Very enjoyable Hallmark-ish story set in Scotland. Rose, grieving her mother, is working temp jobs while trying to come up from her grief. She meets Alistair, who comes into the shop she works at, looking for an event planner. She happens to have done that previously and accepts his offer to come to Scotland for 3 weeks to plan company and family parties. Alistair is a hot single dad and lives in a large estate. He also doesn’t like Christmas. This is more of a slow burn than grumpy sunshine. The pacing is great and this quick read hits everything you want for a chaste Christmas romance. Check it out!

Thank you Joffe Books for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Rose works in a seedy pop-up Christmas shop, situated down an alley between a vaping store and a tattoo parlor. Despite the clearly ideal location, the shop is vacant of customers, and Rose is set to make herself look busy.

In walks the devastatingly handsome Scotsman, Alastair Duncan. He's trying to find someone to fulfill a variety of personal and business holiday events on very short notice, and Rose happens to have events organization experience. He hires her on the spot, and off to Scotland, she goes.

When she arrives, she meets a motherly cook, his sweet and vivacious young daughter, along with her pet goat, and is welcomed into the fold. While she plans out informal and formal events, family gatherings, and the like, her and Alastair find an unexpected comraderie and joy in a holiday they both were dreading. We see both looks and touches linger, as her deadline to leave on Christmas Eve approaches.

With an offer to see the fruits of her labour on Christmas day, and an accountant who has her eye out for Alastair popping by, Rose wonders whether she's found a place to call her own, or not.

*******

This was such an adorable and light-hearted novel. The characters were vibrant, likable, and easy to relate to. The immediate teasing and banter between Alastair and Rose was great, and set the tone for a lot of fun as the book developed. I enjoyed the characters being pushed out of their comfort zone, as well as any miscommunication being approached and settled in a timely manner. I especially appreciated that the emotional toil was incredibly low, with no third act conflict to spoil the atmosphere. The book is the joyful and uplifting light read that it was presented as.

The only real issues I had with the novel were that it was so short it felt closer to a novella, and I would have loved to see more relation development. This leads me to our next point. The declaration of love was a bit much for me. I'd have enjoyed a more realistic declaration of having developed feelings and really wanting to see where it goes. It felt almost blindsided when it felt more logical that they were in the process of really falling for each other with the lingering looks and touches and had an infatuation developing. Especially as they held up the boss/employee barrier the entire three weeks.

Either way, this was a lovely and quick read, and I'd recommend it to anyone who needs a little escape, or palate cleanse, to get back into the joy of a reading a genuinely good book.

****
Thank you, NetGalley and Joffee Books, for the digital ARC copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a delightful Christmas story that I read in a day. I enjoyed the storyline, the characters, and the setting of this engaging novel. There was just a touch of sadness as the two main characters deal with unresolved feelings about Christmas and its festivities, but the overall tone is uplifting with a touch of humor provided by Houdini, the escape artist goat. This novel is full of Christmas spirit, family, and a slow developing romance. I don’t usually read books twice, but this one is worth adding to my holiday reading list.

My thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This review is being posted immediately to my GoodReads account and will be posted on Amazon upon publication.

Thank you, NetGalley and Joffe Books for the ARC! Looking for a festive, feel-good read to cozy up with this holiday season? A Scottish Christmas delivers a delightful grumpy-sunshine romance between Rose, a spirited former event planner, and Alastair, the brooding man who hires her to organize his company and family’s holiday celebrations. Set against the beautiful backdrops of the Scottish Highlands, this story immerses you in rich Christmas traditions and festive cheer. One of the standout characters is Aunt Helena, whose sharp wit and high-class charm provide plenty of humorous moments, making her a perfect addition to the story.

Throughout the book, the slow-burn romance is delicately and beautifully developed, capturing the readers' emotions. However, the ending appears to have been hurriedly concluded, leaving the readers wanting more. The progression of the characters' chemistry transforms from a subtle, understated connection to a more advanced and intense one, which could have been further explored and developed. Even so, the heartwarming journey between the characters makes it a perfect holiday read. For a more in-depth review of this charming story, head over to to my website where I share my book reviews, Erika West's Pearls! My star rating would be a 3.5.

When Rose Aldridge meets Scottish laird Alistair Duncan while working in a pop-up Christmas shop, the last thing she expects is to be offered a job planning and decorating for a big family Christmas. Surprising both of them by accepting the job, Rose befriends Alistair's 12-year-old daughter, Isla, and becomes part of the family, all while trying to plan the perfect Christmas for her boss and newfound friends.

A Scottish Christmas is a super sweet Christmas romance that had me smiling the entire time I read it. I really enjoyed the character relationships and how they grew throughout the book, especially Rose and Isla, and the addition of Isla's cheeky (and spoiled) pet goat added a lot of amusement to the story. If you're looking for a low-stakes Christmas romance that will keep you smiling, then A Scottish Christmas is perfect.

Many thanks to Emma Bennet, Joffe Books, & Netgalley for providing me with an ARC.

After her mom's death, Rose is facing a lonely Christmas while working in a pop-up Christmas shop. Until a handsome, Christmas-hating Scottish man visits the shop and asks her to plan several Christmas events for his employees and business associates. Rose decides anything is better than spending her Christmas alone.

Over the next few weeks, Rose spends time with Alistair and his daughter as she plans Christmas parties, an end-of-term get-together, and the family's Christmas. Along the way, she rediscovers who she is after caring for her sick mother for so many years and helps Alistair remember the joy of Christmas.

Overall, the book was very cute, if typical. The writing style is very simple and gentle, for lack of a better term. There is no real spice (which is fine; it's just something to be aware of!). The story is well done, but not quite my style—a gentle, sweet story and very slow-burning.

A Scottish Christmas is a sweet story with heartache, love and found family. Rose is such a great and compassionate character and I love the connections she creates. This is a story that will give you warm Christmas feels.

Thank you netgalley for an arc of A Scottish Christmas by Emma Bennet

Scottish Romances are my favorite! This is no exception. Such a cute and well written story. You will get attached to the characters so easily.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this arc!

This book was great! I love a good single dad trope. I loved the writing style and I loved the characters and their chemistry. I loved the Christmas vibes. Great book!!

Thank you NetGalley & Joffe Books for allowing me access to this ebook! It'll be released on october 16th and it's the perfect Christmas romance to add to your TBR for the holidays! We follow Rose Aldridge who is unexpectedly working in a pop-up Christmas shop and will cross paths with Alistair Duncan, a brooding Scottish businessman who despises the holidays. When Alistair recruits Rose to plan his family’s Christmas, she brings festive cheer to his estate and starts melting the ice around his heart. It's charming, fun, very Christmassy, honestly a very feel good read!

Great book!! Realistic characters!! Great plot. I would read another book by this author. It had me engaged from start to finish.

Gorgeous Gorgeous read! I’m so glad this a ReadNow option. I love a good single dad troupe and I absolutely loved the story of Alister and his daughter Isla. It put me in the Christmas spirit and I found it to be very relatable and heartwarming. Highly recommend