Windswept by Patricia Evans had well-developed characters and a plot that was engaging. This book was a great read. I highly recommend!

**Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the e-ARC. All opinions expressed are voluntary and my own.**

The story is quite fast paced, I really enjoyed the exploration of boundaries, in so many ways but especially in managing someone with an active addiction. I liked all the characters, Alden's family in particular and the local eccentrics. Not my usual style of books but I enjoyed it.

"I've felt your heart beating in my chest since the moment I saw you.”

Flawless.

I have not read books by this author previously, but I am going to consume every single one now. I have fallen head over heels for these MC's. Their journey, their families, their meet-cute, the Highlands, the whiskey, and even a lighthouse turn into this beautiful mosaic of human experience. I couldn't put this book down and would read an entire series based around these wonderful women. Sapphic, Scotland, soulmates.... be still my little lesbian heart.

Quite the roller coaster this book, with a fish out of water perspective, I could suspend my disbelief, that someone would move from New Orleans to Edinburgh at the request of someone that died but would they really do that without a warm coat? That aside, the story is quite fast paced, I really enjoyed the exploration of boundaries, in so many ways but especially in managing someone with an active addiction. I liked all the characters, Alden's family in particular and the local eccentrics. The story is UK based but the author is American and whilst she says she has done extensive research in both Scotland and Ireland for her books (with or without a warm coat is unspecified), she mixed up the dialect. When the characters slip into dialect, which isn't consistent, it is Irish idioms that they use, not Scottish, hence I am deducting the star that I usually award for UK set books. A light fun read, mostly, although there is a jarring scene of violence early in the book.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Windswept - Patricia Evans
3/5 STARS 2/5 SPICE

I was given a free advanced reader copy of this book through NetGalley. I am leaving this honest review voluntarily.

This is so wholesome and sad. I don’t want to spoil much because a lot of big stuff happens throughout this that really shapes the book. This book is really strong in love, family, and loving YOUR life. It starts in New Orleans, Sabine is a strong FMC and she is taking care of her alcoholic mother (to the point where. Sabine has stopped living her own life). The passing of Sabine’s Aunt Thea is the wake-up call she desperately needs. Following Theas Will she hopes on a plane to Scotland with zero plan and a backpack of her belongings. A note in the folder from her aunt's lawyer brings her to a small traditional Scottish town. This is where the real story begins. Sabine is finding herself and making many mistakes along the way. She is taken in with open arms by the Wallace’s who are by far the cutest family on earth!!!!! The love story unravels from there because the Wallaces have a brooding, masculine daughter who would fit the Google definition of Scottish. Her job is literally historical restoration. And you better believe she does it all with her big hands! If you love heartwarming stories, almost Hallmark style with a bit more spice. Found families, rekindling with family, love at first sight, sapphic, Scotland, small towns, beautiful scenery, “meant to be” kinds of books. This is for you. I don’t tend to like this kind of story too much. The start really was like a 1-2 star for me. But once I hit 40% I was into it. There is this train station scene which is totally TRIGGER WARNINGS FOR SA. That was intense and totally out of nowhere. Anyway, the start of the book felt rushed and a bit nonsensical. The FMC hooks up with another character before meeting the other FMC which is always super weird I find. And it was COMPLETELY unnecessary, they didn’t even talk about it again. One chapter they get it on and the next she’s leaving town. I had a hard time keeping track of the plot up until that 40% point. So for me, this is only a 3-star. I did really fall in love with the characters. They are all so distinct despite there being a ton of never really feels like a lot.

Started well, but there were too many ideas for one book. I was unsure what the author was going for - mystery, romance, thriller, travel log. It was confusing. Also
I could forgive idea of the sea crashing onto the cliffs of Edinburgh castle as artistic licence, but signing in ASL to a boy who only learnt BSL a few years ago and him understanding perfectly is just too annoying to overlook. They are different languages! Including deaf characters is great, but at least get the basics right.

