julie caplin – Book Dust Magic

Escepism to Ireland in a novel: A Cosy Cottage in Ireland by Julie Caplin (Book Review) #SummerRead #Books #Ireland

The Cosy Cottage in Ireland by Julie Caplin book cover

GIFTED / Today I want to talk about a book that was on my tbr ever since it came out, back in 2021. It takes place in a small town in Ireland and it is presented as a nice book to get away with. The cover is cute and the story inside is the to relax with.
The Cosy Cottage in Ireland was published on Semtember 21st and it has 373 pages.
I want to thank the publisher One More Chapter for providing me a copy for review.

About the book:

FROM GOODREADS /

Talented lawyer Hannah Campbell is after a change in her workaholic Manchester life – so on an uncharacteristic whim she books herself a place at the world-renowned Killorgally Cookery School in County Kerry. But on her first night In Ireland, sampling the delights of Dublin, Hannah can’t resist falling for the charms of handsome stranger Conor. It’s only when Hannah arrives at her postcard-pretty home at Killorgally for the next twelve weeks that she discovers what happens in Dublin doesn’t quite stay in Dublin…

Nestled amongst rolling green hills and breath taking countryside, the cookery school throws Hannah and Conor together again–for better or worse.

Review:

The Cosy Cottage in Ireland is the second book by the author that I have read, and it will probably be the last one.
I don’t think her books are particularly bad, I just don’t think they are for me.

This was a buddy read with Amanda. Last year (or maybe in 2020) we read Julie Caplin’s novel set in Croatia (my country) and although we didn’t really enjoy it, we knew we wanted to try her other work.

Just to give you an example how forgettable this story was, I will mention that while we were reading and discussing it, I surely favorited one before the other, and now I don’t even know which one I thought was better: the one set in Croatia or this one set in Ireland (but my bet is on this one).

The writing style was simple but still it wasn’t as easy to read as one would assume.
It felt like we were reading 500+ pages when the book has 373 pages (which is still too long in my opinion).

I didn’t like the guy who was the love interest (and whose name I have already forgot) nor his mother.
He was a sexist full of himself (ok, he had some sexist comments but I don’t think he was a man schwain or anything similar to that) and his mother was cold bitch who didn’t even realize it (and I am not sure the author did either).
If I was Hannah I would ask for money refund and run away.

As for the setting, it was good. Also, it was nice to read about the smaller town from that country.
Do I think I’ve learned something new about Ireland? Not really, but it was still a good escape and I appreciate it.

Books I read in August (Monthly Reading Wrap Up) #BookBloggers #BookLovers #Reading #August

Hi Guys,

August was an amazing reading month for me. I managed to read 12 books and I am beyond happy about it, since my average number of books per month is 7.

I had plenty of free time on my hands this month, so that is the reason why I read so much.
I also started to focus on my Netgalley books that are on my shelf since forever.
My goal is to clean my tbr Netgalley shelf by the end of the year, and to upgrade my ratio to 95% (now it’s 73%).

I hope I will keep up with my reading pace in September as well. My goal for this month is also 12 books, and I hope 10 of them will be my Netgalley ARCs.

Without further ado, here are the books I read in August:
(Click on the covers to read my reviews)

Favourite book of the month:

That is it!

Tell me what awesome books have your read in August?
What was your favourite one?

Feel free to leave links to your wrap ups, so I can visit you.

A novel full of sun, ocean and delicious food: The Secret Cove in Croatia by Julie Caplin (Book Review) #SummerRead #Books #Croatia

GIFTED / I am so happy to present you my first #OwnVoices review (if you can call it that). This was my first time that I read a romance novel set in my own country, written by an foreign author. It was interesting to see how people outside Croatia look upon our little country.
I got this novel in an exchange for an honest review via Netgalley.
The Secret Cove in Croatia was published on July 28th 2019 by HarperImpulse and it has 400 pages.

About the book:

FROM GOODREADS / Sail away to beautiful Croatia for summer sun, sparkling turquoise seas and a will-they-won’t-they romance you won’t be able to put down!

When no-nonsense, down-to-earth Maddie Wilcox is offered the chance to work on a luxury yacht for the summer, she can’t say no. Yes she’ll be waiting on the posh guests… But island-hopping around the Adriatic sea will more than make up for it – especially when Nick, her best friend Nina’s brother, is one of them.

Sparks fly when they meet on board and Maddie can’t believe self-entitled jerk Nick is really related to Nina. But in a secret, picture-perfect cove, away from the real world, Maddie and Nick discover they might have more in common than they realise…

Review:

When my friend Amanda (who has an amazing blog ChocolatePages and you should check her blog) told me about The Secret Cove in Croatia I knew I had to read this book.
You see, I love reading books set in different countries that talk about people, food and love, but I have never read that type of book set in my own country.
I wanted to see what perspective foreign author would have on Croatia and it’s residents, and critical side of me wanted to check if descriptions will be authentic.

I have to say, I was so impressed by the way Julie Caplin described Croatia and I truly believe this book will make you consider to take a trip to this country after you finish it.
It was obvious that the author loved places she visited while she was doing her research for this novel, and I applause her for the way she described everything.

There are plenty of places and food mentioned, and even some characteristics of Croatians.
I like how characters of the book drank Karlovačko, our national beer, or Cedevita (which, actually, you can find in more then three flavours and everyone drinks it, not only kids (I’m drinking lime-mint flavour as I’m writing this review)).

The story itself was pretty enjoyable, although I think I would like it more if it was little shorter.

The writing style was also really good and now I understand why so many readers are in love with Caplin’s work.

However, there are two things I didn’t particularly like:
1. The characters were unlikeable, and they were all black and white (even though I wasn’t a fan of the main character who was “white” (and here I talk about personalities)).
I wish they were more dimensional, especially the one character who is pictured as main villain.

2. I don’t like the way author handled a serious topic called eating disorder (bulimia).

This is the fifth book in the series, but it can be read as standalone.

I would recommend this book to readers who are looking for a relaxing summer read filled with sunshine, sea, food and romance.