Eerie vibes, atmospheric descriptions, folk legends, and ghosts are within the pages of this engaging horror novel set in the Scottish Highlands.

PROS:
Lee does a good job portraying Mike (the protagonist) as realistically flawed. Mike isn’t all that likable, but he’s got a relatable sense about him that makes you feel sorry for the guy, in a there-but-for-the-grace-of-God-go-I kind of way.

The town folk gave me the heebie jeebies. In particular, Edward and Jamie are like the Deliverance dudes but creepier.

The pace and dread factor of the book kept picking up as the story progressed. I found the last third of the book very hard to put down.

The ending is emotional and satisfying. (But not necessarily daisies and sunshine . . . it is horror after all.)

CONS:
If I had to be nitpicky, I’d say there’s one too many dream scenes. Eh, maybe half a star off for this.

OVERALL:
Odiferous decomp, witchcraft, animals that are not normal, specters, drunken hallucinations (or ARE they hallucinations?), a scrying mirror, isolation . . . an awesome, fun read for fans of horror genre.

Hearthstone Cottage had such an interesting sound to it, but didn't deliver in the long run. The characters were such tedious, self centered children that believing them to me adults is the most farfetched thing in the novel, especially the third person narrator. Maggie was the only truly interesting character and the book may have been improved with a first person narrative from her pov. The remaining characters you wanted to be fodder for whatever is lurking in the woods/cottage.

While some parts were promising, it quickly reverted to monotony and monologuing and spending more time with the impetuous dummies. There was a good bit of gore but it came across as lazy. The lack of tension and atmospheric building left me dissatisfied. I found myself flipping through just to make it to the end.

Spoiler/trigger: the dog dies first.

I first discovered Frazer Lee’s work by reading The Daniel Gates Adventures. The novellas were a fun time and I loved Lee’s occult leanings and descriptions
Big thanks to Flametree Press and Netgalley for offering this one up, which I hungrily snagged based on the cover and the synopsis.
The book opens up where we follow a group of young adults who’ve recently graduated from University. We are introduced to Alex, his girlfriend Kay, Mike and his girlfriend Helen, as they travel to Alex’s parent’s cottage. Hearthstone is known to have a history, which Mike is soon to find out.
Throughout Lee introduces a level of creepiness that oozed off of the pages. This worked as a positive, but at times as a negative for me. Every time it felt like Lee was really ramping things up, the creepiness would overtake things and then there’d be a subdued finale. I just kept begging Lee to build and to really let loose.
He does this a few times and that was what kept me in check, engaged.
The main character, Mike, is a bit of an annoying character, but I found that it really worked for me. I wanted things to happen to him. I wanted whatever was haunting or possessing this cottage to rip him to shreds, just to shut him up!
Along the way, Lee introduces Alex’s earthy, artsy, vegan sister to the mix and I found that worked great to increase some tension within the group dynamics.
For me, the biggest reason I ended up giving this a four star instead of a five star, was I found Lee had Mike’s character stuck in an alcoholic/pot head state too much and with a plot shift that involved his girlfriend, he became a bit of a wet blanket at times.
The setting of this book was phenomenal and every time we would spend pages away in the hills surrounding the cottage helped to really push the story along.
Overall, I did enjoy this, but it came so frigging close to be an outstanding read at times that I wished Lee really let the back story really rip out to life.
Another fun read by Lee, an author who is quickly becoming a must read author for me.
*This review will feature on Kendall Reviews! **

"Mike Carter and his girlfriend Helen, along with their friends Alex and Kay, travel to a remote loch side cottage for a post-graduation holiday. But their celebrations are short-lived when they hit and kill a stag on the road. Alex's sister Meggie awaits them in the cottage, adding to the tension when her dog, Oscar, goes missing. Mike becomes haunted by a disturbing presence in the cottage, and is hunted by threatening figures in the highland fog. Reeling from a shock revelation, Mike begins to lose his grip on his sanity. As the dark secrets of the past conspire to destroy the bonds of friendship, Mike must uncover the terrifying truth dwelling within the walls of Hearthstone Cottage."

The Hunting Party meets The Ritual but with a loch!

