A Seaside Escape is a good fit for those seeking a heartwarming and feel-good romance that explores the unexpected twists and turns of love and relationships.

I reviewed this book under its original title in 2015.

Ok this book made me cry not once, but twice, while reading it! That's a good thing though. For a book to make me cry means I am so into it that I am affected by things happening in it.

There are a few things I love about this book which stand out for me. The main thing is where it is, for the most part, set - Scotland! Obviously as I come from Scotland myself this makes the book stand out for me. I love that the main female character has esteem issues over her curves. And I love that the author herself moved from England to Scotland and has incorporated this into her story.

Mallory Westerman runs a small shop in Leeds. One day she, literally, bumps into a Canadian man, Sam Buchanan (a good Scottish name by the way!) and instantly finds him attractive. This is mutual and they start spending more time together, eventually falling in love.

A little over a year later they are considering a move, to a cottage in Scotland. This move is prompted by their shared love of Scotland and its scenery. This is something I totally understand, as I am one of those who truly appreciates the countryside and scenery my country has to offer. It is what makes so many people want to visit Scotland for themselves.

Mallory is in the process of settling herself into their new home when unforeseen circumstances mean she does it on her own, and she has to accept that the move is a solitary one, rather than the shared experience they had hoped for.

On arriving Mallory meets a few of the locals, one being Gregory, the local barman who is extremely grumpy towards her. The other locals, however, treat her well, and welcome her with open arms into the community.

Mallory is tempted to leave Scotland again and return to her roots in Leeds. After all her shop is there, her friends are there, and her memories are there. But something makes her stay.

Greg and Mallory slowly become friends, as they discover they share a common bond. This brings them closer together, but also at times pulls them further apart.

Mallory feels herself falling for Greg a bit, but also feels that in doing so she is betraying all that she shared with Sam, her first love. Greg also falls for Mallory, but past experiences begin to push them apart.

Misunderstandings between the two constantly seem to stop them from taking things further than just being friends. In the end another unforeseen circumstance makes Mallory realise exactly what she could lose, for the second time in her life.

Can they work things out and be together? Or has fate got something else in store?

The two parts which made me cry? Well I didn't at the point some people would, to be honest, as I kind of saw it coming just before it happened. The first part was a get together in Canada of family and friends. The words spoken by those people really got to me.

The second part was near the end. All I will say is it involves a wedding and song lyrics. The words are perfect, the sentiment just right for the occasion and the circumstances which brought them to that moment.

On finishing the story I googled Bridge Over the Atlantic, and up came results of the bridge mentioned in the story. It is called Clachan Bridge, and is located on the West coast of Scotland, 13 miles from Oban. It connects the Isle of Seil with the mainland, as mentioned in the story. The photos I saw were exactly as I imagined the bridge when reading it!

The author has created a story which pulls the reader in. You think you know where the story is going, but she brings in several twists and turns which makes you start to doubt whether or not the characters will do what you want them to do! It is a believable story, set in the perfect place, obviously! A definite must read book if you enjoy love stories.

I enjoyed the quick romance in this book. I felt like the situation was written in a "real life" kind of way. If you enjoy a sweet, quick read romantic book, you should pick this one up.

Mallory is as happy as can be with her gift shop or so she thought. Because then she literally fell into Sam's arms. Oh how sweet their love was and then, just as they were settling down, there's something horrible. Mallory is resilient and she's got a good friend (and more) in Greg. This will take you up and down but it's a good read. Thanks to Edelweiss for the ARC>.

Review of previous release with title “Bridge Over The Atlantic”

Bridge over the Atlantic is the story of two people who find love when they least expect it. They aren't emotionally ready but love knocks at the door of their hearts hoping they'll take a chance on what could be!
I LOVE the characters so much! They went through a lot and I was emotionally invested in their journey. There was laughter, sadness, healing, happiness. I would cry my eyes out in some scenes, and have a wide grin on my face in others!
Music and vivid scenery perfectly complemented the story. Lisa really makes me want to visit Scotland one of these days!

I loved this book! It was sweet, heartwarming, and the characters were great. I will definitely recommend this as a summer beach read.

Really enjoyable read. Good characters and a Good story. Well worth a read. Think others will enjoy.

Really enjoyable book great story and left me wanting to tad more from this author will be wanting to read more

A rollercoaster of emotions is how I would describe this book and I loved it.

It is a story of love, loss, grief and new beginnings. Beautifully written with vivid descriptions, I want to visit Scotland now - such a stunning location.

