A Highlander is Coming to Town by Laura Trentham is a 2020 St. Martin’s Press publication.

Slightly offbeat, small town Christmas romance-

After quitting her gig as the singer in a rock band, Claire is basically hiding out in Highland, Georgia, taking care of Ms. Meadows, an elderly woman who requires a little assistance and company.

Why is Claire hiding out? She has a few heavy decisions she will soon have to face regarding her future, and she’s taking some time to come to terms with the burdens of unavoidable responsibility that awaits her once the holidays are over and she must return home to Scotland.

The last thing on her mind is romance… until a sexy guy named Holt occasions to come to her rescue when her grocery bag breaks and when she has trouble with her bike. Despite his good looks, Ms. Meadows warns Claire this guy is trouble with a capital T!!

I added this book because it had a holiday theme, not realizing it was a part of a series. For the record, the book is easily read as a stand-alone, so don’t let that deter you.

The characterizations are what makes this a fun and lively story. Highland is apparently a unique place to live, and it’s no wonder Claire felt drawn to it and had no desire to leave. The romance is cute, with only a bit of low- level angst.

My one complaint is that it seems there is a trend among holiday centered contemporary romance novels at the moment, which is to ignore the holiday elements until the last few chapters of the book. In the past, some authors have gone too far in the other direction, I will admit, but if we are going to market a book as holiday romance, perhaps more of balance is called for.

Nevertheless, the Christmas spirit does shine through in the end, adding a dash of magic to the story.

Overall, this is a lovely romance, with a bit of spice, and a touch holiday cheer!

3.5 star ( )

Claire is hiding from her family. She does not want to go back to Scotland. She has made her a little spot in Georgia taking care of a sweet, older lady. But, life has a way of showing you who is boss!

I was not the least bit in the mood for a romance when I started this book. But, these characters had me hooked from the start. Claire is a character I adored. I related to her quirkiness. She truly wants to hide and stay hidden but she loves with all her heart.

Then there is Holt. Holt is down to earth and just wants to get through the holidays as quickly as possible. But, when he runs into Claire…his mind changes and he wants to make the best of the holiday season while he can.

This is a perfect Christmas romance to get you in the mood for the season. Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review. ( )

A Highlander is Coming to Town by Laura Trentham
A Highland Georgia Novel #3

Heartwarming holiday stories at this time of year might be a dime a dozen but some are that little bit extra and this is one of them. This story has all that a small-town romance should include with friendships old and new, romance for more than one, relationships to create and some to fix, and troubles to overcome before a HEA can occur.

What I liked:
* Clair: dealing with a big decision that will determine her future. Will she be able to find her way to the HEA she deserves or will duty and family stand in thew ay
* Holt: a wonderful man that is just what Clair needs but will he be able to woo and win her or…perhaps not
* Ms. Meadows: an older woman that Clair is living with and caring for. She is a delightful woman and just the balancing force Clair needed at this point in her life
* The smiles and chuckles that occurred from time to time while reading
* Catching up with Iain and Annie – good people and so deserving of one another
* The community, location and their Scots leanings
* The holiday parts of the story
* The issues facing Clair and how she handled them
* The relationship between Clair and Ms. Meadows
* The idea of family and how it plays a part in our development
* So much…can’t list all of them here

What I didn’t like:
* The way Clair was raised

Did I like this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series? Definitely

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars

I received an ARC of this book to read through NetGalley. All opinions are my own. A Highlander Is Coming To Town is the third book in Laura Trentham’s Highland Georgia series. It can be read as a standalone, but characters from previous books in the series feature in this book and I enjoyed reading the first two, so do recommend reading them all. Claire Smythe (Glenallen) came to Highland, Georgia as the lead singer in a band featured at the annual festival. Tired of life on the road and facing big decisions that must be made on her next birthday, she stayed in Highland and has taken a job as a housekeeper/caregiver for an elderly widow Ms. Meadows. Holt Pierson lives on the farm next door to Ms. Meadows, and when Claire has an accident with her bike, he offers her a ride home. This is a slow burn friends to lovers story about finding your place in the world that takes place over the Christmas Season. I have a soft spot for the fish out of water heroine who’s trying to figure things out, and I do recommend reading this book if you enjoy that too. Medium Steam. Publishing Date: September 29, 2020. #AHighlanderIsComingToTown #LauraTrentham #ContemporaryRomance #RomanceSeries #StMartinsPress #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #SmallTownRomance ( )

