It’s a real pleasure today to be joining the blog tour and sharing my review for The Christmas Castle in Scotland by Julie Caplin. Published by One More Chapter on 31st October as an ebook and as an audiobook (available via Amazon in the UK and US), the paperback will follow on 10th November (available for preorder). My thanks to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for the invitation and support, and to the publishers for my advance reading e-copy (provided via netgalley).
Christmas and Julie Caplin – now that’s something I really didn’t want to miss! It’s no real secret that the author’s alter ego is Jules Wake, and she wrote the book that I always think of first whenever anyone asks me to name my favourite Christmas read, Notting Hill in the Snow (you can read my review again here). Has everyone else read that one? If not, go on, download it now (it’s free via Kindle Unlimited) – I’m happy to wait!
But today’s read isn’t a Jules Wake of course, it’s a Julie Caplin, and the ninth book in her lovely Romantic Escapes series. Don’t worry about it being “part of a series” – to my eternal shame, I’ve only read two of them before, and there’s no reason at all why you can’t read them as standalones. My first was The Little Teashop in Tokyo (which had so much I really enjoyed – you can read my review again here), the sixth in the series – and I returned for The Cosy Cottage in Ireland, the eighth, and entirely adored it, one of those lovely hugs in book form that I always so love to experience (you’ll find my review here). So, this time it’s Christmas (squee!) and a castle in the Scottish Highlands – I really couldn’t wait…
Izzy McBride had never in a million years expected to inherit an actual castle from her great uncle Bill but here she was, in the run up to Christmas, Monarch of her own Glen – a very rundown glen in need of a lot of TLC if her dream of turning it into a boutique bed and breakfast was to come true.
But when Izzy’s eccentric mother rents a room to enigmatic thriller author Ross Adair and the Scottish snow starts to settle like the frosting on a Christmas cake, it’s a race to get the castle ready before they’re all snowed in for the holidays.
If only Izzy could find the fabled family sapphires everyone seems to think might be hidden somewhere really obvious – instead, she’s wondering where on earth she’s going to find the money to repair the roof and carry on upgrading the rooms so that she can turn Kinlochleven Castle into the boutique hotel of her dreams. But while she’s been brushing up her cooking skills on a course in Ireland, her mother Xanthe has been rather busy – she returns home to find a (rather attractive…) professor heating up baked beans in her kitchen, having handed over rather a lot of money for some solitude and peace and quiet while he works.
But that’s not all her mother’s been up to – the Carter-Jones family are ready to pay £25,000 if they can all visit for a few days of luxury over Christmas, which is only a few weeks away, and that’s the kind of money that they just can’t turn down. While Xanthe has a good eye for interior design (as well as spending money faster than they can make it), she’s never particularly hands-on when there’s work to be done, but there’s help at hand from a young couple Izzy offers a refuge, from Duncan (the not-quite-retired former estate manager), and Ross (the professor – who turns out to have a few secrets of his own, and a quite different reason for wanting solitude) proves more than happy to leave his room from time to time and lend some muscle.
The characters in this book are just wonderful – Izzy herself is entirely lovable, making friends wherever she goes, so determined to turn things around as the days tick down to Christmas. Her mother, to quote Izzy, is totally bonkers – their interactions constantly made me laugh, and you could feel the real affection between them. There’s the loveliest spark of attraction between Izzy and Ross – it slowly fans into a bit more of a flame, but they’ve both been disappointed in love in the past, and the obstacles at times look rather insurmountable. And there’s a fantastic wider supporting cast – some with an edge of eccentricity that’s more than a match for Xanthe – and a few significant challenges for them all along the way.
The snow falls, the weather closes in – hopefully Izzy can source all the food and drink she needs, finalise her ambitious menu (I’d really have liked to taste one of her mouthwatering special mince pies – and that venison en croute!), the rooms might just be ready in the nick of time, and Xanthe’s insta-worthy and Christmassy interiors will be spectacular. If they achieve everything they set out to do, they should exceed the Carter-Jones’ increasingly exacting requirements – but there are still a few more surprises to come.
This is a book that’s sheer enjoyment from beginning to end – the perfect escape with its wonderful Highland setting, full of individuals you really care about, a nice focus on family and friendship, plenty of gentle humour, a few perfect emotional touches, a touch of mystery, the race to the finish line, and the loveliest slow burn romance. All that, and a Christmas to remember – a definite 10/10 for me, and what more could you possibly ask for? Very highly recommended – I loved it.
About the author
After reading English at the University of East Anglia, Julie Caplin, who also writes as Jules Wake, worked in PR where she honed her fiction writing skills on press releases. Her regular press trips to Europe while working on food and drink accounts inspired the Romantic Escapes Series, which have been sold to 19 territories and are best sellers in Germany, Italy, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
She’s now a full-time author and what better job is there than making stuff up! It certainly beats housework.
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