Okay so, I DNF'd this book at the 50% mark. I went in with low expectations as you do for Christmas romances, and I would have enjoyed this book with those low expectations as well, however, I did not enjoy the audiobook narration. The accent was hard to understand for me, it's just that the accent isn't something I am familiar with (English isn't even my first tongue). I can imagine a lot of people enjoying this book, and I could have been one of them if I could have understood half of what the Scottish characters were saying. Even slowing the speed didn't help much for me, so trust me, I did try. Giving it a 3-star rating because I have to rate even the books I have DNF'd here on Netgalley, and I am sure that I would have at least enjoyed the book a bit more if hadn't read it via an audiobook.

This book was too kitschy for me. There wasn't enough magic and folklore to be a fantasy novel, and it really didn't feel like the right fit for the plot. A ghost coo, brownie, kelpies, etc., save the day but it's so absurd that it would've been better without it. None of the characters were unique enough for me to remember who anyone was other than the main couple, though jumping into a series may be where I missed the character development.

West gave me the creeps. Major creeps. Maybe he's just not my cup of tea, but the way he announced his feelings right after meeting her, and how he both pursued her and enlisted the help of others felt highly inappropriate. If she hadn't liked him, that would've been a nightmare. Particularly in a remote, small village. Therefore the steamy stuff was gross, to me.

I wholly did not like this book. I love fantasy, I'm game for a rom-com most of the time, love a Scottish tale with folklore woven in, but this didn't have enough substance for my taste.

1 star because I finished it and 1 star because I really wanted it to be more and didn't give up hope completely until the end.

This one is for the book lovers looking for a cozy holiday romance with a touch of magic set in Scotland. It has insta love, snowed in, a hot tub in the snow, a book fair, a castle, he's a professor and she's an unpublished author, there are mythical beings and a very mild and quickly moved past 3rd act breakup.

My only critique would be that the audio book voice of the hero was not for me. And that goes for both the female narrator and the male. I loved their voices for all the side characters and the main female character. Loved the accents. But when they both voiced West, he sounded like a tool or so stilted. He's described as having a voice made for the lecture hall he would have taught in and his physical description is Clark Kent like. But I think they might have gone too far with it and made it a caricature and not sexy, at least for me. Still, I very much enjoyed this as a quick listen that put me in a holiday mood.

This is my second time through this book, and I still love it just as much! It is the epitome of cozy, Christmassy goodness, with a hint of wanderlust and whimsy. I really enjoyed West and Maisie's chemistry right off the bat, and the return to Loren Brae's gorgeous Scottish setting. The narrators were great and brought another level of enjoyment to the story. Overall a great, quick holiday read!

A Scottish Christmas romance with mentions of the standing advertising in the bathroom and that wasn't it hiding place stones? Yes please!

I typically live a story told through two POVs but under I couldn't attach to either character and quickly lost interest.

The audiobook has two narrators for each POV BUT when there is dialogue within the POV the narrator adjusts their voice. This makes sense, but if rather have just one narrator.

Dual narration for the MCs with each maintain the Scottish accent for Maisie and the American accent for West. Listened at 1.75x speed because 2x made it tough to decipher some of Maisie and her country-people's lines.

Weston rolls into a Scottish town and it's love at first sight for him and overly competitive, mild know it all Maisie. Weston's direct communication about his attraction to Maisie quickly warms her up and the two soon become inseparable. There is one pretty spicy scene, but otherwise just lots of flirtation on a relatively straight path to the conclusion.

The writing--especially West's dialogue--is a bit unbelievable and forced. The pacing is quick, which works for the story. No real plot twists or hurdles to overcome. Just a fast read for a simple romance.

Overall: 4 stars

I'll tell my students about: sex, alcohol, language, supernatural

**Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Select, Lovewrite Publishing for the free ALC. All opinions expressed are my own.**

I love this series and this book did not disappoint at all! A short and sweet Christmas rom com.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape for giving me the opportunity to listen to this audio eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a fun Hallmark-esque Christmas romance filled with snow, holiday magic and funny characters. I really liked the magical/mythical aspect of the plot, bookish references, and the setting - especially with narrators performing Scottish accents. A sweet low-stakes wholesome novel. 3.5⭐️

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the audiobook.

This was a really fun dual POV, holiday novella set in the Scottish Highlands that sees burnt out American English lit professor, Weston taking a vacation to the small town of Loren Brae, where he meets Maisie, an aspiring author.

Full of touches of magic, Scottish myths and legends come to life, local traditions (ie First footing/Hogmanay), snow storms and lots of different games (trivia, tabletop, cards, gingerbread making competitions, etc). It was just a sweet, enjoyable read that I gobbled up and great on audio narrated by Amy Landon and Will Watt.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review. This is definitely my favorite in the series so far!

This book felt like someone wrote a story and then lost every other chapter. I often felt like I was missing out on something or looking in on someone else’s conversation. Maybe this is supposed to be a novella and I needed to read the other books in the series?

This was such a cute quick little read. A little “silly” but not in a bad way, just more mythical creatures than I anticipated. A bit of insta love which isn’t my fave and would probably be my only complaint.