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC in return for a fair and honest review.
As my first book by this author, I had no idea what to expect. Since it's October, I've been reading books in the horror genre, and this was one I was looking forward to. It's the story of a young man, his girlfriend, and another couple heading to a cottage for a vacation after their college finals. It's not the idyllic rest that they're expecting, however. Strange happenings and dreams begin to affect the young couples, and they discover that happenings in the past are coming back to haunt the present.
"Hearthstone Cottage" is well-written, and definitely has the creep factor going for it. Lee's style can be quite gory, which is something I don't really enjoy. For me, the guts brought it from a four-star to a three-star (because some parts actually made me gag). But for those who like gore, you'll love it.

Being a proud Scotsman hailing from the far north east of the country I started Frazer Lee’s Heartstone Cottage hoping for a strong horror novel and some nostalgia for my homeland. Unfortunately, this very forgettable supernatural thriller, which is set in the Scottish Highlands, failed to deliver on both counts and was a book I did not connect with. I even found the very occasional Scottish word, which was occasionally thrown into the dialogue, such as “laddie” (instead of ‘boy’) to be irritating and nothing more than a token gesture to the language or dialect.

Four friends Mike and his girlfriend Helen, along with sidekicks Alex and Kay, travel to a remote holiday cottage in the north west of the Scottish mainland. The cottage is owned by Alex’s very rich dad and the four friends are celebrating graduating from Edinburgh University. With their lives in front on them, they intend to spend one of their final weeks of freedom having a wild time, surrounded by a beautiful remote loch (Scottish for lake).

Heartstone Cottage is told in the third person by Mike who is such an unlikable and bland character he is a poor choice for a narrator, in fact the combination of all four are an epitome of self-centredness and are as dull as they come. Considering there are very few other characters featured in the story this was a major stumbling block. Perhaps all 21-year-olds are this unlikable, but I could really do without repeatedly reading about their high-class problems; poor Mike moaning about having to get a job in a pub with the possibility of having to pay rent to his parents. All the four seem to do is irritate each other, get drunk, smoke spliffs, have sex and then repeat the process all over again. Rarely have I come across such a tedious group of characters and to be stuck with them for the duration of this story was painful.

On the way to the cottage Alex hits and kills a huge stag with the rented car and this puts a strain on his friendship with Mike before they even arrive as he causes the accident with a distraction. To make things worse, Alex does not care a jot about the beautiful animal he has killed and is even more ghastly than Mike. There is a certain level of antagonism between the two; Alex is destined to be a lawyer, Mike started out studying the same course before switching to business studies, which is seen as a lesser option. Considering they are friends they do not like each other very much. The death of the stag does bring a certain level of foreshadowing with it and it is obvious it will connect to later events.

That leads to the next major problem; upon arrival at the cottage, so little of any interest happened. If you’re looking for a scare, or even a mild chill then go elsewhere, the horror element was seriously underwhelming from start to finish. Mike drinks too much, begins to hear the voices of children who aren’t there and seems to hallucinate, apart from that not much happens. The four continue to bicker, explore the local surroundings, drink even more, do a spot of fishing and visit the local village. Because Heartstone Cottage is written in the third person you cannot call Mike an unreliable narrator, they are always first person “I” narratives. Perhaps the ‘first person’ style would have added some much-required suspense or ambiguity to proceedings.

The fifth inhabitant at the cottage, Meggie, was probably the most interesting and certainly the most likable character. The sister of Alex, vegan, and art school drop-out with a passion for ancient Celtic folklore brought some much-needed mystique to proceedings. It would also be fair to say that Meggie’s dog Oscar had a bit more about it than the four university students. There is a certain friction between Maggie and Mike which was one of the more notable aspects of the book, which is explored in the latter sections.

Considering the book was set in the Scottish Highlands I failed to get a strong sense of time and place and found the location to lack atmosphere and the descriptions of beautiful lochs and surrounding areas to be superficial and rather bland. At a certain point the group discover a stone circle and the story begins to show some signs of life, but the supernatural element connected to the cottage failed to deliver any punches of note and the reveals, when they do arrive, failed to fire any sense of imagination.

The novel also throws in a few out of body experiences, lots of references to Celtic folklore and mythology, and a taste of witchcraft. Your potential enjoyment may well depend on how you get on with Mike and his obnoxious friends. I did manage to finish Heartstone Cottage, hoping it was going to build to something, but instead it fizzled out.

