Almost Like Being in Love by Sariah Wilson is a heartwarming Christmas novella that transports readers to the enchanting Scottish Highlands. Inspired by the movie Brigadoon, the story follows Maren and Penny, two American women who stumble upon a magical, time-frozen village. Here, Maren falls in love at first sight with Duncan Campbell, the charismatic Scottish laird who rescues them from a blizzard. While the concept of instant love and a village outside of time may require some suspension of disbelief, the novella shines with its cozy holiday atmosphere, endearing characters, and celebration of various forms of love. It's a charming and delightful read, perfect for those seeking a festive and heartwarming escape during the holiday season.

Wow. what an unexpected tale of Christmas Magic. Definitely set your expectations at the door when you pick up This story. You're entering a world where dreams and reality are coming together in this new Christmas Novella from Sariah Wilson. It took me a moment to set my reality aside and let myself accept that magical worlds might just appear in the northern reaches of Scotland in a snowstorm...but once I did, I thoroughly enjoyed the tale of Maren being swept off her feet (literally) by the dreamy Scottman, Duncan Campbell. I would have loved this story even more in a full length book where Sariah Wilson could have gone into even more depth about how the characters felt like they knew each other before...how they had dreamt of each other before they'd ever met...my heart was in my throat as it seemed that we might not get a happily ever after for them as their worlds really and truly COULDN'T co-exist, but again, the magic of Christmas comes through to make sure we get the happy ending we all need. The epilogue is truly the star on top of the tree!!

I wasn’t sure about this one at first; it didn’t feel like the usual Sariah Wilson type book what with a bit of time travel and felt a little too much like outlander. But then I sort of got into it and recognized the differences for what they were. It’s a sweet romance story that ends all together too soon.

This book is cute, the writing was well done and reading about the characters was fun!

However it did take me a little while to get into the story setting of this one! But once in, it was a smooth sailing!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!

Warming and full of Christmas joy, sparkle and spirit. I enjoyed reading this book, from the romance, the setting, the storyline and characters. It ticked all the boxes for me. Read and enjoy.

**Round to 3.5 stars

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you NetGalley and Montlake for this advanced copy.

I am learning that romance novellas are not my favorite as they tend to lean towards insta-love themes, which is also not my favorite trope. However, this novella is VERY well written. I would have loved to read this story as a full length novel.

This is a perfect Christmas novella as it takes place during a snow storm around Christmas / New Years. However, it also works to read in the fall simply for the magical realism themes. Lastly, if you are a regency romance reader, you will love this as the main male character is a sexy Scottish Laird.

This is one of the better novellas that I’ve read before, and I highly recommend it for someone looking for a quick read with a bit of heart. However, please be cautious of the trigger warnings as there is off-page and on-page cancer themes as well as themes of parental loss.

I will automatically read anything Sariah Wilson writes! ALBIL reminded me why.

She turns up the charm in this Christmas time travel story. I loved all the characters and the setting, it was all full of spirit.

Since this is a short read, I didn't expect it to be so full of emotion. I really felt the story come full circle, and sometimes that's hard to achieve with a short story.

I loved it. Thank you so much NetGalley for the arc!

Sariah Wilson is an incredibly talented author & Almost Like Being In Love is a novella of hers I really enjoyed reading. All the Scottish history, holiday traditions, & of course Lots of romance makes this a really good story. A bit far fetched of a story with the magic & setting, but who doesn't love a little magic around Christmas time. Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC.

The story itself was cute. As it was a novella, it was fast paced, but the instalove was a bit too much for me. I don't feel like the main characters built any chemistry before they gor together. However, they explained a lot of seventeenth century Christmas traditions and that was nice. All in all, a bit boring for me.

To honor her dying mother's request, Maren travels to Scotland to discover what happened to her uncle. She is accompanied by her friend Pam. When they get caught in a blizzard, they travel back to the seventeenth century and the village Highglen. While Maren feels a connection to the laird Duncan, she knows
she must return to her own time and her dying mother. As Highglen operates on a different time, she may never see him again. Charming novella.
Reminds one of the movie Brigadoon.
#AlmostLikeBeinginLove #NetGalley

This book had it all for me and that was it. I had to read this to see what it was all about. I was not disappointed and enjoyed the content. Enjoyed this book. I want to find more of her books.

What. A. Cute. Story!!! Hallmark Christmas-esque with a couple magical spins. This is my 3rd book by this author & I really like her writing style.
A short, sweet, must read for the holiday season. Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. 4 stars.

