I loved the setting of this book, a small village in the Highlands.

Merry needs to heal so moves to her Aunt Ava's house to look after her animals which she hopes will help.

I enjoyed the family dynamics between Merry and her brothers as well as the relationship that develops between her and Theo, the local vet. It was sweet that he helped her with the Secret Santa her Aunt had left for her to sort.

A heartwarming festive read which I would definitely recommend.

I love Donna Ashcroft's books but I think this might just be my favourite one to date. I loved so many things about this book - particularly all the animals and the festive elements, including the name of the village and the main character, which provided a lot of fun and mystery. There was depth to this book as Merry had a complex history with herself and her brothers. I really enjoyed seeing her confidence and independence grow, whilst seeing how her relationship with Theo blossomed. I identified with her because of how vulnerable she was and how this made her suspicious and isolated. This made the transformation heartwarming. A story and characters that make a perfect Christmas read and will stay with me for quite some time.

This was a cute festive read, which delivers what it says on the tin. I really liked the concept and found it o be heartwarming with a nice combination of friendship, familial love, and romance.
Thanks to Donna Ashcroft and NetGalley for the ARC,
#SnowflakesandSecretsintheScottishHighlands #NetGalley

A warm and lovely Christmas read with lots of fun moments.
I loved how Merry has the courage to go it alone and Henry and the others were great company for her. The secret Santa process left in the instructions from Aunt Ava sounded great fun and it was the perfect way for Merry to get to know the villagers and join village life. A fun romance with all the festive feels.

I have read several books by Donna Ashcroft... and honestly, I fall in love with each any every one of her delightful stories.
This read certainly left me feeling immensely festive.... with a leading character named Merry, whilst the story is set around Christmas time, it was impossible for me to not adore everything about this book!.

Immer noch Herbst und ich habe schon das zweite Weihnachtsbuch hintereinander gelesen.
Dabei weiß jeder, der mich kennt, dass ich kein besonderer Freund vom Weihnachtsfest bin.
Die Weihnachtsromane von Donna Ashcroft sind jedoch unterhaltsam, gemütlich und irgendwie auch besinnlich. Eigentlich so, wie Weihnachten sein sollte...

Die 30-jährige Merry geht nach Schottland, um sich von ihren überbehütenden Brüdern zu emanzipieren. Dort soll sie sich um die Tiere ihrer Tante kümmern, doch durch ein blödes Missgeschick verliert sie die Pflegeanweisungen.
Zum Glück gibt es den Tierarzt Theo, der Merry aus der Patsche helfen kann. Und wie sich herausstellt, tut er das dann auch sehr gern, denn Merry kann seiner Hilfe gut gebrauchen.

Die weihnachtlichen schottischen Highlands haben es mir tatsächlich angetan. Dieses Buch hat mir einige vergnügliche Lesestunden beschert.
Nur eine Sache hat mich arg gestört: das alleine im Haus lebende Kaninchen. 🐰🐇Kaninchen sollten IMMER mit einem passenden Artgenossen gehalten werden. Alles andere bringt die Menschen nur auf dumme Gedanken, selbst in fiktionalen Geschichten.
So sehr ich diese Lovestory auch mochte, das hat mich beim Lesen echt gewurmt. Aber auch Chewy hat seine eigene kleine Lovestory verdient 🐰

I received a digital arc of this from netgalley ages ago in exchange for an honest review.

I love everything that I've ever read by Donna. The characters she creates and the stories she tells are just beautiful. I always feel warm and cosy reading her books and want to be in them amongst the characters. This was no different. I really enjoyed trying to work out the secret Santa presents with Merry. Would highly recommend! Read in a day.

Loved this book, great characters, locations and storyline . Some laugh out loud moments. A brilliant, festive read, pure escapism , Enjoy!
Highly recommended
Thank you to Netgalley, Bookoutre and Donna Ashcroft for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review

Merry McKenzie is visiting the Scottish Highlands for Christmas. Now I've never visited there myself, but the book sure makes it sound like the perfectly festive getaway.
As a lover of animals, I was thrilled to read a book full of so many animals including some pretty funny scenes. She is there for a month to take care of her aunts' animals while she is traveling. I've read a few of this authors' books already so I knew I would enjoy this story and it was what I was expecting. Things get off to a bit of a hilarious start when Chewy, her aunts' rabbit chews up an important list she needed. With her aunt away, Merry is tasked with filling her aunt's job of doing the Secret Santa. I just love Secret Santa, so much fun. When Chewy chews up the list she doesn't know what gift for who is. The local vet helps her figure out who each gift is for, but she doesn't know it, she thinks she figures it out herself.
Theo Ellis-Lee, the local vet starts coming every evening to check on the animals, he's infuriatingly cheerful and can't help bringing a smile to Merry's face when they go to the pub.
This visit to the highlands is really a healing trip for Merry, she needs to figure out somethings in life and this is to help take her mind off things. She has important things to decide and with the help of a certain handsome vet her mind just may have been made up a lot quicker. Loved the immersion of the Christmas spirit I felt while reading this. The town's people are so friendly and welcoming to this outsider she just may decide to make this winter's vacation one she's not going to leave. Grab your hot chocolate with marshmallows and your cat you're going to enjoy snuggling up while reading this one.

