Melissa 📚

Highland Hideaway
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/🌶️🌶️🌶️
Highland Hideaway by Lily Gold was such a cozy and comforting read. It has that perfect mix of fluffy romance, emotional growth, and just enough spice to keep things interesting.
One of the strongest aspects of this book for me was the way Summer’s ADHD was portrayed. It is clearly part of who she is, but it never defines her completely. Watching her growth throughout the story was beautiful. She starts off as someone who wants to be liked by everyone, a real people pleaser, but slowly learns to choose herself first. That journey felt very real and made her character even more lovable.
The dynamic between Summer and the three men was really well done. Each of them brought something different to the story. You have the broody one, the golden retriever, and the one who tends to avoid things, which created a nice balance. The chemistry develops in different ways with each of them. Some connections are instant, while others take more time. Especially with Alec, the build up was slower, but when it finally clicked, it really paid off.
Fraser was definitely my favorite, but all three of them had their own charm and depth. It never felt like they were just there for the sake of the trope. Their individual personalities and struggles added a lot to the story.
The romance is very character driven, and that really works here. You can see that not only Summer grows, but Alec does as well. I especially appreciated how, even in the epilogue, it shows that growth is ongoing. Healing is not linear, and even with progress, old habits can still surface. That felt very honest.
The spice is there, but not overly present. The scenes are well written and fit the story perfectly, which made them feel more meaningful.
If I had one small critique, it would be the pacing. For a fluffy romance, the book felt a bit long at times. You know that moment is coming where things go wrong before they get better again, but it takes quite a while to get there, which made the story feel longer than necessary in parts.
Overall, this is a cozy, healing, and feelgood romance that I would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a fun why choose story with heart.