Review - - Chasing a Highland Dream

Chasing a Highland Dream

by Lisa Hobman

The Highlands - Book 2

Publisher: Boldwood Books

Release Date: February 28, 2024

Reviewed by PJ

Since having to drop out of her design degree, Bella Douglas has been unlucky in just about everything life has thrown at her.

She’s lost more jobs than she cares to remember and despite her Granny Isla’s best attempts to set her up with every eligible bachelor in the Scottish Highlands and she’s still single.

Currently PA to her best friend, aka, Lady Olivia MacBain, at the 17th century Drumblair Castle, Bella is yet to find a role that sets her soul on fire. But when disaster strikes for Olivia, Bella steps into the breach to rescue her best friend from a fate worse than a bad interior designer.

When Bella and her Granny Isla find themselves homeless, they relocate to the castle where a handsome new neighbour brings mystery, intrigue and a spark of romance.

Is Bella finally on the track to find true happiness? Or do more catastrophes lie ahead? And does true love hide where you least expect it?

PJ's Thoughts:

Lisa Hobman returns to Drumblair Castle with another feel-good story set in the Scottish Highlands. This time, it's Lady Olivia's best friend, Bella who is in the spotlight. With her love life in ruins, Bella is determined to go it alone while she works with Olivia to ready Olivia's family castle for it's grand opening to the public. As good as that plan is, fate - and Bella's Granny Isla - may have something else in mind.

Lisa Hobman has become one of my go-to authors over the past few years. I've loved the books in her Skye Collection and enjoyed the first Highlands book, Coming Home to the Highlands (Olivia's story). Her feel-good storylines are heart-tugging, amusing, and leave me wanting to book the next flight to Scotland. Her characters are well-developed and intriguing with relatable, sometimes complex, relationships. I love the friendship threads that run through her stories as much as the romance. I also enjoy the secondary characters who add texture and richness to the story as well as, in some cases, stealing about every scene they're in. Like Granny Isla, the purple-haired octogenarian with a keen wit, sharp eye, loving heart, and propensity for hilarious malapropisms. She kept me chuckling throughout the entire book. 

The love scenes in the book are closed door, the romance a slow burn, with a gradual escalation of feelings that is heartwarming and realistic. For fans of Hobman, there's also a tie-in with her Skye series that's fun but shouldn't cause any confusion for readers new to her books. For those who are new, Chasing a Highland Dream can be enjoyed on its own however, I think you'll enjoy it more if you've already read Coming Home to the Highlands. I don't know what Hobman has in store for readers next but whatever it is, I'll be checking it out.