What an absolutely, wonderful, warm Christmas story, I loved every minute and now I want to live in a castle in Scotland, the relationship between all of the characters was superb although I expected a bit more from the ending but it was still lovely

A cute book about a woman who inherits a castle in Scotland from a relative and her and her flighty mom trying to get it ready for Christmas. Izzy is excited to be renovating a castle she just inherited to be a lodge. However, when she arrives, she finds her mom has already rented rooms and booked a huge party for Christmas even though Izzy doesn't feel they will be completely ready for that. Along the way, she finds romance with the lodger, Ross.

A light story although at times I wish there was a bit more substance. However, this would be a good beach read or snow read maybe!

In this the latest in the Romantic Escapes the story centres around Izzy, who has inherited a castle in Scotland from her Great Uncle. She moves into it with her mother Xanthe, who is eccentric to say the least, with the intention of turning it into a boutique hotel.
As with other books in this series the author manages to bring the location to life for me and the food sounded absolutely delicious. It did make the work involved in trying to renovate an old property very realistic, with the amount of work and money required enough to make anyone turn pale. Izzy herself sounds very warm and welcoming, her mother tiring and Ross, the surprise lodger, grumpy.
There seems to be some very good Christmas themed books this year and this is a great example of one with its warm theme and a mixture of romance, humour, mayhem and a touch of mystery. Definitely highly recommended and I'm looking forward to reading the next one in the series, of which there is a taster at the end of this book.
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley, however this did not influence my review of the book.

I think this may actually be my first Julie Caplin book (sorry!) but what a lovely festive one to start with! We are introduced to Izzy who has just finished a cooking course in Ireland in preparation for her new adventure which involves a slightly run down castle recently inherited for her great uncle and her attempt to turn it into a a luxury bed and breakfast celebrating the Scottish culture. As we quickly learn, things aren't quite as straight forward as Izzy hoped. Her mother Xanthe appears to be at the helm of things and has managed to rent out one of the rooms to a moody writer as well as renting out the unfinished castle (with added leaking roof) to some guests who are wanting to celebrate an authentic Scottish Christmas with a celebrated chef - who Izzy learns is herself!

I absolutely loved The Christmas Castle in Scotland from the first page and grew quite attached to Izzy and the extended family that all turn up during the run up to Christmas. There is everything you need in this book - snow, a rugged and moody writer, lost treasure and a pair of young newlyweds living in a tent in the grounds that kept me reading whenever I had a spare 10 minutes. The tension between Izzy and Ross is just perfect and I enjoyed learning more about their pasts and their initial frostiness with each other.

The descriptions of the castle were perfect and I felt as though I was actually there witnessing the festive fun. A beautifully written book that would be ideal to read over the Christmas break!

Highly recommended from me.

This story is set in Scotland in Kinlochleven Castle which has been left to Izzy by her late great uncle Bill. In order to make the castle pay she has decided to turn it into a hotel. After a six week cookery course in Ireland, she feels she has the skills to provide food for her guests. Now she just needs to start with the repairs and renovating of the building so she is able to take in paying guests as soon as possible.
Upon arrival she finds a strange man in her kitchen making beans on toast and finds out that not only has her mother taken in him as a lodger for three months but, she has also agreed to host a Christmas spectacular for a group of very rich people from 23rd December. As it is already October Izzy is shocked to say the least and feels this is almost an impossible task.
A group of new friends join together to renovate as much of the castle as possible in the time available and with the funds at hand. This together with a will they wont they romance between Izzy and the lodger, Izzy's mother looking for lost treasure and Izzy creating new friendships is both funny and well written. The whole story creates a wonderful festive spirit which I thoroughly enjoyed.

The Christmas Castle in Scotland is a fabulous festive read. It’s full of great characters, love, warmth humour and plenty of mince pies. I read it over a couple of days and found myself getting completely drawn into the story line. Highly recommended. Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins UK One More Chapter and the author for the chance to review.

I loved this book, easily readable in one sitting.

