Small animal vet Sophie Jones has seen her daughter off to university in the USA. As a single parent with an empty nest, she surprises herself - taking a job in a tiny village of Applemore in the Highlands of Scotland. Hundreds of miles from home, she can try to escape the fear that her past might come back to haunt her.

Divorced artist Ben Lewis accepts his grown up daughter's teasing that he's turned into a grumpy hermit. He's perfectly happy with his life in an old farmhouse overlooking the wild Highland beach.

The last thing he needs is someone coming to live full time in the cottage by the shore - and their first meeting is a disaster. But circumstances keep throwing them together, and the attraction between them is undeniable.

Escape to the Scottish Highlands with this sweet small town tale of second chances
from the bestselling author of The Winter Cottage and The Telephone Box Library

Author's note: The Cottage by the Shore is a standalone novel set in the village of Applemore - if you've read The Winter Cottage, The Highland Flower Farm, Midsummer House or Christmas at Applemore you'll recognise some familiar friendly faces, but you don't need to have read them all to enjoy it.

For my readers in the USA: like all the Applemore stories, this is a sweet, closed door small town romance!