When something is not like you expected it to be, but it turns out to be what you needed…

Synopsis

When Brid Harcus is sent to the Orkney Islands, in the far reaches of Scotland, she has high hopes for her trip being short, straightforward and lucrative.

Her mother has inherited a cottage from her Great Aunt Jennet which has been unlived in and unloved for decades, and the time has come to make it habitable and saleable. Easy, right?

But Midness Cottage has other ideas. For one thing it’s rather more ‘fixer upper’ than Country Living, with a resident goose and her goslings who have made themselves at home. And Brid definitely hadn’t planned for the strongly-held local belief that the cottage is meant to be the home of the Orkney Witch, and whomever lives in it must fulfil this role. Not the best message for the estate agent brochure and of course Brid doesn’t believe in magic, let alone have healing powers.

But Orkney does have healing powers. Its beauty and peace are enchanting, its people welcoming, and Brid’s handsome new friend Magnus is rather charming too. When her life back in York starts calling her home, will Brid sell up and ship out? Or did the last Orkney Witch cast a spell and leave a legacy of love if only Brid believed in magic…

My review

Brid Harcus sets off to the Orkney Islands in Scotland. Her goal there is to make her mother’s inherited cottage livable again and sell it as soon as possible. Brid has good hopes that it will be all very quickly, until she actually arrives.
Because Midness Cottage isn’t just in need of a little bit TLC, but in fact it needs everything, just like a standard bathroom, even if the goose and its goslings are a “nice” addition to the place.
And selling might be more challenging than Brid expected, as there is the local belief that the cottage was and will always be the home of the Orkney Witch and no one will get near the place, unless they are in need of the witch’s healing powers.
But Brid doesn’t give up that easily and transform the cottage in an actual nice place, with the help of her new friend Magnus.
Yet when York calls Brid back home, Brid realizes that Midness Cottage and Orkney Islands, but also Magnus have grown on her. So what is ‘home’ for Brid, the place she always lived in, or the place that somehow bewitched her?

There is something about stories about moving to the complete opposite of what you are used to that truly piques my interest.
Yet in this book, the opposite of what Brid is used to, is putting it rather mildly. Because just like Brid, I was in complete shock to see the state of the cottage. And I think I wouldn’t have the courage that Brid had and you would see me running away, screaming, straight back home!

Not only I found Brid courageous by staying in the cottage, but also living with a goose and its goslings, not having a decent bathroom and learning al about the myths about the place she is staying in, for sure it wouldn’t be my cup of tea.
But I also liked her determination to make things work, she knew that she could pimp up the place.

I am not a real fan of stories concerning witchcraft, so when the locals visited Brid, I had several rolls of my eyes, just like Brid did. It always makes me wonder why people would believe that a potion, a cream or a spell could possibly work. But, if that makes them happy, who am I to condemn them?
Now, don’t go worrying if you are just like me, because the witchcraft isn’t a real big part of the book. It appears here and there, and Brid may be seeming to create some potions and creams, but she does it with the same approach as I did: if it doesn’t harm you…

At the start of the book, Brid is adamant to make this a short trip, as she wants to return back to her life in York. And while the cottage and perhaps even the whole place isn’t that appealing on first sight, slowly Brid starts to understand the charm of it.

And it was lovely to see the effect the cottage and the Orkney Islands have on Brid. She makes new friends, and grows even closer with Magnus. But we also see a perhaps stressed Brid becoming more relaxing, calm person. It seems that Brid needed Midness Cottage more than Midness Cottage needed her. And not only that, Brid needed also the community, just as how the community needed a new witch.

Of course Brid has to have a love interest… and it couldn’t be more perfect than Magnus! While at first he may seem rather standoffish, his real, kind, caring and even altruistic nature emerges. And we don’t see that only in the way he helps Brid, but also how he is there for others.

This book shows us how life can sometimes go in a way we didn’t expect. Because Brid for sure never envisioned herself staying at a cottage, brewing potions and creating creams, and being accused of being a witch. Yet in Orkney Islands and in Midness Cottage, she finds herself more at home than she would ever think.

Once again this marvelous author took us to an amazing journey, filled with great characters, geese that steal the show and a warmth that sparks from each page. And a belief that perhaps witchcraft may be real, but not in the way we all expect it to be!