so there's a small hint of magic, which always makes them extra special. I'm very happy she does that as it's giving her work a unique character and it makes me fall in love with the stories even more. Near the end something completely unexpected happens and I kept wanting to talk some sense into Maddie. I liked that twist in the story, it completed the story in a brilliant way. I highly recommend A Cottage in the Country, it's a sweet romantic story with a setting that's as beautiful as the main characters.

Giveaway

I'm giving away a kindle copy of A Cottage in the Country together with this gorgeous heart shaped pebble necklace. For me this piece of jewelry has a match with the story. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 I will contact the winner via email. If I don't get a reply within 60 hours the prize will go to someone else. All of my giveaways are international, you can find the official rules here.