The cover and title drew me in at first. This book has a cabin in the woods, a witch, Celtic mythology, and it’s set in Scotland. I was here for it. The book didn’t disappoint. It was face paced, hard to put down and had me hook, line, and sinker.

Hearthstone cottage sounded very promising when I requested it but sadly it didn’t live up to my expectations, I struggled to enjoy it and I found it quite repetitive, the characters weren’t very interesting and I found myself just skimming through it just to find out what happens at the end.

If you’ve got a penchant for stories about a group of teenagers/young adults going to a cabin in the woods for what they think is going to be a relaxing good time and instead the worst horrors imaginable following them, you’ve come to the right place to satisfy that hankering.

This time around, Frazer Lee brings the reader to Hearthstone Cottage in Scotland, which is owned by the parents of Alex, who is the best friend of Mike, the book’s protagonist. Also along for the ride is Kay, Alex’s girlfriend, and Heather, Mike’s girlfriend. They find that Alex’s odd and intense sister, Meggie, is also at the cottage and it doesn’t take long for Mike to start having creepy nightmares and things that might be out of body experiences or may not be. There’s also a creepy scrying mirror, purchased locally by the girls, and it features prominently throughout the book.

I enjoyed the Celtic mythology and the background involving the hearthstones. There’s a legend of an old witch in the village, which is an element I usually appreciate, and this time around I enjoyed the fact that things didn’t head in the direction the reader might naturally assume.

I feel like Lee also did a good job keeping the reader guessing for the most part as well as creating stakes and escalation of things getting worse, particularly toward the end of the novel.

Overall, if you like this subgenre of horror novel and like the UK setting, it makes for excellent Halloween reading from a leading horror author.

This book keeps you guessing until the end. Creepy in all the right places. The ending keeps you wondering whats next.

HEARTHSTONE COTTAGE, by Frazer Lee started off with a strong sense of "chilling" atmosphere, and just the right amount of foreboding. The location, woods, cottage, village, river were perfect additions to the "wrongness" felt as you begin your journey.

Why the two-star rating then?

Without spoilers, it's impossible to say exactly why, but there are a few things that I can mention that just bothered me, personally.

The characters--especially Mike, who is the main one that seems to be affected by whatever it is that is lingering in this cottage--were either forgettable, or unlikeable. In Mike's case, I simply couldn't like him enough to even care about what he was going through. The things with the others... were inconsistent, if nothing else. It felt like something was building up, and then there would be nothing at all for a while. In truth, the narrative style used was one I don't usually enjoy, so I realize that was a good part of my problem.

Overall, I have to say that it was the type of delivery, the lack of connection to the characters, and the fact that I figured out what was happening extremely early on that led to this one falling flat for me. Although the concept was good, I think the focus being shifted to the past events a little more would have helped me get more out of it.

Thank you to NetGalley/Flame Tree Press for an arc of this novel.

Hearthstone Cottage
by Frazer Lee
due 10-24-2019
Flame Tree Press
4.0/5.0

#netgalley #HearthstoneCottage

A slow-building, atmospheric story, with enough twists to keep you reading and an ending that makes the story even more dark and creepy. It is well-written, exciting, and a fun-filled ride.

Mike Carter and his girlfriend, Helen; and their friends, Alex Buchanan and his girlfriend, Kay, travel to a remote cabin in the Scottish Highlands to celebrate, after taking their final exams at the University. On the twisting, remote roads, their 4X4 hits a stag running across the road and kill it. They are met at the cabin by Alexś sister, Meggie, and her dog, Oscar, unexpected guests. Alexś family owned the cabin and promised Alex it would be empty for the week.....

Mike begins having visions/hauntings soon after Meggies dog, Oscar, disappears. As Mike attempts to make sense of his visions, he uncovers a secret about the cottage. It might explain the weird vibe there. Can Mikes visions be believed?? Are the hauntings meaningful or is this just the rant of a man losing it??

Parts of this books were so well executed and done, others not so much. Overall, this was a very good and scary horror story, with just a pinch of witchcraft.

Thanks to NetGalley and Flame Tree Press for sending this ARC for review.

