Ellesea Loves Reading: 03/15/21

Monday, 15 March 2021

Book Blog Tour Stop & Review: Harper's Highland Fling by Lizzie Lamb

Harper’s Highland Fling by Lizzie Lamb

After a gruelling academic year head teacher Harper MacDonald is looking forward to a summer holiday trekking in Nepal. Her plans are scuppered when her wayward niece, Ariel, leaves a note announcing she’s running away with a boy called Pen. The only clue to their whereabouts is a scribbled footnote: I’ll Be in Scotland.

Cue a case of mistaken identity when Harper confronts the boy‘s father - Rocco Penhaligon - accusing him of cradle snatching her niece and ruining her bright future. At loggerheads, Harper and Rocco set off in hot pursuit of the teenagers, but the canny youngsters are always one step ahead. And, in a neat twist, it is the adults who end up in trouble, not the savvy teenagers.

Can Cupid convince Harper and Rocco that they have found their soul mates?

Fasten your seatbelt for the road trip of your lifetime -

It’s going to be a bumpy ride.

http://mybook.to/HarpersHighlandFling

An action-packed enemies to lovers romance!

As executive head of three schools, Harper MacDonald is ready for the summer holidays. As legal guardian to her niece, Ariel, she needs to get the eighteen-year-old to the airport, to catch a flight to LA to spend time with her mum. It would finally free Harper of the legal responsibility of caring for her sister Shona's daughter. It also means she can embark on a trekking holiday to Nepal. Only, Ariel has disappeared!

When the prim headmistress of the local school charges into his garage and demands to speak to Pen, Rocco Penhaligon knows trouble is brewing. After hearing the woman's verbal accusations, he realises it's a simple case of mistaken identity...his son is the one Ms MacDonald is looking for and he's disappeared too!

When Harper and Rocco meet, their first impressions of each other are filled with stereotypical assumptions.

"He'd bet her house was neat as a pin. Full of those perfectly matched things spinsters collected."

"It did no harm for her to have her prejudices challenged while conversely, it did him a power of good."

However, as the pair spend time together, it is clear they share more similarities than tracking down their wayward teenagers. Seven Hundred and thirteen miles later, both have a much clearer view and understanding of each other, mostly!

Harper isn't an instantly likeable character but I warmed to her, once I got to know her. Rocco definitely helps to bring her out of her protective shell. He has his faults too but overall, he is a good guy who deserves the best life can offer.

I had a false start with this novel because I couldn't make sense of why the protagonists' were embarking on a crazy journey to track down two thoughtless adult teenagers. Therefore I took a break and put it down for a week or so. Thankfully, when I picked it up again, everything clicked into place. As I continued to read, I became invested in Harper and Rocco adventure, feeling more attached to their personalities. Also, I gained the insight I was initially looking for…and my impatience satisfied… I'm sure there's a moral of the story there for book reviewers ;-)

Harper's Highland Fling is a humorous and fun novel. It's packed with action and secondary character but not in an overwhelming way. Overall, it's fun and full of lots of surprising details, adding an unexpected level of enjoyment.

***review copy received courtesy of the publisher***

After teaching her 1000th pupil and working as a deputy head teacher in a large primary school, Lizzie decided to pursue her first love: writing. She joined the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s New Writers’ Scheme, wrote Tall, Dark and Kilted (2012), quickly followed by Boot Camp Bride. She went on to publish Scotch on the Rocks, which achieved Best Seller status within two weeks of appearing on Amazon and her next novel, Girl in the Castle, reached #3 in the Amazon charts. Lizzie is a founder member of indie publishing group – New Romantics Press, and has hosted author events at Aspinall, St Pancras and Waterstones, Kensington, talking about the research which underpins her novels. Lizzie romance Take Me, I’m Yours, set in Wisconsin, also achieved BEST SELLER status >travel>USA. Her latest novel - Harper’s Highland Fling - has been declared her ‘best one yet’ by readers and reviewers. In it, two warring guardians are forced to join forces and set off in hot pursuit of a runaway niece and son. She has further Scottish-themed romances planned and spends most of the summer touring the Scottish Highlands researching men in kilts. As for the years she spent as a teacher, they haven’t quite gone to waste as she is building a reputation as a go-to speaker on indie publishing, and how to plan, write, and publish your debut novel

Lizzie lives in Leicestershire (UK) with her husband, David.

She loves to hear from readers, so do get in touch . . .