The third book in the Highland, Georgia romantic comedy series from Laura Trentham, A Highlander is Coming to Town, full of love, laughs…and highlanders! You better watch out. . . Holt Pierson is dreading Christmas. His parents absconded to Florida for the season and left him to handle the family farm which will be his one day–whether he wants it or not. Driven by duty, Holt has always … it or not. Driven by duty, Holt has always followed the path expected of him. But lately, he’s been questioning what he wants and where he belongs. Will assuming the responsibility of the Pierson farm make him happy or is there something–or someone–else out in the wider world calling to him?
To Claire Smythe, the Scottish lead singer of a touring band, Highland, Georgia, is the perfect place to hide . . .until a very handsome and deeply curious Holt begins to ask all the questions Claire doesn’t want to answer. As Holt draws Claire out from under and into the fabric of small-town life, can Claire put the past behind her and embrace the unexpected gifts of the season–including the new and lasting love?
“Laura Trentham creates a romance that is both extremely sensual and phenomenal.”
—Fresh Fiction
more
A light, sweet, and a little steamy romance between an opposites attract couple. Can Holt and Claire blend their lives together and find the love they’ve always wanted. Enjoyed reading this Christmasy romance I volunteered an honest opinion for this book.
My first Christmas read of this season and I loved it. Set in small town Highland, GA, where the residents embrace all things Scottish, has Claire hiding out here while she ponders or procrastinates her decisions, to be finalized on her twenty-fifth birthday.
Holt, born and raised here in Highland has never had any desire to pack up and leave, he’s always known he wants to stay on the farm.
These two meet, their chemistry sizzles, but Claire doesn’t plan on staying, and Holt’s not leaving.
I always enjoy Ms. Trentham’s journeys, so well written and descriptive to place me in the midst of it all, whether they’re at Ms. Meadow’s house, in town, or at the farm. The dialog had me feeling all the emotions.
A lighter, happy Christmas vibe read with angst, heat and humor. A Stand alone with a very HEA!
5* Magical Stars
This was my first read into the Highlander series and can be read as a standalone. The story of Claire and Holt was sweet and sexy and some very funny moments too.
Claire has been “on the run” for quite some time as the lead singer of a touring band. When she decides it is time to part with the band, she is content to hide out in Highland, Georgia until her 25th birthday where serious decisions have to be made about the future of her life. What she did not anticipate is meeting the very sexy and friendly Holt who happens to be the neighbour of Ms Meadows whom Claire is caring for after a nasty fall. There is no love lost between Ms Meadows and Holts family and I enjoyed reading how Holt and Claire wormed their way into Ms Meadows heart.
When Claire develops feelings for Holt and Ms Meadows, she finds it hard to stay focussed on her decision making and reveal her true cards to them. When the magic of Christmas approaches families are reunited unexpectedly and truths are shared.
I enjoyed this well written story very much, and the POV’s from both Claire and Holt made the story flow well.
While the world is dealing with Covid19, this book was a nice escape for me. It has a great plot that does not have the normal conflict between the main male and female characters (Holt and Claire). The issue between them is that a major life decision needs to be made that will either keep them close in location or bring them apart.
I enjoyed the interaction of Holt and Claire. Both of them are really good people and I cared about them. I adore stories with a character of the older population and this book has Ms. Meadows. She is crusty on the outside and has a heart of gold lying beneath.
This is the third book in the Highland, Georgia series but it can definitely be read independently. I read the first book in the series and missed the second, so now I need to backtrack and catch up.
I want to thank St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for giving me the pleasure in reading the Advance Reading Copy of this book. My review is my own opinion not influenced by receiving the ARC.
I’ve read all three books in this series now. This is a standalone however knowing the premise of the full story, reading about all the characters, and visiting with them once again, always makes it more enjoyable for me.
Loved Holt! He is such a good person – always doing the “right” thing – for everyone else – that he sometimes forgets to take care of himself. Claire is a great character too, just deeply conflicted about her life and not really liking herself very much. As the blurb will tell you, she is hiding out in Highland, from her life decisions, from her family, and ultimately from herself. A very touching and sweet (and sometimes spicy) story of two lost souls coming together…and draggin’ those around them into the light as well! Ms. Meadows is a hoot, too. Holt and Claire though? SO good for one another. Warm and touching story. This series keeps getting better and better.
