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.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this book. Julie Shackman is a new author to me I’ll definitely be reading her books again. This is the 5th book she has written but all are standalones. This story follows Libby as she embarks in a new challenge can she persuade Blake to be happy at Christmas . Definitely pick up this book to find out.

The book was cute enough. I appreciate that Lottie actually had all the skills for her job and even though she was Christmas-obsessed, This was a really cute holiday read.

As someone who grew up in a family-owned Christmas store in a tourist town in the Colorado Rockies, I really connected with Lottie, the protagonist of The Highland Lodge Getaway. She’s smart, plucky, creative, and goes beyond her job description running the store Christmas Crackers on behalf of its owner. When her plans to buy the business are killed by a landlord refusing to renew the shop’s lease, she must find a new job and forge a new path all in the last few weeks before Christmas. I really loved that author Julie Shackton juxtaposed her main character’s world falling apart with the coming together of the holidays, and I felt her situation was very plausible.

More than that, Lottie is truly likeable, pitching in to help out even when one of the colleagues at her new job isn’t exactly supportive of her ideas. Of course, her sparring with Blake, the rugged hiker, turns into something more, and watching their rivalry turn into a friendship through the pages of this novel was quite rewarding. Neither character seemed overdrawn, and their emotional truth grounded the story, keeping the tinsel as an accent and not an overwhelm.

I really loved the use of a small town as a sort of Greek chorus in this book. Author Shackman has made the town of Craig Brae into a character of its own, as well as a place I’d love to visit.

Compelling, cozy, and just Christmassy enough to feel festive, this novel has family drama and romance but also personal growth and characters finding second chances in organic ways. Overall, it’s the perfect read to get you into the holiday spirit.

Goes well with: mulled wine and mince pies.

While I had not read the previous books in this series by Julie Shackman, The Highland Lodge Getaway definitely can be a stand alone. Grab your blanket and a cup of tea and read this cozy story about second chances.

I haven’t read the previous 4 books in the series but i really liked this one! Set in Scotland, it was a perfect read for the holiday season. A main character who loves Christmas. A grinch who doesn’t and the romance between the two. Glad I was able to read this before Christmas for all the vibes!