This was a wonderful festive read. I really loved the setting as well as the characters. I would love to stay in one of the cabins:)

A wonderful festive read. I loved both the characters and the setting. I was easily able to picture the Craig Brae and the beautiful cabins, which I wished were real. My only disappointment was the internal monologue of Lottie, it was a little too much at times. However, overall, I really enjoyed this festive opposites attract/enemies to friends read.

I wanted to love this book, I really did. I love Christmas, I love Scotland, I love the idea of having seasonal accommodation that changes, and decorating cabins, and I would love to do that job … like, a lot.

However! There were things in this book that were just meh, and I found myself getting quite bored at times. Thank you for the opportunity to read it, though!

Thank you NetGalley, Julie Shackman, and One More Chapter publishing for the e-arc of The Highland Lodge Getaway (published as The Christmas Highland Lodge). This book is a closed-door, Christmas romance book.

We meet our FMC, Lottie Grant, when she is working at Christmas Crackers, the festive holiday boutique shop located in her small Scottish town Craig Brae. Lottie loves all things Christmas, a trait she received from her late father, and can't wait to run the shop once the owner retires to America. But, lo and behold, the leased space is going to a chain Italian restaurant, crushing any dreams Lottie has of owning a Christmas boutique. Soon, she is hired by a local couple to redesign and promote four luxury cabins, starting with getting them Christmas-time ready.
All is smooth going until she meets our MMC, Blake Dempster, a professional hiking guide that is also hired by the same couple. Due to traumatic past experiences, Blake abhors Christmas and the romance of it all. At every turn Blake shoots down all of Lottie's cheerful holiday ideas. Lottie knows that even the biggest Scrooge needs someone with a patient heart and she works to melt his icy heart.

I love a good Scottish setting. And I love Hallmark Christmas vibes in books. And I love spicy holiday books. With The Highland Lodge Getaway, I knew I was getting the Scottish setting, and I guessed there wouldn't be any spice, but this book felt very messy and there were no cheesy hallmark vibes to be found. I found Lottie to be annoying a lot of the time, and Blake's growth felt really forced. I think this book could have benefited from Blake's POV, because the last 10% of the book was all of his trauma coming out, him and Lottie making out, and then him being okay to go on all of a sudden. The "chemistry" between Blake and Lottie felt really forced, we didn't even meet Blake until 25% into the book!!! and although they didn't straight up hate each other around 50 or 60% into the book, they seemed more like friends??? (Besides Lottie having an obsession with wondering how Blake would look without a beard). There was all this build up (or trying to have buildup) all for one paragraph of making out, where all was written was "we kissed over and over" -- I didn't squeal or get any butterflies.

I tried to like it, but I couldn't
2.5 stars rounded down to 2
green pepper spice?? Or like a budding green pepper plant because there was like nothing.

I had not read any of the other books in this "series" but I was able to jump right into this one and enjoy! It has a cozy setting and overall nostalgic holiday feeling to it. I did have a hard time believing in the popularity of a small town, Christmas specific store, but what are holiday books if not a little unbelievable? I did not like the MMC at first as he felt overtly mean towards the FMC, but I did grow to like him further into the story. I would recommend this book as an easy, comfy, holiday read!

Enjoyable, loveable and romantic read. Really felt connected to the characters, and the Christmas spirit of this Scottish escape.
Defiantly a good read to cuddle down and enjoy a good Christmas feel good story.

I really liked this book. Lottie has dreams of running The Christmas Crackers, a Christmas themed shop, but the shop is sold leaving her without a job. She finds a job managing some luxury cabins and meets the new to town Blake. He owns an adventure/hiking business offering their services to the luxury cabins guests. He is cranky and doesn't like Christmas. It takes some time but Lottie begins to wear him down.

This book is so good.
I felt so bad for Lottie in the beginning with Christmas crackers going to close but I'm glad she took the job that was offered to her. The cabins sound magical and so pretty that I want to stay in them all. I love Christmas decorations and having a theme so the cabins are just perfect for me.
I'm glad it had a brilliantly happy ending and that everything was good all around.
I can't wait to read it again.

Thanks to Netgalley and the author for the opportunity to read and review. Unfortunately I was quite biased against this book from the start. Lottie is crushed to find her dreams of taking over quaint year-round holiday shop Christmas Crackers are dashed when the owner reveals the landlord is not renewing the lease and an Italian restaurant will be taking over the premises. Somehow, it occurs to not one character in this book that Lottie could simply reopen the shop in another location? I understand that overlooking this glaringly obvious solution helps to further the plot, but I found it hard to get past and thus didn’t enjoy this book as much as other Shackmans I have read.

A brilliant read and one I really enjoyed. The characters are loveable. The plot is one that is engaging and I found myself completely drawn into the story and enjoyed the writing style.

I read this book in April and it got me feeling all those happy, charming Christmas feels! This book is the fifth in a series but I didn’t feel lost at all. The characters were lovely, the romance was sweet and the book was honestly just a joy to read! I can’t wait for Christmas so I can read it in the chair beside our tree!

I really enjoyed reading this one, it was easy-to-read, quick and just what I needed right now. I could just sit back and relax with this one and go with the flow. I really loved the vibe of this book.

If you are looking for a festive read, there is much to enjoy in this winter read. Lottie has a huge disappointment to get over at the start, but you soon see her courage and determination in trying new things. Christmas Crackers, the shop she manages, provides lots of opportunities for some humour. In the shop unit next door, we meet Blake who is the polar opposite of Lottie as far as Christmas goes. He hates it. Cue more moments which make you smile.

