Caffeinated Reviewer

If you love small-town romances with heart, you’ll want to grab The Guest Cottage by Lori Foster. This charming tale takes us to Bramble, Kentucky, a lakeside community with some quirks. It is where our heroine, Marlow Heddings, heads to heal and find herself. Perfect for your beach tote!

Love, forgiveness, and renewal take center stage in the haven of a quiet lakeside town when two very different women bond over one man’s betrayals in this uplifting new series from New York Times bestselling author Lori Foster.

Marlow Heddings is starting over. She’s carried the outrage of her husband Dylan’s affair with a younger woman—and the expectations of his family’s powerful Chicago holdings company—long enough. Now, after another devastating twist of fate, she’s unapologetically moving on.

Arriving in tiny Bramble, Kentucky, Marlow revels in her freedom, swapping her executive suits for sundresses . . . and scouting places to open her dream boutique. Best of all is her new residence, an adorable cottage with gorgeous lake views—and a breathtaking landlord, former Marine Cort Easton. Soon they’re sharing dockside morning coffee and nighttime firefly gazing. Marlow’s new life feels like a dream.

Then Pixie Nolan arrives on her doorstep. With a shocking secret.

To Marlow’s astonishment, Dylan’s “other woman” is a desperate girl of nineteen, destitute, exhausted, and disowned by her family. Defying her manipulative in-laws’ demands, and surprising even herself, Marlow vows to lay down roots in Bramble and help Pixie get on her feet. Then they’ll part ways. But empathy has a way of forging bonds. As Marlow grows close to the hard-working, devoted young woman, she becomes something of a big sister to Pixie.

Now, with each sunrise, Marlow awakens to the life she was truly meant to live, one filled with deepening connections, supportive friendship . . . and even a second chance at love.

I enjoy curling up with one of Lori Foster’s novels. I always know I will find delightful characters, swoon-worthy slow burns and quaint/unique towns. In The Guest Cottage, book one in the Firefly Summer standalone romance series, we meet Marlow Heddings as she buries her cheating husband. She is suffering from betrayal and loss. She turns her back from her old life and rents a lakeside cottage in Bramble, Kentucky, and begins anew. The tale that unfolds delivers found family, new begins and characters you will want to spend time with.

I liked Marlow, and that feeling only grew as the story progressed. This is a story of a strong woman with class, who uplifts others, and deserves a happily ever after.

I loved Bramble, Kentucky, with its strange council that controls the population. From her handsome, quiet landlord to the local ladies and their casserole I was all in. Marlow has ideas about the way her new life will look, but her in-laws in Chicago have other ideas. Then someone she does not expect shows up at her door and Marlow’s grace knows no bounds.

The romance was a slow-burn, and I loved their chemistry and interactions. Former Marine Cort Easton is Marlow’s landlord, and the town loves him. Trust me, you will fall for him, too. He is always there to lend a hand, and the townsfolk think of him as their son. Seeing Marlow and Cort fall was sweet. The story was a magical experience, like catching fireflies on a summer night in July, with the perfect amount of warmth.

If you love uplifting, sweet small-town romances with a touch of heat and a whole lotta heart you’ll want to grab The Guest Cottage.

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About Lori Foster

Since first publishing in January 1996, Lori Foster has become a USA Today, Publisher’s Weekly and New York Times bestselling author. Lori has published through a variety of houses, including Kensington, St. Martin’s, Harlequin, Silhouette, Samhain, and Berkley/Jove. She is currently published with HQN.

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About Kimberly

Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram

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