Christmas at the Scottish Lodge by Donna Ashcroft

I would like to thank Bookouture and NetGalley for yet another opportunity to discover new authors and ARCs in exchange for my honest opinion.

This year I start quite early with the winter holiday spirit, with "Christmas at the Scottish Lodge" (thanks Chiskeik for pointng that out!).

A successful romance writer and a professional skier get married behind her brother’s back, who is also the groom’s best friend. 

But after the new husband’s accident on the slopes, he distances from her. Eleven months pass and, fed up with waiting, she travels to his Scottish family lodge to get him to sign the divorce papers. They are separated after all, so what could go wrong? 

Oh, right—feelings.

Publication date: Oct 27 2025

Publisher: Bookouture

I liked it, but I can’t say I loved it. The idea has potential and there’s emotional and sexual tension between the characters. 

→ Beware of a couple of mild spoilers.

The thing is that we read and love the genre, so we already know that it will end with a big gesture that will bring them together, with forgiveness following suit. So the real deal here should be the journey, enjoying the scenery. And there, it fell short, in my opinion.

For starters, I chose this one because I visited Scotland a couple of years ago and looooved  it. So I was eager to go back there through this novel. 

My first shock was that I didn’t feel I was there—it could've been anywhere.

The Christmassy vibe was very present there, and the coziness was built thanks to the lodge, the pies and some side characters that didn’t appear as often as needed (Aunt Effie, for example, and of course, all the strays). Also, the rough dynamic between the FMC's brother and her best friend was something I would have loved to read more about. The story relies on the back-and-forth between the main couple, as it should, but their emotions were explained at every turn, becoming repetitive, so the presence of other characters felt like a relief.

However, the biggest problem I found is the dialogue. It is usually short and intense, building-up good tension, but the author inserts several lines of feelings that we already know about, between one's question and the other's reply, so it lacks fluidity. I found myself skipping quite a lot of text, just to get to what they were talking about, beacause that's what interested me— not surprisingly, I read it so fast.

The emotional build-up leads to an ending that works, but Mairi is a romance writer after all, and she should know the tricks. I found that the end gesture should’ve been placed before the reconciliation— that would be what showed Mairi where his priorities lay, and then she'd turn around (you'll understand when you get there). 

I read many 4 and 5 star reviews, though, so I may be on the wrong side, but I really felt it was just "another romance story". Not bad, don't get me wrong... just not enough.

So... did you read it? What was your experience with it? How did it make you feel?

Do you think I should've waited longer to read Winter stuff? Let me read you in the comments.

Rating: ★★⯪☆☆

Cinnamon Spice Inn by Harper Graham

Madison left Maple Falls six years ago for a brilliant NYC career, leaving behind  the small-town life, her family, and her young love, Zach. Her mother’s passing hasn’t help her want to return to the memories and pain, but an anonymous letter urges her to come back and help her father and the family inn before it falls apart.

The plot has great potential. The characters are mostly likable and their relationships and backgrounds are strong. You can feel the MCs belong together—you yearn for them. It also makes you want to visit the small town of Maple Falls, feel the calm, the coziness, and eat all the pastries and dishes! 

Original title: Cinnamon Spice Inn

Publisher: Bookouture

Expected publication date: Aug 28th, 2025.

However, I personally felt the narrative a bit weak and kind of repetitive (same wording, same phrasing, too many times). As a debut, I truly hope Harper Graham improves and grows into a great romance author—the ideas and potential are definitely there!

This books is about roots: resentment, revival of young love, finding the way back home, and family. I wouldn’t label it enemies-to-loves. It works as it is without marketing it to the wrong audience.

The Little Island Flower Stall by Tilly Tennant

I loved this story! The perfect “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade” kind of feel-good page-turner.

Bella discovers that her husband of 15 years is a *** cheater and decides to leave him for good. This is her journey to self-discovery, and you’ll find yourself rooting for her heart and soul to heal. 

At the same time, her 93-year-old great-aunt suffers an injury and needs help keeping her seaside flower stall running, so Bella jumps at the opportunity and visits her, rediscovering her childhood memories on the British island of Jersey. With the life-wisdom and loving support of her great-aunt, Bella finds herself standing tall very soon–holding her head high, as it should be.

I loved the historic background and discovering the island’s fight to defeat the Nazis that invaded their land. It adds to the typical rom-com and wraps it in a light mystery that I was completely grateful for. I must say that I like learning something new from each book I read, and this tale delivered.

I also enjoyed Bella’s internal struggle about her situation, and although she jumps straight into this new relationship with a complete stranger, it feels fluid, and she does it with some sense.

The love interest’s plot itself is quite original, although predictable; however, it’s cozy and mysterious, that ends in a moving way, full of heart.

The Vanishing Bookstore by Helen Phifer

This is a story about Dora, a florist who lives in London with her only family, her aunt Lenny. One day, a creepy guy called George appears in her shop and raises all kinds of red flags for her aunt, who convinces Dora to go visit Salem.

There she finds not only that they are witches, but that she has two more family members, a beloved pet and a long-lost love.

With their help, she embarks on a voyage of self-discovery and the process of learning about her blocked magic powers. She has to do it fast in order to recover the book that will save them from a curse to relive their lives over and over, hunted by the witch-hunter, George Corwin.

I highly enjoyed the story, it is very entertaining and fun in the right places.

There are flashbacks to tell the story about their several past lives, but they are not the typical flashback chapters, instead appearing as passages where the main character regains her memory. I found it very original and beautifully accomplished.

However, just as an improvement, I found that the learning process could have been more meaningful. With time being of the essence, everything goes kind of smoothly—or let’s say, too smoothly. I would have liked her to struggle a bit more. She achieved everything important she set out to do on the first attempt.

Furthermore, I would have liked the bookstore to have more weight or presence, almost like another character. I found myself a little (just a little) disappointed by the title (maybe I like bookstores slightly too much, and that’s the reason!).

Overall, it was a beautiful and entertaining read. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys stories filled with magic, self-discovery, and a touch of romance.

Murder in an English Castle (A Flora Steele Mystery Book #10) by Merryn Allingham

In general, I liked it, but since I joined the saga in this 10th installment, I was a bit lost at first. The initial chapters were quite full of names I wasn't familiar with, and the relationships among them made it challenging to keep track. As a consequence, I almost set the book aside. However, since I received it from the publisher in exchange for a review, I decided to continue reading.

I was hooked the moment the couple visit Alex’s mother and Jack and Morton quarrelled...

Thanks to the prologue, we know it’s set in 1959 because all the rest seems to take place in later decade, but without mobile phones. In general, the setting feels like an old-fashioned area trying to uphold the neighborly ways of previous generations like The Good Witch’s Middletown, Stars Hollow or similar endearing locations. The thing that took me back in time and made me laugh was the college's night porter's behavior over the night calls. There are several moments like these that gave the story a pull and were highly enjoyable.

As a couple, Jack and Flora didn’t have much chemistry in this book. I wonder if this relies on previous books where they meet and develop some kind of romance, but I am not entirely sure. I missed something more between them, a complicity, a loving touch further than a kiss on the cheek... They’re newly-weds!