Lottie's family background turns out to be complicated and at times, surprising. Lottie has quite a lot on her plate but she is a likeable and entertaining character. There are lots of festive flavours to savour and a lovely romance at its centre.

In short: entertaining festive read

Another wonderfully told story by Julie, I had some moments that made me chuckle, the characters and their interacti0ns made it a great and easy to follow weekend read.

I love this series so was very excited to get this book. It was the perfect snowy romance novel to read in the lead up to Christmas. It made me smile at times which is just what I have come to love and expect from this author's writing. I am very much looking forward to the next book in the series.

This is a new author for me, and is book 5 in the series. I did not like the forced change from the shop to looking after cabins. Such a change would normal people do this ? So many Christmas stories now, I get the idea that a few authors read the books of others then write there book for next Christmas. Sorry could not finish it

As I'm not prone to unplanned flights around the world based off fictional descriptions, it's very, very rare I read about locales and then immediately want to book a trip. However, author Julie Shackman has me eyeing themed cabins in the Scottish Highlands.

Her newest book in the Scottish Escapes series, The Highland Lodge Getaway, follows Lottie Grant, a consistently upbeat woman convinced her future will involve taking over Christmas Crackers, an appropriately named holiday shop, when her boss retires. However, when the store is suddenly sold off, Lottie's left with no idea what her future will look like. Enter: a couple starting a vacation business featuring high-end cabins. And wouldn't you know it—they need a decorator and manager with a festive vision.

This early set-up almost encapsulates the idea of a Christmas miracle and sets the tone for the feel-good story that unfolds over the next 300 pages. It makes sense. Lottie embodies the spirit of the season and, really, if she didn't land on employed feet so early in the book, things would get get depressing fast. Genuinely likable with a bubbly personality that reads as real without becoming overly saccharine, she lives for Christmas and works overtime to spread that cheer.

She's the perfect foil for any grinch, which is convenient considering her new job has her working alongside Blake Dempster, a grumpy activities expert with complete disdain for Christmas. While Lottie dreams of nutcrackers and fairy lights in the lodges, Blake pushes for a Western theme. This being a romance—and since opposites do attract—Shackman carefully wrings tension out of this workplace relationship and their antics are a ton of fun. While it's fairly obvious the two have simmering chemistry early on, Shackman carefully paces Lottie's attempts to bring Blake to her joyful side of the holiday. In turn, Blake slowly reveals his own secrets, resulting in several truly heartfelt moments.

Ultimately, The Highland Lodge Getaway is a love letter to Christmas. With a wonderfully built romance and incredibly sweet characters, it's charming enough to put the stingiest of folks in the merriest of moods. And with Shackman's playful descriptions of bauble-themed cabins, it has me wishing for a literary travel agency.

Lottie Grant is the manager of the successful Christmas shop, Christmas Crackers. She is looking forward to buying the business when her boss retires. When she finds out that the owners of the building sold it to a restauranteur, she is shocked and not sure what to do next. As she is trying to figure out what to do next, a couple come into the shop and make her an offer. They have purchased some cabins that need to work and they want Lottie to make them over into luxury cabins for vacations. She is excited and accepts the job, but not everyone else working with them agrees with Lottie's vision. Blake Dempster, is a moody but handsome hiking expert, who dislikes anything to do with Christmas. He tries to convince the owners to go with a Western theme year round, which angers Lottie as he goes behind her back. She is determined to change Blake’s mind about all things festive. The more time they spend together, the more they get to know about one another. Both Lottie and Blake have some baggage, but Blake has a lot more. Can Lottie help him to rediscover the fun and love of Christmas?

This is the first book by Julie Shackman that I have read, but it won't be the last. Lottie is that person that goes all out for Christmas, she is full of Christmas cheer and wants everyone else to be as well. She is looking forward to making the cottages into wonderful Christmas Getaways, until Blake shows up and tries to quash all her plans. Of course there has to be something that is making Blake hate Christmas and it takes quite awhile, but Lottie finally gets it out of him. She is sure she can change his mind about Christmas and comes up with different plans and activities to immerse him in the fun in Craig Brae. I loved getting to know both of these characters, as well as the others in the village. The setting was gorgeous and added a lot to the festive feel of the story. With a Christmas Market, someone getting lost on the mountain and Blake playing Santa for the school, this was a fun, festive story that I really enjoyed. There is some angst, and a huge surprise near the end to bring it to a satisfying conclusion.

The Highland Lodge Getaway by Julie Shackman

We are in the Scottland in a small town called Craig Brae. Lottie lives there and she works there at the Christmas Crackers shop. Or, she worked there because it’s been sold and it will be turned into a restaurant instead.

Lottie doesn't know what to do, she looks for new jobs but can’t find any and just when she is about to give up she gets an opportunity she can’t turn down. There are some luxury wooden cabins being built and the owners want her to manage them and decorate them.

Lottie is very happy about her new job and is about to pour her heart and soul into it, until she meets Blake Dempster. He is a moody, grumpy but very handsome hiking expert who will offer his services to the people who book the cabins. There is one thing Blake Dempster does not like, Christmas and anything Christmassy. We can’t have that - thinks Lottie and will do anything to change his mind.

I looove this heartwarming, cozy and wonderful story. I loved both Lottie and Blake very much.
Put this one on your TBR and read it in December. It was just like a Christmas movie in a book.

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for this ARC.

A thoroughly enjoyable read with sparkling lights and perfect to enjoy with a glass of wine and block of chocolate. The romance had me swooning and the settings are Devine.