This book was fast paced. Hard to put down. It flowed well and it was very well written. It caught hold of me and had me hooked from the start . I was literally on the edge of my seat reading this book. It was a humerus horror

Frazer Lee's Hearthstone Cottage is a slow-burn horror about a group of college students haunted by a strange presence at a secluded Scottish cabin.
Carried predominately by it's air of mystery, it's a book that delivers a few strong horror sequences but is ultimately let down by a lack of depth.
Themes and views are dealt on a surface level, and the lack of subtext, along with poor dialogue and exposition, drains the story of any real tension.
This one isn't terrible, it's just mostly forgettable.

My Rating: 4.5/5



I would love to see this made into a movie or mini-series (are you listening to this Netflix?). The imagery and scope of the landscape, the nightmare sequences, down to the descriptions of the characters (especially Meggie) is work of flawless art. This book is a real testament to the ability of the author.


The scene is set from the beginning; creepy yet beautiful Scottish Loch, an old stone circle, a house in the middle of no-where (a glorious old building), Meggie the mysterious sister and not to mention the majestic stag. An accident on the way to the house for the groups post-graduation holiday results in a wrecked hire car and a dead stag. No one was seriously hurt... but the accidental killing of the stag sets of a chain reaction of supernatural events centered around Mike Carter (our main protagonist). Mike's friends Alex and Kay, and girlfriend Helen are dragged through the ringer by his deteriorating state.


The mental collapse of Mike throughout the story is handled vividly yet with delicate ease. First the accident, then finding out his girlfriend is pregnant, as well as his drinking and weed habit, he steadily circles the pits of despair, not knowing what is real or what is a dream.




Hearthstone Cottage is a wonderfully written supernatural horror story that captures the Scottish charm and beauty effortlessly.


Released October 24th 2019 by Flame Tree Press


Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1787583252/ref=x_gr_w_bb?ie=UTF8&tag=x_gr_w_bb_uk-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738




Frazer Lee’s novel left me with mix feelings and although it is well written, it left me a bit cold. There is a feeling of dread through the novel that works well but on the same course, I was left not caring or having any empathy for the characters which maybe what is clouding my judgement.

The plot is extremely well handled and Frazer Lee really knows how to bring this all together. From the start, he keeps a tight rein on the proceedings without letting go. This works well within the construct of the story and when the novel finally goes into full gear at around the 82% mark, he brings out the reasoning at full force. This is what keeps the novel going and it does have it’s pay off at the end.

The characters are the basic problem with Mike, the main protagonist not being very likable and an overall mess. The character is centred on his lack of real empathy or understanding. The other characters from Alex, Kay, Helen and Alex’s sister are not very heart-warming either. Alex is egotistic, Kay is soulless and Helen is an emotional vampire whilst Alex’s sister floats in and out of the proceedings. If I am to be honest, she is probably the only emotional core in the story outside of Oscar the dog. This is where the novel is a slight let down for myself.

Although this review maybe personal , there is a lot going for this book. As for the overall novel itself, it is a fascinating read and kept me involved somewhat though I did find self, more invested in finishing the novel than in the overall character arcs. The ending gave me a good payoff and parts of the story are still niggling away at myself conscious.

Overall, it is very well written and has a very good plot but the characters themselves let it down. If there was one character that I could invest in, I might have been totally involved with the novel. The ending is a triumph for me and although it will not go down as my favourite read of the year, it will continue to haunt me for weeks to come.

Minor Spoilers

Four friends/lovers escape to a crofter in the scenic Scottish Highlands, celebrating their recent academic achievements. Along the way, their vehicle is totaled after slamming into a stag. The travelers have the option to vacate the premises with other means of transportation back to their original lives, but they chose to continue their holiday as planned; sex, inebriation, and silliness follow; as well as no cell phone signal, of course.

But beyond the cozy cottage and picturesque loch exists an ancient curse involving a scrying mirror and a witch. Alcohol is not a virtuous approach to addressing these matters, so strange hallucinations and apparitions suddenly appear...

HEARTHSTONE COTTAGE was unlike most silent horror novels that I’ve come across recently. It’s a story of betrayal and alcoholism, in my opinion. There’s a lot packed in here: maggot infested carrions, spectral villagers, premonitions so disgusting and vile that a reader could mistake this for splatterpunk. As I wrote earlier, Lee takes a more atmospheric approach, incorporating Celtic mythology a somewhat ‘Hammer Horror’ feel. I wanted more of this, but I understood the limitations, given the content and direction. Overall, a pretty solid read.

