The tiny, tumbledown cottage, nestled on the edge of the forest, stood alone on a rocky outcropping at the edge of the loch. As Zelda Hicks, a New Yorker who had just lost her mother, stood in the garden amongst the wildflowers, she felt the weight of the tattered envelope in her hands. This work trip to the Scottish village of Loch Cameron couldn't have been better timed, as she knew little about her father, who was from Scotland. Perhaps a break in the beautiful rolling hills of heather would help her reconnect with her roots and recover from her grief.

While on a walk around the loch one bright morning, Zelda came across the cottage and its elderly owner, Gretchen Ross, who invited her in for buttery shortbread. Zelda soon learned that Gretchen might lose the cottage that had been in her family forever, and Zelda vowed to help her. However, she didn't anticipate butting heads with the handsome, blue-eyed laird, Hal Cameron, in the process.

Zelda found herself unable to forget Hal's shy smile, and she soon discovered they might have more in common than she had initially thought. But when Zelda stumbled upon a bundle of old letters hidden in the back of an antique wardrobe at the cottage, they led her back to the mysterious Hal. The letters pushed Zelda to examine her own family history and revealed a secret that the community had kept hidden for over a generation.

Hal claimed he wanted to help Zelda, but just as she began to open up, she learned he wasn't being entirely honest either. Zelda had to decide whether she could trust him and finally come to terms with her own past, or if uncovering this secret would force her to leave Loch Cameron for good.

Fans of Susanne O'Leary, Debbie Macomber, and Pamela Kelley will be captivated by this page-turning read set in the Scottish Highlands, filled with family secrets and the journey of starting over, from USA Today bestselling author Kennedy Kerr.

Readers have praised "The Cottage by the Loch" as "Absolutely beautiful and perfect," "Compelling and addictive," and "A must-read," with one reviewer stating, "I was totally charmed. Stunning... Swept me away. Pulled me in so quickly... Pure delightful escapism."

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