Absolutely love them! This was done so well too. The scene was set perfect and I really felt like I was a fly on the wall in most of the book. Not to mention, you can’t not love a LF book!

Obsessed with this Loch Ness Monster romance! Lana can do no wrong in my eyes, so this was a no brainer recommendation. Will be reading with my book club.

This might be my favorite Lana Ferguson romance so far. Lana's writing in past books have been romance heavy, and sometimes too much for my liking. Adding the Loch Ness elements and the story behind this curse really brought a new a unique flare to this book that sets it apart from her other books.

Ahhhhhh I loved this so much! The writing, the characters, the story. Everything about this was PERFECT. If I could give it 100 stars, I would!!

Thank you to the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 4.25/5 ⭐️

Happy Pub Day to Lana Ferguson and @berkleyromance and thank you for the ARC of Under Loch & Key!

From the very first page, Under Loch & Key captivated me! The characters were so well-developed, the plot was engaging, and don’t even get me started on the banter between Key and Lachlan! Equal parts humorous and 𝘩𝘰𝘵. 🔥 The chemistry between them was magical and the spice? Unreal (in the 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 way).

I also loved how unapologetically Scottish this book is! The inclusion of Scottish slang and culture added so much charm and authenticity. It made me feel like I was right there in the Highlands.

The only drawback for me was the ending. The ending felt a bit rushed, predictable, and slightly unbelievable after such a strong setup. That said, this book was such a fun, spicy read, and I’ll 100% be picking up anything Lana Ferguson writes in the future!

LIKES:
👥 Dual POV
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scottish vibes
🦕 Paranormal Romance
💫 Magical realism
🖤 Themes of loss & grief
🏠 Complicated family dynamics
🌱 Personal growth themes

I fear that this one wasn't me for me and I really wanted to love it. I just wasn't meshing well with the writing style, which is totally a me problem. I gave it to 50% before I had to put it down.

I really wanted to like this one (Look at that cute cover) but no. I couldn’t take it.

Keyanna ”Key” MacKay has come to Scotland for two reasons to meet the only family she has left and spread her father’s ashes in the Loch her father always talked about where he insists he was once saved by the Loch Ness monster.

While she didn’t know what to expect by her surprise arrival, she didn’t expects the strong animosity from her grandmother, or oddly even more hatred coming from the annoyingly handsome farmhand, Lochlain Greer.

Key has had enough of the hate but before she returns to America, she finally takes the opportunity to spread her father’s ashes, only to be knocked into the cold and murky water and saved by the infamous monster herself—a monster who turns into one annoyingly handsome farmhand.

They think she is going to leave now, they have no idea just how large Key’s curiosity truly is.

Thoughts
Another example of judging a book by its cover. I anticipated a fun little read and was sorely disappointed.

For the first 25 percent, the book dragged with poor Key being treated poorly by the grandmother she came to meet and Loch, who was angry at her from the start with no real reason or explanation.

I understand the idea of creating anticipation for all the secrets (one of which we know from the cover and description) but here, I might have had more sympathy for Loch if we had more information at the beginning and could be on his side

I had started skimming (which I never do) to see if the story would pick up which it does around 30 percent in but even halfway through the story, I had no connection with any of the characters, not even Key.

When I stop reading to go do housework, then your story has flaws. Once I realized I was only reading to check the story off my list, I knew it was time to abandon it for something else on the TBR.

*thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this title. All thoughts and opinions are my own and were in no way influenced by receiving this copy.

I really thought I was in for a monster romance where she just f***s Nessie and BOY was I wrong. Who knew. I liked the plot of trying to cure Lachlan of his Nessie-ness, that was unexpected. I feel a lot of times with monster romances (as I expected) they’re just fine being the monster and go about their lives. I think this is the first one I’ve read where they actually are trying to cure it.

I didn’t love that our girly pop also ended up with magic powers. It worked really well for the plot don’t get me wrong, but it’s not my cup of tea when the FMC can just magic their problems away.

What the actual FUCK is a brindle.

Why was her name KEY and his LACHLAN?? Brother he’s the LOCH NESS MONSTER. His parents really made that one obvious…

I absolutely LOVED Under Loch and Key. Lana really is bringing it with the paranormal romance. I loved The Fake Mate and I loved this one. I like the added elements of history and in a way treasure hunting. I also loved the depiction of Scotland.

Under Loch and Key is a fun, steamy romance with great banter and slow-burn tension. The heroine is smart and confident, and the grumpy hero keeps things interesting. Their forced proximity makes for some really fun moments. It’s a quick, entertaining read with just the right mix of heat and heart.

i felt like so much was happening & yet not a lot of stuff happened. i so badly wanted this book to deliver as it had so so much promise, but i just sadly feel like it fell flat for me & was a bit lackluster. i do think this is a very good thing to dip your toes into monster romance as it feels monster romance lite. if you want a super quick easy read, then might as well!