I couldn't put this book down. It was a very emotional story and had me crying both with sadness and happiness. I really wanted the characters to find their happy ever after. I really enjoyed the twists and turns in the story.

Highly recommended. I am really looking to the next book from Lisa Hobman.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Life is often referred to as a rollercoaster, and for Mallory Westerman it certainly rings true. A strong, independent business woman, Mally had thought she would never find love. Until she met him. The guy she quite literally fell for.

I’m not going to go into any more detail, as I don’t want to spoil this enchanting story for you.

With endearing characters, a charming setting, and tales of love, loss and friendship, A Seaside Escape is a truly lovely novel. This recent release from Lisa Hobman made me smile, laugh, and tear-up too.

A perfect read for the romantic soul in each of us, and one I highly recommend curling up with this winter.

**** stars from me.



I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.

Mallory is quite happy with her life making things to sell in her little gift ship in Leeds, resigned to the fact that she is never going to meet the man of her dreams.... that is until she actually falls into his arms on a cobbled street!

For Sam and Mallory it is love at first sight and after a whirlwind romance they decide to set up home in Scotland.... but then tragedy strikes! Will Mallory be able to live there on her own or will Greg be able to help her overcome her grief?

A lovely book, very emotional with great characters and great descriptions of Scotland, I will definitely be looking for more books by this author

Beautiful story that was told really, really well. This will definitely be a reread!!

This was a lovely book that fills you with all kinds of emotions, heartbreak, joy and everything in between. I didn't want it to end! Lovely heartwarming novel.

I’m not quite sure I know what to say here. I’ve such mixed thoughts over this book … Okay. So. When I say mixed thoughts, it’s not on the book itself because actually, I really enjoyed everything about it, except when I didn’t, that is to say when I was bawling like a baby, which happened so regularly. Yes, this book hit me in ways I couldn’t have dreamed of. It was like I was connected with Mallory, who has a quiet life working away making beautiful crafts for her gift shop. Actually, I’ll start you there. The descriptions and the work put into Mallory’s art was given to us beautifully, and I happily fell into a book that had so many pretty moments. I always like a book that gives us something other than the romance aspect, and here I enjoyed ‘watching’ her make her little chalkboards and the like. The characters in general were well done, and shooting forward I love how after only a short time in her new home in scotland (such a beautiful setting) she was considered part of the community. It’s a dramatic type of book, and it took me a while to get used to this fact and to the characters being what I would dub very over-dramatic, with people running off, driving off , to get away from their emotions and the like, just because I’m more used to romantic comedies as opposed to the whole windswept, getting carried away by your emotions thing, in particular I worried about how I felt about Greg, and was afraid where his need for love would go, but then I fell into the whirlwind of it all and enjoyed it immensely.

To go back (I know, I’m sorry!) you can see from the blurb there’s a Knight in shining armour, a knight that was so lovely and held Mallory so dear. They were truly the couple that are infatuated with each other, in a lovely, mesmerising, put-a-smile-on-your-face way, and I loved the snapshots we were given of the quirky things they did, of their love for each other, as well as some musical snapshots (there’s a lot of songs I loved in this book and a lot I’ll be looking up too!) There is of course a happening, an occurrence and (exhales), that really affected me. I hadn’t expected it to, because the book has so many lighter sides to it, but it really did. And then it seemed that every time she cried, via flashbacks, I cried some more. And then when she laughed, boom! I was laughing too (sometimes through tears!) The flashbacks to happier times in Mallory’s life hit me with a flood of emotions when she got to the point of those dreams where she knew she wasn’t there anymore, and then I’d go and cry again! The romance in this was beautiful from all sides, the warmth of both friendship and love all encompassing, and with my hands tied by the blurb, I can only say that both Sam and Greg were perfection in different ways (many oh my! moments with Greg, and aw, he’s so lovely moments with Sam!). All in all a book I won’t be forgetting in a hurry! Thanks so much to Melanie at Aria for a chance to be in this lovely blog tour and for this book in return for an honest review.

Rating: 4.5/5

I really loved this book and couldn't put it down. I adored all the characters and just smiled throughout the book.. It truly took me to the village in Scotland and i could picture the beautiful cottage. I was sad when the book ended as I enjoyed every minute of reading it. I highly recommend this book.

