A Cottage in the Country
By: Linn B. Halton
Rating: 5 of 5
“A Cottage in the Country” is a lovely story about Maddie, a more mature woman, finding a way to start over again after having her life torn apart when she discovers the man she has been married to for most of her life has found a replacement for her. There’s more to the story and that is part of the story, but suffice to say that Maddie has received quite a blow and has been reeling for a time when this story begins.
It is also the story of Lewis, the local handyman, who has had his dreams dashed when Maddie moves to town but still finds a way to, rather grudgingly, give her a hand in settling down.
While there is a romance in this story, the book is more about the emotions of coping with loss and learning to stand tall again. While sex is discussed, there are no actual sex scenes played out in the book which certainly did not detract at all from my enjoyment of the story. The author felt (rightly in my opinion) that the private moments were to be kept private.
I loved the craziness of the story, between remodeling of an older house, the problems with Maddie’s move and even her deliveries in the midst of a considerable weather issue. The author made the characters quite real to me, especially Maddie. I could understand her and relate to her quite well. That made reading the story a little like catching up with an old friend.
There is a slight touch of the paranormal in the story, and while I don’t generally read paranormal stories, I wish there had been a tad more of an explanation of a turn-around in Maddie near the end of the book. I think a page or two of more explanation would have helped me transition along with the character. It is a slight thing and not something that changed my overall opinion. It just took me a bit to make the connections needed.
I enjoyed the book tremendously and will look forward to more books by this author in the future. I received a digital ARC copy of this book from the publisher, HarperImpulse (HarperCollins Publishers), via Netgalley.
“A Cottage in the Country” is a lovely story about Maddie, a more mature woman, finding a way to start over again after having her life torn apart when she discovers the man she has been married to for most of her life has found a replacement for her. There’s more to the story and that is part of the story, but suffice to say that Maddie has received quite a blow and has been reeling for a time when this story begins.