Book Review: The House Sitter by Elizabeth Drummond

I’m pleased to be welcoming Elizabeth Drummond to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her novel, The House Sitter

His house. Her rules. But who’s in charge?

Pippa Munro had everything planned for her perfect wedding. What she did not have planned, was for her boyfriend to break up with her. Or sell her beloved farm. So instead of being blissfully engaged, Pippa finds herself jobless, homeless and loveless. Things couldn’t be going better…

Wolfie Squires needs someone to look after his family’s ancient house. He’s too busy with his hot shot city job to deal with a country manor several hundred miles away.

The perfect solution? Find someone to house sit.
The less-than-perfect candidate? Pippa Munro.

Pippa is more comfortable working on a farm than dusting a chandelier, and definitely not the ideal choice for the job.

As tempers fray, ideas clash, and secrets are spilled, Pippa and Wolfie might realise they have the same ambitions for the house, if only they could stop arguing long enough to find out…

*****

Piper Monro has put years of her life into her boyfriend’s farm in her beloved Hurst Bridge yet, on the night she is hoping he will finally propose, she is given a big surprise.

She needs a new job and fast. When she hears that Squires House needs a house sitter, she finds herself applying for it.

It’s here that she runs into Wolfie Squires, a man she’s not seen since she was a teenager. From what she can see, he’s the same unfriendly person she remembers. Can she and Wolfie find a way to work together?

This is the first novel I’ve read from Elizabeth Drummond. The premise intrigued me so I was excited to be invited onto the blog tour for The House Sitter.

Piper is strong and brilliant and a little frustrating when it comes to her long term boyfriend, Alex but this book teaches us that time, space and hindsight are very important. She’s a force of nature and I loved that about her.

Wolfie is complex and it was good to learn more about him as I read the book. He is shy and a little grumpy but is that his armour? Well, I am not telling you anymore about that as I hope you’ll read this novel.

The town of Hurst Bridge sounds amazing. My husband is from Yorkshire so I found it easy to picture. It had a Wentworth feel to it for me and it all felt so pretty. The supporting characters were all wonderful, well, except Alex.

The plot moved very well and it’s easy to fall into the story and get invested.

The House Sitter is a fun and funny story about new beginnings, second chances, love, family, friendship and faith. It’s a perfect holiday read even if that escape is only into the pages of this novel.

(Thanks to One More Chapter, Netgalley and Rachel’s Random Resources for the advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.) 

About Elizabeth Drummond  –

Elizabeth Drummond grew up and studied in Yorkshire, attaining a degree in English Literature from Sheffield University before moving to New York for a year post-graduation.

It was in New York she learned she was nothing like Carrie Bradshaw so upon her return to England she moved to London where she forged a successful career as a film distribution executive. Although her experiences on film sets and corporate boardrooms could fill multiple books with scandal alone,

lizabeth’s books are mostly filled with light-hearted humour and romance.

Elizabeth lives in Essex with her husband and two daughters.

Say hello to Elizabeth via Facebook, X (Twitter), TikTok and Instagram. 

The House Sitter was published by One More Chapter in February 2024. Click to buy on Amazon UK, Waterstones and Amazon US. 

by

Laura

I’m Laura. I started Novel Kicks in 2009. I wanted a place to post my writing as well as give other writers like me the opportunity to do the same. There is also a monthly book club, a writing room which features writing prompts, book reviews, competitions, author interviews and guest posts.

I grew up by the sea (my favourite place in the world) and I currently live in Hampshire. I am married to Chris, have a cat named Buddy and I would love to be a writer. I’m trying to write the novel I’ve talked so much about writing if only I could stop pressing delete. I’ve loved writing since creative writing classes in primary school. I have always wanted to see my teacher Miss Sayers again and thank her for the encouragement. When not trying to write the novel or writing snippets of stories on anything I can get my hands on, I love reading, dancing like a loon and singing to myself very badly. My current obsession is Once Upon a Time and I would be happy to live with magic in the enchanted forest surrounded by all those wonderful stories provided that world also included Harry Potter. I love reading chick lit. contemporary fiction and novels with mystery.