Tag Archives: Scotland

Jan25

Highlands Christmas-Wishes Come True by Amy Quick Parrison

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Highlands Christmas-Wishes Come True by Amy Quick Parrison

Parrison, Amy Quick. Highlands Christmas-Wishes Come True. Flying Cactus, 2022. 122pp. ISBN 9780997552867. $10.24

** 1/2

In this very fast-paced tale, interior designer Melissa MacKenzie’s seemingly perfect life blows up when her husband discloses his affair and all but kicks her out of their home. Luckily, she gets a letter that she has inherited a Scottish castle, and travels abroad to see it, encountering sweet Colin MacGregor, a Scottish-American lawyer whom her husband has retained for their divorce proceedings. In between making new friends, seeing the town, and removing the For Sale signs that keep popping up on her inherited property’s lawn, Melissa keeps bumping into Colin. It turns out the letter was a scam…but Melissa IS a MacKenzie, and Colin is determined to put his legal-fu to work to help Melissa keep her new home.

The writing is flowery and descriptive, with as much small-town charm and meet cute as a holiday Hallmark channel love story. The romance is squeaky-clean, heart-warming, seasonal and delightful, but too short for any real depth of emotion (or really addressing the conflict of interest with dating your husband’s divorce lawyer), and the author relies on more telling than showing. I did like it enough to request–and read!–the stand-alone sequel, Highlands New Year.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #WishesComeTrue via #NetGalley courtesy of #FlyingCactus.

Jul14

Do Your Worst by Rosie Danan

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Do Your Worst by Rosie Danan

Danan, Rosie. Do Your Worst. Berkley, 2023. 336pp. ISBN 9780593437148 $17.00

****1/2

This is the paranormal, historical, set-in-Scotland, hate-sex-having romance novel you didn’t know you needed. Curse-breaker Riley butts heads with academic archaeologist Clark Scotland over, well, EVERYTHING. Their first meeting at a pub is all chemistry and sweetness, but when Riley overhears Clark dissing her profession the next morning when she shows up on location to start her job, she discovers the hottie from last night is the one insulting her, and the dude the the historical association sent to do some due diligence excavation.

While I do occasionally branch out and read witchy/occult romance, curse-breaking is a new profession for me to see featured in romance (give a listen to the Somewhere In Between episode of Book Riot’s When in Romance podcast for a great discussion of occupations they’d like to see in romance novels –oy vey, so many bakeries and bookshops!). Do Your Worst features amazing, researched, and believable details about curse-breaking, and I loved the concept of the curse having a life of it’s own. Riley totally employs the scientific method in her work. In addition to the romance, family relationships are complicated and resolutions attempted, demonstrating true, realistic character growth.

Things to love about Rosie Danan’s superb writing: feisty, unapologetic heroines; broadly-defined sex; pop culture references; boundary-setting; love for Philadelphia, PA; snarky humor and great banter; addressing vulnerabilities; all the gory details; a 10-page description of the MMC jerking off while thinking about the FMC…

I don’t want to give too much away, so will leave you with this: if you love Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Season 2 Episode 19 “I Only Have Eyes for You” was in fact directly referenced) or Outlander (book or show) for their particular winning blend of occult, history, methodical and detailed science, and herbalism/magic, this is a great novel for you to pick up. It hard a bit of slow start for me, and I ended up devouring it over two days.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #DoYourWorst from #NetGalley.

Oct10

Ruby Spencer’s Whisky Year by Rochelle Bilow

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Ruby Spencer’s Whisky Year by Rochelle Bilow

Bilow, Rochelle. Ruby Spencer’s Whisky Year. Berkley. 2023. 368 pp. ISBN 978-0593547885. $17.00

***

An American food writer rents a cottage in Scotland, sight unseen, to spend the next year writing a cookbook, trying all the whisky, and maybe finding a hot Scotman. In exchange for room and board, Ruby puts in some hours at the adjacent pub, which conveniently has the kitchen her cottage lacks. The pub has some good whiskey and a friendly vibe, if a little quiet… and then a local guy shows up as the handyman at proprietor Grace’s request, to make a few minor repairs to the flophouse, as the cottage is affectionately known, and Ruby is smitten. She sends all the right vibes to Brochnan, but he does not seem to be picking up what she’s laying down until well into the novel. The relationship was drawn out way too much for my liking.

Ruby only ended up in charming Thistlecross because it’s where her dart landed, but she soon feels part of the community, and ends up overhearing something she shouldn’t have from the mayor, a childhood friend of Brochnan. As their relationship deepens, she wonders if she should tell him what she knows about the future of the pub and cottage, especially after he confides about his trust issues with women… but chooses not to. I may or may not have been grimacing in disappointment at the character’s actions.

The writing is solid and attention to detail is excellent. The food and drink descriptions are good but not enough to make this a culinary read, a little disappointing, since the cookbook idea is a major plot point. Ruby’s first pitch is rejected, and she eventually hits on a winning idea (but WHY not focus on the family style suppers she hosts???). This missed opportunity, dishonesty and slow pacing was like sip of not-aged-enough whisky: yes, complex, smokey, peaty, but a little too much wincing as it goes down rough.

The cover art perfectly depicts a scene where Roo convinces Broo to take a selfie on one of their adventures–well done.

I received an advance reader’s review copy of #RubySpencer’sWhiskyYear from #NetGalley.