Okay, it’s settled. I’m moving to Highland, Georgia. Now. I love that place. Good things happen. Of course, you might have to go through a little bit of trouble and turmoil and mystery, but you get a lot of sweet, hot, sweet, did I say hot, hugs and kisses, too. Or maybe I’ll just commission author Laura Trentham to write books exclusively for me.

A Highlander is Coming to Town is the third entry in the Highland, Georgia series and the excellence continues. We’ve already been treated to delightful adventures with Isabel and Alasdair (book #1) and Anna and Iain (book #2) and we know we are in for a treat when Claire and Holt move center stage. We were teased with their presence in previous books and now we will get to know them better.

Claire is secretive and bottled up, hiding from someone or something. She’s never fit in anywhere, never been enough, never wanted what she was expected to want, and she ran away. Highland isn’t a refuge but a hideout, and soon she’ll have to return to where she came from. But things have subtly changed without her even realizing it. Her job caring for elderly Ms. Meadows has moved from just-a-job-for-money to tenderness and concern for this old woman. She slips up and thinks of Highland as home sometimes. She’s unintentionally started to make friends, and Holt, well, he’s caught her eye and if his comments and behavior are any indication, the feeling is mutual.

In previous books, Holt was just kind of there. The good son, the nice guy, the one everyone in this unusual small town knows and likes. He’s always had friends and thinks he’s satisfied, has always felt he belonged on the farm and in Highland. But things have started to subtly change for him, too. He’s never had a problem forming relationships, but they’ve always ended. Amicably, but he’s beginning to feel like the odd man out. And now here’s Claire. Mysterious, grumpy Claire who acts as if accepting a ride in the snow makes her a charity case or somehow beholden. What to do about her? Holt has to do something because he can’t get her out of his mind.

The reader’s return to Highland is like going home: familiar characters, familiar festivals in this quirky little town that just loves everything Scottish. For the most part it’s a happy place full of happy people. So why doesn’t Claire want to stay, why is Holt on his own, why is Ms. Meadows in need of care and what is the rest of her story? Holt was raised to be a good Southern gentleman and that means if Claire needs a ride or help with shopping or anything else it’s his duty to provide it. And the “anything else” has him waggling his eyebrows in anticipation. Claire doesn’t want to be on the receiving end of help, but she’s not averse to the “anything else” part, so they think maybe they can just go with the flow until it’s time for her to leave, no commitments, no questions asked. Seeing how all that works out is so much fun.

I love this book, I love this series, I love everything I’ve read that this author has written. I feel as if I could take a “blind reading test,” whatever type of story, genre, or time period and know the author was Laura Trentham. Not because everything she writes is the same, because it definitely is not, and not because all the characters are alike, because they definitely are not, but because of the warm, fuzzy, gentle, contented, loved feeling I have after reading just a chapter or two. Whether it’s exciting, mysterious, witty, or sexy (and all her books have all of those elements), it’s always got a heart, a great big heart loaded with love and care and tenderness and romance. And a little bit of like reading The Notebook thrown in. For about the last quarter of A Highlander is Coming to Town I needed tissue after tissue, until I just gave up and got the box. Not because the story was unbearably sad but because it was unbearably wonderful. Stop to say, “Ooh,” wipe my eyes, stop to say, “Aah,” wipe my eyes, and keep smiling and sighing.

This is a book with a fast-moving, well-developed plot, full of characters that will charm and intrigue you, and some dialogue that will have you laughing out loud, like when Holt says Claire is treating him like he has cooties. The phrasing is perfect, the misunderstanding in language and action captivating and the conclusion heartwarming.

Thanks to author Laura Trentham and St. Martin’s for providing an advance copy of A Highlander is Coming to Town via NetGalley for my reading pleasure and honest review. All opinions are my own. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it without hesitation. ( )