Izzy Mcbride has inherited a castle in Scotland from her great Uncle. Xanthe her mother has been living in it and maintaining it until Izzy returns. She wants to turn it into a hotel, after taking a food course in Ireland, she’s ready to get the place earning its keep. She bumps into Ross who’s currently staying at the property. Xanthe has no problems letting people stay and the house is filled with laughter, happiness and friends.

Heartwarming romance, it’s a must read this Christmas. The characters are interesting, I loved them all. The book is set in a lovely castle by a loch with snow, rain and gales. They are in Scotland after all. Loved the Doric poem and the Doric words in the book.

Highly recommend, 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy for an honest review.

Izzy has inherited a castle in Scotland. With her mum.helping, and an unexpected lodger, will she manage to turn able to turn around the fortunes of her new.home? A great festive read

Nice easy read that is of the same levels of heat, humour and drama as the previous books in the series. I really like Julie's writing style, but have to admit that the last couple of additions to the Romantic Escapes series, have lacked a little of the sparkle the first few books had, still a pleasant enough read, and absolutely perfect for the Christmas season.

This book was perfect for the Christmas season. The story finds Izzy McBride inheriting her late Uncle's castle in Scotland. With the help of her mother, she hopes to turn it into an exclusive bed and breakfast. When she arrives, she discovers that her mother has already rented one of the rooms to Ross Adair, an author who just wants peace and quiet so he can work on his latest book. In the midst of trying to get things going, Mom also rents to others for Christmas. Izzy finds herself in a rush to get the castle ready for Christmas and finding herself attracted to her mysterious guest.

Loved this book and think it will be perfect for the holiday season! Thank you to Net Galley who allowed me to read in exchange for my honest review.

You had me at Christmas, Scotland, Castle, Food. All of my favorite cozies for the holiday season. My only regret? That the review was due in by Halloween so I got my seasonal celebrations all jumbled. But as soon as spooky season is over you know I'll be watching A Castle for Christmas on Netflix (Brook Shields and Cary Elwes Scottish castle Christmas romcom) on repeat while wrapping everything in plaid and rereading this book for sure. Might even make it into a stocking or two for the holiday season ;-) .

It was a lot of fun and I thorughly enjoyed this rom-com. Well plotted and compelling, a festive story that made me smile.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

🎁Orchestrating the perfect Christmas for a Scottish castle: how could it not include romance?!😊❄

4.5🌟 stars
I thought this story had a great mixture of business challenges and romance leavened with kindness and hospitality. It's an easy read, full of good food, strangers becoming friends and a chilly but lovingly described Scottish Highland setting. The romance(s) sweet rather than steamy and the heroine, a bit of an underdog, finding that, despite stumbling blocks like leaking roofs, scary snowstorms, quixotic guests and a fit writer who blows hot and cold, life in her castle can be rewardingly sweet.

Izzy, the central female character, has major financial constraints, but needs to get the tired castle she recently inherited into pristine shape to market it as a classy hotel. To me, her major challenge was not the building repairs but her enthusiastic, spendthrift mother Xanthe. I just don't know how Izzy keeps her cool when Xanthe keeps throwing new, labor making surprises at her and acting like a) it's her right, b) it's no bother, and c) cost is irrelevant.

And yet, so many of Xanthe's actions do end up with surprisingly good outcomes, including her decision to take a longer-term lodger before the castle renovations even get underway.

There are references to the Ireland novel in the series but it's not at all necessary to read the earlier book to fully understand and enjoy this one. I could have done with a toned down Xanthe, but overall it's a good, cozy feel read with a festive, happy conclusion.

Thanks to Harper Collins UK/One More Chapter and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

This was a wonderful story set in a truly wonderful location. I was hooked from the beginning. A heartwarming read with everyone helping each other to bring about a lovely outcome for Izzy who inherited the castle. A very daunting prospect but with the help of others, including her mother, she flourished. The story about Ross Adair renting a room was in itself intriguing. Beautifully written and I loved all the characters which made for a wonderful read.

Loved this book! I have followed this series from Copenhagen and each one has had me wishing to visit, well this one is more doable.
What a stunning setting!

Scotland in a castle at Christmas surrounded by friend old and new with the most amazing sounding food!

The story flowed beautifully and I couldn’t wait to see what happened.
Such great characters showing Christmas is the time to be together if you can.

