The Bracken Cove Book Club: Romantic Comedy Series

by Livia Huntingdon-Jones

Isla Rhys has lost her flat, her fiancé, and her faith in the possessive apostrophe—all in the span of twelve minutes.

When her Oxford academic fiancé dumps her via a text message that reads "Your to intense," Isla doesn't just mourn the relationship; she mourns the grammar. Needing an escape where syntax doesn't matter, she flees to her cousin’s chaotic home in Bracken Cove, Maine.

Her plan? Write her thesis, avoid human interaction, and maybe start a high-brow book club to bring some culture to the locals.

But Bracken Cove isn't the quiet refuge she expected. It’s a town run by a PTA president who weaponizes spreadsheets, a four-year-old who believes rocks have feelings, and Frank Hollis—a rugged, flannel-wearing mechanic who fixes boats and seemingly hates conversation.

Isla is ready to write Frank off as a grunt, until she discovers anonymous notes scribbled in the margins of the town’s library books. Brilliant, poetic, heartbreaking notes. As she falls for the mind of the mystery writer, she finds herself clashing with the mechanic who keeps challenging her worldview.

When the truth about the notes comes out, Isla has to decide: Does she want the perfect life she thought she wrote for herself, or the messy, "ungrammatical" love she found in the margins?

Genres: Romance, Amazon

108 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 18, 2026

Reviews

[Bobbi · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Bracken Cove Book Club by Livia Huntington -Jones. This was definitely a different kind of book than I usually read. I enjoyed it immensely! Much larger words than I usually use. But it was interesting how every chapter started with a definition and the way the word was used. The story and characters were wonderful!

[Chelsea Reinmiller · Rating 5 out of 5]

“𝙃𝙚 𝙞𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙖 𝙢𝙚𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙘. 𝙃𝙚’𝙨 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧. 𝘼 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙙, 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚-𝙘𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙, 𝙎𝙮𝙡𝙫𝙞𝙖 𝙋𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙝-𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡 𝙝𝙞𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝘾𝙖𝙧𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙩𝙨.”

When I tell you that I smiled throughout most of the book and my feet kept kicking — this book was absolutely everything I needed it to be. (I could have just highlighted the entire book.)

I feel like it might be very niche, though. If you are a literature or grammar enthusiast, you’ll love it.

This is about an Oxford literature professor who returns to the States after an eviction and a breakup. She starts a book club in a small town (Syntax Society — I’m giggling!!) and meets a mysterious mechanic who is perhaps more intellectual than he lets on. My husband is a mechanic, who is also intelligent, so this just hit all of the right feels for me.

“𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙙𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚. 𝙄 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙮𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙭; 𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙡.”

Although, I am sad because you cannot get a physical copy of this book anywhere!

[Susan Quinland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charming, fun read: 3.5 stars

Charming super light romance with laugh out loud moments (loved the new words that introduced each chapter once I got used to them). Downright funny in spots, not too much of anything else.
The writing was terrific and fun, but there was no real obstacle to overcome, at least one that anyone took seriously. Also, the format of the chapter heads (words, moods, etc) should have been italics, had a space or something, anything to differentiate from the beginning of the real chapter.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Refreshing a wonderful change from the usual storyline.

I really enjoyed the
syntax of this story. Sophie is such a fun element, but I loved the "word of the day" at the beginning of each chapter. Truly delightfully refreshing!

[Alondra Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Paradoxical Stars

This was quick, cute and actually kinda funny. I loved Isla's nerdy character.

With this being only 108 Kindle-Pages; there wasn't a lot fleshed out, but I just went with the flow and enjoyed the nerdy banter and learned some new words. No harm, no foul.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, free book on Apple.
Since I like reading, English, and grammar I enjoyed the storyline. Fun characters and town. And of course the community coming together was perfect

[ashhhb🌿 · Rating 5 out of 5]

The highly articulated, melodramatic descriptions cracked me up! Wholesome, fun, perfectly paced with a lot of depth for such a short read. The best 100 page book I’ve read so far.

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved it! Especially as an English major long ago, the wordage was divine.

[Julie H. Reed · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute story but 75% thru, I still felt like this was the middle of a series of short stories and I could not get up to speed. Maybe just different writing style?