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Winter Magic at Hollybrae Castle by Jaimie Admans #Review

  Winter Magic at Hollybrae Castle by Jaimie Admans was published by Boldwood Books on September 9th. A Scottish castle, a fake marriage… and one very real Christmas romance?   After a window display goes disastrously viral – thanks to a malfunctioning animatronic Santa and an unfortunate encounter with Paddington Bear – Lula Haines finds herself without a job just weeks before Christmas. So she jumps at the chance to decorate Hollybrae Castle in Scotland for the holidays. There’s just one complication: her handsome new boss, Oliver Bracewell, needs a fake wife for the festive season. To secure a promotion that could save his family’s castle, Ollie has been pretending to be a married father-of-two to impress the family-focused firm where he works. Now his bosses are coming to stay at Hollybrae over Christmas… expecting to meet his non-existent wife and children. At first, playing along is easy as Lula is swept up in the magic of turning Hollybrae into the perfect f...

Just Friends at Thistle Lodge by Margaret Amatt #Review #GlenbriarSeriesBook2

 

It is time to head back up to beautiful Scotland,  for Margaret Amatt's second in her Glenbriars Series, Just Friends at Thistle Lodge. You can read my review of the first, Stolen Kisses at the Loch View Hotel here. This second novel is published on May 4th by Leannan Press

One romantic getaway. Two friends. Seven days just pretending…

When Nina Copeland’s mates try to match her with the guy next door, she needs a plan. Because Matthew’s just a friend, and Nina has a secret she doesn’t want him to discover – not until she’s tidied her messy life.

After his divorce, physics teacher Matthew Gilchrist has kept his heart locked safely away. So why do people keep pushing him to date his chirpy neighbour? He and Nina are fine just as friends. Aren’t they?

Nina hatches a solution to get everyone off their backs: fake a relationship at a family reunion, then stage a break-up so life can go back to normal. What could go wrong?

Stuck together at a romantic highland lodge, new feelings lure them out of the friend zone. But if love is to find a way in, Nina must confront her past, and Matthew put his heart on the line.


 My Thoughts

This was such a relaxing read. Using the fake boyfriend trope, there are plenty of opportunities for humour and I enjoyed the dialogue between Nina and Matthew’s family . I wasn’t surprised that they took to her as she has an engaging personality. Under the surface, you find out that she has some parts of her life that she is keeping from everyone. How to untangle this gives her quite a problem.

    Matthew emerges as a thoroughly likeable sort and the chemistry between them is obvious to everyone else. Having read the first in the series, it was nice to check back into a certain hotel and see how life is going there. Taking a risk and recognising where you feel at home are central to the story which is full of honest emotion and close family relationships which are never sentimental.

In short: learning to trust and take a risk 


About the Author

 

Margaret has told and written stories for as long as she can remember. During her formative years, she spent time on long walks inventing characters and stories to pass the time.

Writing books is Margaret's passion and when she's not doing that, she's often found eating chocolate, walking and taking photographs in the hills around Highland Perthshire. Those long walks still frequently bring inspiration!

It’s Margaret's pleasure to bring you the Scottish Island Escapes series and The Glenbriar Series. These books are linked (even the two series have crossovers!) for those who enjoy inhabiting Margaret's world of stories but each can be read as a standalone if you'd rather dip in and out with individual books.

 

You can follow Margaret here:  Facebook  |  Instagram  |  Twitter 

                                                  Website

Book links: Amazon UK  |  Amazon US

 Thanks to Margaret Amatt, Leannan Publishers and Rachel of Rachel's Random Resources for a copy of the book and a place on the tour.

Check out the rest of the tour!

 



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