I love the whimsical feel of the story. The only flaw for me was the super insta love. And there were not many reasons as to why somethings happened, like how the main character got back at the end. But I assumed it was a Christmas miracle, which in another time it wouldn’t work for me. However, it’s christmas so let’s go with it.
I liked how the main characters got to know each other in a small amount of time. I found their interactions very honest, funny and sweet. Duncan is terribly romantic, sweet and flirty. An amazing love interest. His family was very amusing with their machinations to move things forward between him and Maren.
I loved the twist of who’s traveling in time, I did not expect that, and it was refreshing. I have never seen it before. Also, I enjoyed the traditions that were experienced throughout the story. I definitely got some new knowledge out of it.
I think the author’s writing makes it possible to generate a very different variety of feelings in a very short amount of time. I should note that Maren losing her mother was heart wrenching. But I’m glad that it ended on a happy note. Little Murdoch filled my heart with joy.

This book was so cute. So fun! So sweet and easy. I enjoyed the story. It gives hope in those miracles and magic. I am normally not a fan of no physical action but this story didn’t need it. It helped play into the past and Duncan being this sweet gentleman.

Sariah Wilson, I've said it before and I'll say it again- I would read the phonebook if you wrote it. I'm not a big Scotland fan and time travel confuses me so I steer clear. I'm also quite a Grinch. But put time travel, Scotland and Christmas together, with Sariah Wilson on the cover and you've got yourself a winner!

If you like chemistry, romance, Scotland, Sariah Wilson and novellas, this one should be high on your holiday lineup.

I’m a big fan of Sariah Wilson and I read everything she writes. I’m less of a fan of love at first sight novels, I feel like I need longer to connect to the characters. Which was kind of the case here, however Maren was a likeable character that made it easy to root for her. Although it wasn’t my favourite Sariah Wilson novel it was a quick, enjoyable read.

This novella is perfect for Christmas time and for when you need a light easy read. I liked Maren’s character and I appreciated that romantic love isn’t necessarily the most important thing in the world.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sariah Wilson’s short and sweet story Almost Like Being in Love brings back some of the Outlander feels, via Scottish slang and scenery, while centering around the importance of family and the holidays. Such a unique spin on historical time travel with a time traveling Scottish clan that isolated to preserve their Christmas celebrations!

I knew what I was getting into- as this is a novella. I still want more of Maren and Duncan to strengthen their chemistry and connection, which is sometimes difficult in such a short work.

Almost like being in love is a fun and swoony romance novella that follows Maren as she and best friend Penny embark on a trip to the Scottish Highlands to achieve her mother's dying wish to find out what happened to her uncle, who vanished when she was a child.
On their journey to a remote part of the Highlands their car gets stuck in the heavy snow and with no help around they settle in for the time being and wait for it to pass. As more and more time passes with the weather not improving, Maren realises she has to be proactive and help herself and Penny out of this worsening situation. After exiting the car, she spots people in the distance who help them and soon after she faints.
After waking, Maren appears to be in a completely different time and meets someone she feels a deep connection to: Duncan Campbell, a man who appears to be a traditionally dressed Scottish Highlander who she thinks is acting as part of some role play scenario.
It’s a super short and sweet read with strong Outlander vibes but I think Sariah Wilson writes very uniquely so I don’t think it’s fair making a comparison to another series.
The traditional descriptions of what Christmas was once like (though personally I don’t know if it’s factually accurate) was great to read.
It was a clean read with a lot of tension and a few steamy kisses, but it was really great. By the end I had a tear in my eye, but it was a great ending to a fab novella.
I would definitely recommend reading this as the Christmas season approaches.
Thank you for the eARC!

A short, festive read set in the exciting décor of Scotland. I really wanted to love it but it didn't reel me in as expected. Maybe the timing is off and I should give it another go closer to Christmas.

First of all, I absolutely LOVE the cover art for this novella, it’s stunning and sweet, and definitely engages its audience. Huge props to the artist.

Unfortunately, I just really couldn't connect with the book at all because of the Scottish accent being textually in the dialogues.
In the first couple of chapters the book promised to be a fun ride; I knew what I was getting into (insta-love hello!) so I didn't care about 'predictability' or anything, I was here for a sweet, fun ride about a Christmas love between space-time but hard as I tried, every time I read didnae, dinnae and aye, my mind instantly disconnected from the narrative and I couldn't enjoy the story at all in the end.

However, if you don't mind accents being written in characters dialogues then absolutely go ahead and enjoy this book candy! It all boils down to personal preference.