Grianan (by Alexandra Raife)

(Amazon UK link)

I am enjoying Alexandra Raife's books, gradually collecting them on my shelves. They're all character-based, all set in Scotland - at least, so far.

'Grianan' (known, for some reason, by the more prosaic title of 'Mountain Heather' in the USA) was the third of her published novels. In this book, a young woman called Sally escapes from her well-ordered life to Grianan, to help run her aunt's country hotel. She meets and is instantly attracted to Mike, a young married man.

Sally immerses herself in her work to try and forget him, but he recurs in her life after an appalling tragedy.

A pleasant enough book, although I was a bit shocked about the assumption that two people attracted to each other would naturally end up in bed together, even after very little acquaintance. However, other than this I found the characters believable and likeable, and the plot well-developed with a reassuring ending. 

Recommended.