Pub Date 27 Sep 2022
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

I didn't finished this book. It just wasn't for me. I read about 30% but just couldn't get into the characters or storyline.

This was a cozy, comforting holiday review. I enjoyed the characters and plot very much. I loved seeing the budding relationship between the main characters.

I really enjoyed this book, I loved the characters and the romance was perfect for the season. I would highly recommend this book to everyone!!

Thisa is an excellent Christmas book which will fill you full of festive cheer and Christmas spirit, all the wonderful festivities and traditions associated with Christmas are in this book and made it feel so lovely. The characters and storyline are wonderful , you really care for them and will want more.

A brilliant read and one I really enjoyed. The characters are loveable and varied, the plot is one that is engaging and medium paced. I found myself completely drawn into the story and enjoyed the writing style.

A great book to curl up to on a dark winters night
You will love all the characters and not want to put it down
Another great story by this lady
A must read
Thanks NetGalley

Snowflakes and Secrets in the Scottish Highlands by Donna Ashcroft was just lovely. A lovely snowy read and perfect Christmas theme was enough for me to devour this book in one sitting. Another great book by Donna. Looking forward to her next release, I just know it will be fab.

Yes yes yes a bit YES for that book by Donna Ashcroft! I am starting very well the new year with that excellent read! So excellent that I gave this story a 5 stars out of 5! This book is full of events, mysteries, secrets but also wonderful and warm relationships between the characters, I absolutely loved the 2 main characters and especially the vet! This guy is the dream boyfriend!
Also if you are looking for a book with a winter atmosphere, this one is for you! There is snow, snowstorms and cold weather happening! And if you love animals, you'll adore this book! Don't hesitate to read that book! You will love it!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Set in a beautiful surroundings described to perfection by the author. Full of fully-formed, believable characters and with a storyline that held my interest from beginning to end this is a great winter read.

Merry is escaping to the Scottish Highlands for Christmas,
Leaving behind her protective three older brothers at last.
They love each other dearly but she's starting to find
Though well-meaning, their efforts to shield her are anything but kind!

She's wanting her independence, a chance to find herself, too,
She wants to be brave again and to dare try some things that are new.
Her confidence has been taken by their loving support so
She's leaving them behind for now so she can have a go.

Staying in their Aunt's cottage she's lots of things to do,
Like looking after her menagerie and being Secret Santa, too.
However a rabbit, Chewy, who definitely lives up to his name
Destroys her Aunt's written plans, he's totally to blame!

Get ready for animal antics and a very attractive Vet,
He's determined not to care for her but can't resist her yet!
Can the two learn to work together, or will he smother her, too?
How can she get braver and what can he do?

There's some detective work needed for the presents, too,
For Chewy ate the list saying what is intended and for who!
With her brothers threatening to come up to stay,
What can they do to keep them away?

A story of a community, where everyone tries to help each other,
This also includes several romances and more than one enlightened brother.
For my complementary copy of this book, I say thank you,
It is a lovely story I highly recommend in this my honest review.

Snowflakes and Secrets in the Scottish Highlands by Donna Ashcroft

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Blurb

Step into the cosy Scottish village of Christmas where you’ll find plenty of secrets, romance and mulled wine! And join Merry McKenzie as she stays at her Aunt Ava’s cottage for the winter festivities to try and mend her broken heart…

Twenty-five-year-old Merry is escaping to the Scottish Highlands for Christmas. Heartbroken by the death of her father, the man who raised her single-handedly, she needs some time to heal. Hiding away at Chestnut Cottage with only her Aunt Ava’s menagerie of pets for company seems like the perfect way to spend a peaceful December. But when she arrives, Merry discovers some curious instructions from her aunt asking her to organise Secret Santa gifts for the residents of Christmas village.

Merry’s determined to try and carry out her aunt’s festive task. But on her first night in the little cottage everything goes wrong – including upsetting the handsome local vet Theo Ellis-Lee when he arrives to assist with a crazed turkey and the mischievous rabbit who’s torn apart her aunt’s gift list. Merry is completely out of her comfort zone and it doesn’t help that Theo is both infuriatingly cheerful and insanely attractive.

My Opinion

A character called Merry, a secret Santa and a lot of snow - what more could you ask for in a Christmas book. This is such a lovely, festive romance that I didn't want to end. An ideal book to read this festive season.

Rating 4/5