A Highlander Coming To Town is the 3rd book in the series in the Highland, Georgia Series by Laura Trentham and just like the first 2 it keeps you laughing, sighing, loving until the very end! I recommend to everyone new or old to Laura’s books.
This was a heartwarming novel! Claire is staying in small town Highland, Georgia, well really she is hiding out there. But what she doesn’t know is that she will become close to some people and meet a handsome man along the way. The story is full of holiday charm and delightful humor!
I really like Laura Trentham’s writing and I liked the previous books too much, but this one took me a long time to engage in the story both because of the unnecessarily rudeness that Claire treated Holt and because I didn’t understand why the poor man always insisted on taking care and being interested in women who wanted nothing to do with him. Oh god! Poor guy!
Holt has been interested in Claire since the first time he saw her singing at the city festival but Claire has always acted aloof and distant. Now they end up getting closer and Holt proves at all times how he is an honorable man and how he would like to get to know the mysterious singer better.
If I had already liked him in the previous books, now I fell in love for good and almost go into the book to convince the guy to give up the arrogant and rude girl. But Claire redeems herself in the end and their declaration of love is super cute.
3,5/5 stars
I received a free electronic copy of this romantic novel from Netgalley, Laura Trentham, and St. Martin’s Paperbacks. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of the work. Laura Trentham writes a feel-good romance, a perfect distraction on gloomy winter days.
This novel got shuffled to the back of my Kindle and I missed its publishing date by quite a bit, but it couldn’t have come to my attention at a better time. Two days of snow, two additional days of mud, both of which are very rare in my patch of high plains desert. Ms. Trentham kept me snuggled into my reading chair with tea and cookies and at least one cat until the weather improved. Thanks!
I really enjoyed Claire and Holt’s story. Having not read previous stories in this series, it was really easy for me to pick this up and understand the dynamics of the characters and this small Scottish-made town of Highland, Georgia.
Definitely, 5 stars!!!
I really enjoyed this book! I loved all the characters and found myself rooting for all of them to get their happily ever after! Holt is a local in Highland. Clair is hiding out and trying to stay under the radar while she makes a big decision about her future. She’s been taking care of an older woman and laying low, but Holt is trying his best to get her to open up to him. Their story is very cute. I wanna go back and read the other stories in the series!
Awesome holiday fun, emotional thrills and some laugh out loud moments, this heartwarming journey has it all. Really enjoyed this action packed adventure filled with engaging charters and sweetly fun passion. Great reading
Trentham captures the Scottish Christmas spirit in Highland – or at least what I perceive to be the Scottish Christmas spirit. This installment is a close focus novel with much of the action taking place between Holt and Claire. While I missed the town, I loved the chance to dive deeper into the hero and heroine. Perfect for anyone in need of some Scottish Christmas spirit.
Claire is going by the last name of Smythe. Her real name is Glennallen, of the family of Glennallen Whisky in Scotland. Running away has been her life for several years and now her time is almost up to decide what to do. Go back to Scotland and the business or stay in Highland, Georgia. As Claire starts making friends and opens her heart, it’s even harder to think of leaving. When you fall in love with the sweetest man in Highland, how can you go, especially at Christmas. Funny one minute and sad the next, you’re always rooting for Claire to stay. I read this is in one afternoon.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.
This is a light romantic comedy about two people who couldn’t be more different. Holt is kind, caring and always does what is expected of him whether he wanted to or not. Claire was hiding out in Highland so she could keep a secret. She was so worried about her secret coming out that she wouldn’t let anybody get to know her, making her a hard person to like. As Holt and Claire got to know each other better, Holt knew Claire was hiding something, and he was determined to find out what it was. It took some time, but he finally got the truth out of her. She thought he would run away when he found out but nope.
I enjoyed this story and loved the ending. I recommend it to romantic suspense fans.
I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.