Thanks to NetGalley for free download

This book begins with a very good horror premise: four friends go to a remote loch side cottage to celebrate after their final exams, when they hit and kill a stag. The four friends (Mike, Helen, Alex and Kay) are met at the cottage by Alex's sister, Meggie. Mike begins having increasingly creepy visions/hallucinations/haunting and Meggie's dog goes missing. <insert creepy horror music here> Is the cottage haunted? Is this witchcraft? Is Mike mentally ill? What secrets lie hidden in the cottage?

For me this book was enjoyable, but I wanted more. I wanted it to up the atmosphere, to up the creepy factor. To make things scary. When I read a book in the "horror" category, I want it to scare me, to have me hiding under the covers with a flashlight, checking under the bed, behind doors, in the closet and pulling back the shower door to deem I am home alone (come on, you know you have done this). This one wasn't scary for me. I wanted MORE.

I still came away enjoying this book and found it to be a fast read. I enjoyed watching/reading Mike unravel as he tried to figure out what was happening to him and around him. Things picked up at the end and got interesting.

Thank you to Flame Tree Press and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

My thanks to Flame Tree Press and Netgalley.
I was rather excited to get this book. It has everything I love in stories. Scotland? √ Highlands?√√ Possible hauntings/witch/maybe crazy? Heck.yes!
This books had some freaking atmosphere. Then it would not. Then again..atmosphere! Then not. Truly, it was almost like this tale didn't know what it wanted to be!
What it is though is good. Not great, but damn good! It was a whole twisty kind of w.t.h?
My main problem was that from the beginning, I knew what was up. I hate that! I'm not sure everyone will know what's going on though. This solution is my default device. Also, what an ending!

Hearthstone Cottage...
What can I say about this book? It was a slow read for the first 70%. Events moved slowly and with little shine. Lots of shadows spotted at the corner of the eye and figures fleeting pass here and there. It was really uninteresting at the start and while reading I start to question the direction of this book.

Why the focus on Mike? Was it that he pocketed the broken stag antler and now the stag or some righteous anguished Earth Spirit is haunting him and making him pay the price? But it didn’t make sense because though he pocketed the antler, Alex was the one who killed the stag. So you can imagine my confusion at the focus on Mike. The unexplained focus on Mike continued for nearly 70% of the book. Sure there was some hint on his relationship with Meggie, but it wasn’t strong enough and to me I saw it as an intended “calefare” to spice up the story. Imagine my dismay when the “stolen” antler was not the least of the reason why Mike was indefinitely stewing in a cauldron of bizarre happenings.

The truth was only unraveled in the last 10% of the story, where Mike was left stranded by his friends in the cottage. But from here on the story picked up beautifully. And what I thought was going to be a mediocre book morphed to develop solidarity, meaning, and purpose. It was just a pity that the story peaked so late towards the end...

Kind of reminded me about the movie Silent Hill 1, and I wonder if the author picked up his inspiration for this story from there. That movie was all scares at the front only up till the end where the truth unfolded to a heart wrenching experience of an abused kid bent on revenge.

So back to Hearthstone Cottage, I was upset that it ended so abruptly and in melancholy when Mike chose Helen. It literally ended with “Trapped inside Hearthstone Cottage forever”. Which had me thinking if there could be a better way to put across such an unfortunate fate after a soul wrenching build up?

That aside, I am not excited to spend a few hours reading on a story only to have it go back to square one. What I mean is Mike having a second chance before the car wreck. Two things- is it realistic in the first place? Guaranteed that this is in a supernatural setting, but how much powers must Elsa/Meggie invoked in order to reverse such a long chain of events? Secondly, I felt like I’ve wasted time reading about their lives at the cottage if that was not going to be the ultimate reality in the end.

Overall, all this conspired for me to give a rating of 3 stars. It was a great last 10% read, no doubt. But the first 90% really dragged it down for me, and throwing in the abrupt ending that could have been better crafted. The author did write some really creepy scenes though, and that I appreciate. I do imagine a movie version of this would fare better than a book.