The Blurb :
Mallory Westerman is the successful proprietor of Le Petit Cadeau, a gift shop extraordinaire in thriving Leeds.
Concentrating solely on her business, she has almost given up on finding someone to love. That is until she literally falls into the arms of a handsome, intriguing stranger who becomes her Knight in shining armour.
The whirlwind romance that ensues changes her life-path irrevocably. However, the road to true love is never smooth and things don't always turn out how you expect...

My Thoughts :
We meet Mallory Westerman, she owns Le Petit Cadeau, a gift shop in Leeds.
Mallory is very likeable and I instantly fell in love with her. She has some issues with herself and her self confidence as she is curvy and not your typical stick thin model. When Mallory meets Sam, who is from Canada life changes and they fall deeply in love. As they plan their future, they decide to move to Scotland to start their life there.
Without giving away too much and any spoilers, this is a story that has many twists and turns and is about love, loss, and moving on. It will have you smiling and in tears as you go on one emotional rollercoaster with the charactors.
Lisa Hobman captured it beautifully and her style of writing leaves you turning the page wanting more.
There was a bit of jumping around into the past which I didnt think was at times necessary, but overall this is a book you will want to pick up and get lost in.

If you enjoyed Cecelia Ahern’s PS I Love You and Jojo Moyes’ Me Before You, then Lisa Hobman’s A Seaside Escape is a book that you should definitely add to your list!

Being the owner of a successful business might give a person plenty of professional satisfaction, but it does not leave one with any time for romance as Mallory Westerman knows only too well. As the successful proprietor of Le Petit Cadeau, a gorgeous gift shop in thriving Leeds, Mallory has given up all hope of finding Mr Right and on love, but Cupid’s arrow has a habit of striking when you least expect it as she finds out when love unexpectedly comes her way and turns her entire life upside down…

When Sam comes into her life, Mallory cannot believe that someone as smart, successful and as sexy as him could be interested in somebody like her. As their relationship deepens and plans are made to take their relationship to the next level and move to Scotland, a sudden twist of fate soon puts paid to all their hopes and dreams for a happy future together. As Mallory begins to pick up the pieces of her life, she begins to wonder whether happiness will continue to elude her or whether there is hope that she might find the future which she has been dreaming of all these years.

As new friendships are formed and old ghosts are laid to rest, Mallory is determined to stop living in the shadows and embrace her new life for who knows what she has been looking for could be just around the corner…

Lisa Hobman is a magnificent talent and I laughed, cried and sobbed alongside her characters. Mallory is a wonderfully believable heroine who shares the same doubts, worries and insecurities we do and I could not help but root for her and hope that she gets the happy ending which she so richly deserves.

It’s easy to look at the cover of this book and think that is a typical chick lit/rom com, but it is so much deeper than that. It is a real, highly affecting and searingly emotional read that will linger in your mind longer after you turn the last page.

Lisa Hobman is a name to watch out for and if you’re looking for a book to lose yourself in and curl up with this winter then A Seaside Escape is definitely the book for you!

This was lovely read with a whole mixture of emotions from sad, joyous, heart breaking and happiness. It really was an all round emotional read.

I was shocked by what happened to Sam, very sad and emotional, it did make my eyes go a little teary. I sure wasn't expecting that to happen. It really is quite scary to think how quickly your life can change with just one event.

I loved getting to know all of the different characters, seeing how they all interacted with each other and seeing how Mallory coped with all that fate had thrown at her.

The story was very well written, I was drawn in right from the very beginning. I loved how the story was set in Leeds/Yorkshire and Scotland, all the places were very well described that I felt as if I was really there.

I was pleasantly surprised as there was a point within the book, that I thought aah I can see where this is going, it's going to become cliched and lead to a predictable ending. Well I'm very glad to report that I was wrong on that front. This story was definitely not predictable.

Being American, a Texan no less, I must suggest reading this with book with computer access to check out locations and iTunes. I wanted to locate and keep a list all the places of interest and listen to all the songs referenced. A box of tissues would be helpful also. With that done I throughly loved this book. It has loneliness, love, sadness, regrets, love, conflicts and just enough happiness. A real read.

This was a very emotional story to read.

I liked the way the characters were introduced before any big things happened in the plot. I felt really connected to them right away. I also loved the Canadian connections in the story!

At times I felt that everything was going too perfectly, when everything fell into place for Mallory. However, not everything went as she had planned, and she does have to face hardships. When things went perfectly, I didn’t think the story was realistic enough, such as her relationship with Sam’s family. But at the same time, the difficult sides to a relationship were displayed from Greg’s point of view, which balanced it out.

I loved this book! It is truly a heart wrenching read.