Lana Ferguson does a Loch Ness monster book and it exactly delivers in the ways you want it to and expect it to.

I thought this was a great romance and that the shock of Lach(lan) being the Loch (Ness) monster was insanely obvious and how Key didn’t get it immediately is beyond me. It was a fun and sexy monster romance.

Where it got away from me a little bit was with all of the lore and the ending. I didn’t need all of the mystery and the ticking clock. But overall, I thought this was fun!

Under Locke and Key by one of new favorite authors, Lana Ferguson was a quick and entertaining read.

A mysterious curse, loads of angst and family drama, plus the Loch Ness monster — what could be better, right?

Under Loch and Key was so much more than I expected. The hit to my heart was kind of glorious! I recommend this interesting and unique take on Scottish myths.

Such a fun read! I really love Lana Ferguson’s books and this one was such a great read! I guess I would consider this my first monster romance and I really enjoyed it! Funny, sweet, spicy and fast paced!! Definitely recommend for all romance readers even if you don’t think monster romance is your thing!

Keyanna 'Key' MacKay was raised by a single father in the US, a man who never shared anything from his past. After his death, the only thing she remembers is a story about a monster who saved his life, and the name of her estranged grandmother. She decides to head to Scotland with his ashes and spread them in the Loch where he was saved when he was younger. When she is walking on the rocks, she almost slips and is rescued by a swoon worthy, angry, Scotsman. Lachlan Greer is keeping a huge secret. When he pulls Key to safety, he is shocked to find out that she is a MacKay, someone he has always been told not to trust. He can't ignore the pull he is feeling towards her. He takes her to her grandmother, and she tells her to leave. Not the welcome she was hoping for. The more time they spend together taking care of the farm, their attraction grows. When she falls into the Loch, he rescues her from a monster, but who or what was it? When she begins to develop powers, they decide to work together to end Lachlan's family's curse.

Under Loch & Key is a fun romantasy, with a swoony MC that turns into the or maybe just a, Loch Ness Monster every night. He has been trying to find a way to break the Greer curse, but he's not having a lot of luck. When he meets Key, there is instant chemistry. She finds out his secret, but promises to keep it to herself, while she helps him figure out how to break the curse. They are sure it has something to do with her father and some old journals. Can she find them? This is a quick moving story that has a very entertaining plot. My only concern is the open door romance. Because I listened to this one, it is harder to skim, but I tried to fast forward and not miss anything. Overall, if you enjoy a fun romance with fantasy and shapeshifting, and don't mind some steamy scenes, then I definitely recommend this one to you.

This started off as a bit of a slow burn for me, but once all the pieces began to fall into place, I found myself more invested in both the story and the characters. The banter was fun and I enjoyed the dynamic between Key and Lachlan, though at times their chemistry felt a little forced. While the plot was fairly predictable, I still had a good time reading it. You def need to have an appreciation for romance with a hint of paranormal to fully enjoy this one. The pacing felt a bit uneven—shifting from cozy romantasy vibes to monster spice a bit too abruptly for my taste. I don’t usually mind that kind of shift, but here it didn’t quite flow naturally. That said, this is a lighter, cozier romantasy with a touch of spice, perfect for those wanting to dip their toes into the genre without diving into anything too dark. It wasn’t entirely for me, but I can definitely see it being a hit for others!!

▫️what I liked:
-the premise
-dynamic of the characters

▫️what I didn’t like:
-slow (esp at the beginning)
-predictable
-style/formatting of the writing I can’t explain it but just wasn’t how I like it
-third act break up (so unnecessary)

Loved Under Loch and Key—a unique blend of mystery and atmosphere that pulled me in right away. The setting was eerie in the best way, and the twists kept me hooked. Highly recommend

This wasn't an awful book, but it wasn't fantastic either. I enjoyed the puzzle/riddle/curse aspect but that doesn't mean it needs to take over the entire book itself. I had a hard time staying interested, though I really really wanted to. Otherwise, cute read and a good intro to monster romance.

One thing about me is I’m going to read every Scottish rom com I come across. This one was no different and I loved every second of it! The plot and setting were so much fun. I loved the two main characters so much. Give me a Scottish man please.

I love Lana Ferguson. Her books are just fun. This was a nice lil romp in Scotland that had really great writing and a truly silly plot. Did I read the whole thing and enjoy it? Yes. Would I suggest this to everyone? Definitely not. Glad to tick a Monster Romance box, but oh boy this a goofy one.