While I thought the writing and storyline of this book were good, the chemistry was in my opinion, kind of bland. I liked the small town setting, the holiday theme and the hero, Holt. He came across as very genuine and he had a big heart. Claire for me was just OK. I personally found her a tad annoying. So all together I’d call this a 50/50 split. This is my unbiased, freely posted review.
In this book, we return to the small and quirky Highland, Ga. Claire Smythe, the Scottish lead singer of the Scunners, left the band and decided to hide out in the small town, until her 25th birthday, when she must make a decision about her inheritance as an heiress to the Glennallen Whisky family. Meanwhile she is working as a helper to Ms Meadows , an elderly widow. While trying to hide out from her family, a family where she never felt a part of, she comes on the radar of home grown farmer Holt Pierson, the current Laird of the Games, from the Highland festival. Claire is embraced by Holt and Ms Meadows and feels more at home with them than she ever had her own family, but her deadline is approaching.
This is a very sweet story about two strangers who come from totally different backgrounds discovering how much they have in common. Lots of lol moments, charming characters and an engaging plot. I read an ARC from NetGalley.com. This is
I cannot be the only one who wasn’t sure about Holt at the beginning of this series. Of course, by the end of the first book he had endeared himself to me. But still, would I be able to fall in love with him as the main character of a story? Why yes, yes I would.
This is a touching Christmas story. It has all of the elements to tug at your heartstrings and give you a warm feeling in your heart and soul. We have the lonely hero who is friends with everyone, but has nobody of his own. There’s the feisty heroine who has never really felt unconditional love and acceptance from her family, but has no problem (even unintentionally) creating a chosen family to surround her. Don’t worry, there’s even a cranky old lady who actually has a heart of gold that helps these two find their way to one another.
What I love about this story is the way Claire’s secret is handled. Holt knew she had a secret going in, he was aware there were aspects of her life and past she was not yet able or willing to discuss. One of the issues I had with the first book was the secret keeping. In this story it was handled in a much better way for the type of reader I am. Sure, I felt Claire could have easily told Holt some things sooner and he would have been fine with that. But it’s okay that she didn’t since he knew she was holding back. In other words, her secrets were no secret.
There was another reason to love Holt after reading this book. Holt had a great childhood. He’s very close to his parents and looks up to his father, always has. That did not make him blind to some of the mistakes his father may have made over the years when it came to their neighbors. And Holt wasn’t afraid to call his dad on these issues. Part of that is because Holt is an extremely honorable and moral man. And part of that is because Holt always had his parents’ unconditional love, therefore he wasn’t afraid to tell them the truth when something about their actions bothered him. It’s really such a subtle and, most likely, overlooked aspect of this story.
Now that this series seems to be over, I need to look at reading some of this author’s other work. I’ve been enjoying her writing style and the way she is able to write such amazing chemistry between her characters.
**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of Net Galley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**
Love this book and the author!
Have you been reminded of fond childhood memories while reading books? What were they?
After looking on this cover of “A Highlander is Coming to Town” by Laura Trentham I was expecting this story to be very Christmasy and a little too “much” for this season, but it wasn’t.
Reading this book brought back a very fond childhood memory of mine.
My mom’s family lived far away from us while I grew up and I love spending time at my aunt’s house while visiting my grandparents.
In the staircase up to the the first floor on the wall my aunt had a small tapestry hanging.
I don’t remember if it was embroidered or printed on, but it had a poem on it. I loved sitting in the staircase and looking on this tapestry and this poem. It became my favorite poem and sitting there was my favorite thing to do every time I visited.
The poem was “(My love is like) A red, red rose” by Robert Burns.
And this poem is mentioned as a song in this book and it made my heart swell with happy memories.
There were some very funny and sweet moments in this book. Hubby sent me a few weird look when I laughed out loud.
But there were something about the way this story was written that doesn’t quite sit with me.
Like the POV’s could change in the middle of the chapters without a clear divide between the two. And a few other things that I can’t seem to put my finger on and explain.
All in all, I liked this book, men in kilts were mentioned and because it brought back some very sweet childhood memories I’ll rate this book in the low 4’s