Perfect 😍

This was a lovely seasonal read and absolutely enveloped me in Christmas spirit.

Izzy has inherited a castle in Scotland and in order to “keep it in the family” intends to run it as a hotel. Upon arriving at the castle she sees that her mother, a completely eccentric, outgoing woman with what appears to be little thought for others and living in her own bubble, has rented a room out to Ross, the true hero of the story. Throw in a couple of wild campers who Izzy invites to stay in the castle after a particularly stormy nigh blows their tent away, the original gillie of the estate Duncan and a whole host of supporting characters you have an almost farcical feel to the book.

Although I had worked out a couple of the twists about one of the characters and who they actually were and where the legendary sapphires were hidden, it did not take away anything from this book. Xanthe and Alicia did take starring roles in the book, if only for their madcap ideas and outfits (Xanthe) but the book is absolutely about love, friendship and family and this delivers in spades!

Would nightly recommend for a lovely feel good Christmas story

Quite frankly, after reading The Christmas Castle in Scotland, I’m surprised I don’t read more books like this because I just adored it! I’ve never been to Scotland but could swear I have because I was just transported there through this book.

You don’t have to have read the other books in the Romantic Escapes series to read The Christmas Castle in Scotland. From my understanding, Izzy, the protagonist in this story, was introduced briefly in the previous book, but that’s just a way to tie the stories together. I was happy to realize that I already have another one of the books of the series on my kindle and will be diving in at first chance.

As for the story, if you like a Hallmark Christmas Movie, this is the perfect sort of book for you. A dilapidated castle in Scotland, a brooding but hot author, a meddling mother, and an independent woman recently wounded by love and not looking for it, all makes for the perfect cozy romance.

The descriptions of the settings were wonderful, even when they describe snow (yuck! I’ve got enough of that in real life), and Izzy is a trained chef so there’s a lot of concentration on food. Although, if I were to be perfectly honest, Scottish people must eat a lot of seafood, which I don’t care for, so descriptions of lobsters and prawns just didn’t do it for me earlier in the story. But as the story gets closer to Christmas, I wish I knew some of the recipes to incorporate into my repertoire. I had some idea that meals in England and Scotland served different dishes than in America, but this book really opened my eyes as to how different our meals are!

As for the romance, it’s good clean fun, with no explicit sex scenes, which is a plus for this middle-aged lady. Bodice-ripping and ravaging just aren’t my jam anymore. And the inevitable conflict that pulls the lovers apart was predictable but handled in a way that still made it enjoyable to read. There’s also a sub-plot involving missing sapphires hidden somewhere in the castle that I figured out early on but didn’t detract from the story.

Overall, if you need a cozy romance to read this holiday season and want to learn more about the Scottish Highlands and gourmet cooking, this book is for you. I can’t wait to read the other books in the series. Highly recommend! I’m happy to see that right now the book is only $2.99 on Kindle, as are several others in the series. Check it out here and here!

I received and eARC from NetGalley and One More Chapter Book Publishers in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and Julie Caplin for this ARC.

A lovely, cosy, Christmas vibes. I really enjoyed this book, it's the perfect book to read by a cosy fire, the twinkle of Christmas lights and a hot toddy. I also loved the Jamie Fraser references.

I love this series, and I think this could be my favourite book so far! I loved everything about it!
I really liked Izzy, she was so welcoming and easy going. Her mother Xanthe took a bit of getting used to, as did Ross the moody author!
The setting was lovely, especially when the snow starts. I love snow, probably because we don’t get much here in Jersey, and I wouldn’t mind being snowed in, in a Scottish castle with family and friends at Christmas. In fact it would be perfect, especially with a wonderful host and cook like Izzy!
Although the romance was predictable, it was lovely and there were a few fab surprises thrown in there as well to add some drama and tension!
If you’re looking for a cosy read for Christmas I definitely recommend this one. In fact I recommend the whole Romantic Escapes series!

The perfect Christmas read!. This was a lovely book, wonderful characters, lots of good food, snow, friendship and a Scottish Castle, oh and perhaps a bit of romance........ It doesn't get better than this. If you are going to buy just one Christmas book this year, make sure it's this one.