The main characters of this book are Sabine and Alden.
Sabine takes care of her mother in New Orleans. She is a actress who has been out of work for quite awhile and is an alcoholic. When Sabine's aunt passes away, she finds out that she has left her a choice. She can take the meager amount she has left her or she can go to a small town in Scotland for a year and receive a sizeable inheritance. Sabine chooses Scotland.
Alden recently had a girlfriend from America break her heart. When she meets Sabine by chance in her town, she is very guarded. This town being very small and Alden's parents being very friendly, the two keep running into each other and realize that Sabine's aunt had secrets for them to find out.
I would recommend.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book started out strong. The first couple of chapters, which take place in New Orleans, were powerful and beautifully written. Once Sabine flew to Scotland however, the story started unraveling for me.

The first red flag for me was the random stranger Sabine had sex with when first arriving in Scotland. It was senseless and didn't add to the story one bit. I kept waiting for the person to pop up again to cause mayhem. The same goes for Alden's ex-girlfriend. She pops up for a few pages, never to be heard from again. if this was an attempt to add drama or conflict, it didn't work.

The other issue I had, and this is just personal preference, is the butch/femme basis for the book. Every time I heard Alden referred to in a masculine way, I rolled my eyes.

This was just too many stories in one that couldn't decide what it wanted to be. It was a romance, it was mystical, it was a drama, but it wasn't a fully-hashed novel.

Note to publisher - I'm not sure if what was shared is the final version, but I found a lot of grammatical errors, such as words missing.

This was good, but it felt like there were maybe to many side stories going on at the same time, so sometimes it was hard to keep up with what was happening, in the moment. The beginning was what kept me reading this book to the end. The relationships throughout this book was great especially the relationship between Sabine and Alden. There's quite a bit of drama, angst, heartbreak ,and triumph in this story,and I was here for all of it. I would definitely recommend this book to my friends and I look forward to what's next from this author.

This was an awesome read. Patricia did an amazing job bringing this story to life. I enjoyed it tremendously and can't wait for another book by Patricia. Well Done! I recommend.
Thank you, Bold Strokes Books, and NetGalley.

this was amazing, not a 5 star but still good regardless, I liked it a lot

thank you netgalley for the arc

Holy Moly! What a seductive tale of finding yourself in another country. I usually have a good chance of figuring out a story before I get to the end but this one kept in entranced until the last page. Thoroughly enjoyed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for providing an eARC for a honest review.

This book…my goodness this book. This book is a dichotomy, it’s like two books in one. You start out reading one book and then wham, it’s like a totally different book takes over about halfway in!

So first, the good…the story started off really strong, the writing was engaging and I very quickly got a clear picture of who Sabine was and what was currently happening in her life. I liked the uniqueness of the plot and honestly I’m always going to be a sucker for anyone who saves a woman from being assaulted so Alden was immediately getting brownie points. There was some nice chemistry brewing and people were being referred to as “beautifully savage” or some such so I was looking forward to where I thought this book was going.

And then, it was like the book just suddenly veered off course. The author skipped the whole (necessary, and in my opinion best part) getting to know and fall for each other part of the story and suddenly Sabine is insanely jealous of an ex and Alden is darn near professing her love. After basically one day of knowing each other. It was such a jolt to the system that if I had been drinking I would have done a spit take!

I did finish it because I wanted to know the mystery of why the aunt did what she did and the book was short enough for me to get through quickly. Which honestly I think was part of the problem. It needed about another good forty to fifty pages of them getting to know and fall for each other before the ex came to town. As-is the book has potential, but for me it just stopped being believable and it lost me.

I received an ARC of this ebook from Netgalley and all opinions are my own.

In New Orleans we have Sabine Rowan, a hard working ‘set dresser’ at the theater her family owns. Her talent and hard work has seen her working her trade at theaters close and far from home. Now she's stuck in NO mainly because her mother and father had a bad accident, killing her father, while after treatment for her injuries she became a semi housebound actress who survived on alcohol. Sabine was trying to look after her but…when Sabine's aunt Thea dies she leaves Sabine a chance to see the world, mainly Scotland where she must stay a year to get the rest of her inheritance.
Meanwhile in Scotland Alden Wallace has moved back in with her parents when her younger sister dies, leaving her nephew Declan with her family. Alden works on old estates left to the wilds. Fixing them up for the tourists so they can see how life was in Scotland years ago. Of course when the two mains meet it doesn’t go well, seeing as it's the middle of a winter storm and Sabine doesn’t have a place to stay.
Ms Evans does a great job wrangling together a really wonderful read with a plot that keeps you interested. Main characters Sabine and Alden are very likable and the supporting cast excellent. Simply a very, very nice read.
ARC via NetGalley/ Bold Stroke Books

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

this book covers a multitude of topics, alcoholism, abuse, estrangement, pregnancy, death, and loss

sabine rowan life is about to change, her favourite auntie has just died and part of her will stats that sabine has 3 hours to leave new orleans and get on a plane... destination unknown and stay there for a year

she cant tell anyone

and so begins the adventure

i have to say i thoroughly enjoyed this book and couldnt put it down at all...in fact at times i cried thats how this book moved me

will be looking out for more of this authors books from now on

This is the 1st book I have read by this author i enjoyed the setting in scotland but it seemed it was trying to be too scottish. I found some of the things the characters done a little strange feeding bagels to cows, driving without seat belts to name a few. Also so much whiskey!
The storyline follows Sabine on her journey after her aunts death their is a lot going on in this book possibly a little too much. The emotion of the main character holds your interest. Thanks for advanced copy.

This is the first time of reading a book from this author and I was interested because of it being set in Scotland, the birthplace of my grandparents. A romance in the windswept highlands of Scotland sounded interesting. Sabine is set to inherit money from her aunt if she lives a year there, but she must leave New Orléans in three hours. She takes the challenge and lands just in time for a winter snow storm, something she is totally unprepared for.
Alden comes reluctantly to her aid and as the pair become get to know one another a spark of chemistry begins and grows. I enjoyed the story for the most part, however I found it a tad disjointed, with some of the storylines just fizzled out or scenes stopped too abruptly. With the jump in time lines, the story then felt rushed as it was explained.
I think it lacked a believable emotional connection between the characters, rushed the romance. It almost felt like perhaps it had been edited too much, so there were gaps.
It was a nice story and I enjoyed it.

I’m sorry Patricia. I hate this book so much. I got like. 70% in and I cannot keep going I just hate it so much. Not posting anywhere else

This has been an Outlander-style story but in a modern way, if only because it takes place mainly in the highlands of Scotland and the majority of its protagonists are Scots, lovers of whiskey, who even wear the occasional article of typical clothing. But don't let this be a reason not to appreciate the depth of the story, since it deals with complex issues in a sensitive way and has its final plot twist that puts everything in its place.

Sabine is a woman in her thirties, from New Orleans, who has just suffered the loss of her aunt to whom she was very close, more so than with her mother, alcoholic and dependent on her, To Sabine's surprise, her aunt has left a very specific and detailed will that gives her the option of continuing to care for her mother, with no hope that she will give up drinking, or leave everything and go on a trip immediately to a place that she doesn't know. Without being able to think about it much, she decided to go on the trip that takes her first to Edinburgh and then to a town on the north coast of Scotland, right in the middle of the cold and snow wave, she with her New Orleans clothes that consist of sneakers and denim jacket.

But in that highland town she will be lucky enough to meet Alden, an architect who recovers historic buildings and restores them with her own hands. And from their first meeting in the pub kitchen until the end everything has been a series of diverse situations, surprising in some cases, magical, dramatic, but taken with a positive attitude in all cases, which takes away the sting a little.

As I say, there are all kinds of situations, final surprises, inexplicable things, perhaps magical. But what stands out are the two protagonists of it, Sabine for her bravery and Alden for her strength. A couple not to forget.

This wasn’t for me. I found the writing messy and tedious at times. The character names were trying a bit too hard. The synopsis sounded great so I wanted to like this but it just didn’t work out in execution.