Under Loch and Key is a contemporary paranormal fantasy romance featuring a Scottish man whose family has been cursed for centuries and if he can't find a way to break it, he'll become the monster he's desperately trying not to become.

Not all books work out for every reader, and, sadly, Under Loch and Key wasn’t for me.

Even though this one wasn’t for me, if you enjoy the enemies to lovers trope, a contemporary fantastical exploration of the loch ness monster myth + family curses, adding in some spice, give this one a try.

Rating: 4.25/5
Steam: 3.5/5

Thank you to Berkley Romance + Netgalley for access to this title in exchange for my honest opinion.

I’ll admit, I didn’t expect to enjoy Under Loch and Key as much as I did, but this book turned out to be such a delightful surprise! First off, let’s take a moment to appreciate the cleverness of the title—it perfectly sets the tone for the story. Keyanna and Lachlan’s journey from dislike to lovers was a joy to follow. Their dynamic was compelling, and I loved the plotline of them working together to break the curse while unraveling their families' long-standing feud.

Now let’s talk about the steam—because, wow. I’m pretty sure my car melted while listening to this! The monster romance elements were subtle enough to appeal to readers curious about the genre without diving too deep, making it a great introductory read.

That said, the book did lag a bit in the middle. With so much going on—magic, family history, the Loch Ness monster, family dynamics, and the romance—the narrative sometimes felt a bit tangled. However, Lana Ferguson managed to tie everything together beautifully by the end. The epilogue was especially heartwarming, offering a satisfying glimpse into the future for Keyanna and Lachlan.

If you’re looking for a fun, steamy read with a dash of magic, Under Loch and Key delivers. The audiobook, in particular, is a treat thanks to its stellar narration!

A huge thank you to @netgalley @berkleyromance and @prhaudio for the #gifted advanced digital and audio copies of Under Loch and Key! #berkleypartner #prhaudioinfluencer

After the death of her father, Keyanna "Key" MacKay travels from the U.S. to Scotland to find the family her father never spoke of—except in bedtime stories about a monster that saved his life. Her father’s dying wish was to have his ashes spread in the loch where the monster saved him, and Key is determined to honor that request. What she doesn’t expect is to land in the middle of a centuries-old family feud or to meet Lachlan Greer—the disturbingly handsome, secretive farmhand with ties to her family and a devastating curse.

As Key reconnects with her father’s homeland, she and Lachlan uncover hidden messages, ancient magic, and buried secrets that tie their families together in unexpected ways. With time running out, Key and Lachlan must race to unravel the origins of the curse while discovering strength in themselves and each other. Along the way, their bond grows deeper, and Key begins to realize she may hold the dormant power to end the curse once and for all.

This story is a wildly fun mix of mystery, magic, and romance. With an ancient castle, hidden objects, a touch of magic, some monsters, and Lana Ferguson’s signature spice, Under Loch and Key is a fun adventure. If you enjoyed the spice level in Fake Mate, you’ll know exactly where this is headed! But beyond the steam, it’s a heartfelt tale about family, grief, and love.

I especially loved how Ferguson crafted a fast-paced, high-stakes mystery that also delivered deeply emotional moments as Key and Lachlan learned to trust themselves and each other. Their journey to break the curse felt both magical and empowering. And yes, there’s monster sex.

I LOVED this book! Makes me want to find my own Loch Ness monster 🤭🤭
A grumpy sunshine, enemies to lovers, monster smut (lite)!!
I loved the banter between key and loch and the inevitable Nessie jokes!
They also have to work together to figure out how to break lochs curse. An unlikely team builds to some amazing banter and tension! I would highly suggest for someone who is wanting to dip their toe into monster smut.
Such a fun read 4 stars would 100% recommend!

Going into this, I was very skeptical, but in the end, I loved it so much! It’s quirky, full of magic, and has a fun mystery/treasure hunting vibe to it as well, which was so fun!

It also goes into family history and genealogy, which is always intriguing to me. The author did a great job of setting up a rich history and backstory for all the characters, which isn’t something that’s always done well in romance novels. Not to mention that the setting Scotland is so dreamy; there’s even a chapter with Highland Games!

Overall, I really enjoyed this and would recommend it to anyone who loves romantasy with a quirk.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is my first Lana Ferguson book so I went in with the only expectation, solely based on the cover art, that this might be monster romance adjacent. Baby’s first tiny dip into the monster romance loch!

High level thoughts:
- The pace was great! I finished this in about two days.
- World building was solid. You get a strong sense of every characters’ role, the lay of the land, family history as a foundation for the story
- Lachlan is so grumpy and tall and handsome and so down bad
- By the end, this felt like a warm hug on a rainy day after Key & Lachlan sorted through their individual & coupled strifes
- The epilogue was the cutest thing ever

What I was hoping for: I
was hoping that a strong theme would be humankind’s struggle with internal monsters and darkness and a resolve to always do better and be better, but a riddle comes close second I guess lol.

Thank you to Berkley for this ARC! I look forward to more of Lana’s work.

Such a sweet story! I love Lana Ferguson, and this book is just as cute as her others. I really loved the Main characters. They were real, relatable, and made me laugh.

Under Loch and Key by Lana Ferguson
Standalone

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Adult • Paranormal Romance
ARC Review
416 pages
🗓️ December 3

🩷 Loch Ness monster retelling
🦕 enemies to lovers
🩷 close proximity
🦕 rival families
🩷 monster romance
🦕 grumpy x sunshine
🩷 dual POV
🦕 3rd act wobble
🩷 romantic suspense

📍“How on earth did I ever think I didn’t like this woman? I might be a wee bit obsessed with her, actually.”

My dear ladies and monsters, this was deliciously unforgettable. 👏🏼 The way this book sucked me down the rabbit hole of urban legends, banter love interests and a good amount of guessing who’s the bad guy was just priceless.

I picked up this one because I loved her other book I read. And yes, I was expecting it to be good. But I have to say, I didn’t expect how invested in this I would be 😌. Just take me to Scotland. Immediately. And call me lass.

Anybody (romance reader) who reads this book will love it. It’s my conviction. And I won’t be convinced otherwise. 💁🏻‍♀️

Lana does it again! Her newest work is poignant, steamy, and I had a great time. Key and Lachlan deserve each other. I will gobble up Lana’s paranormal romances literally any day of the week!

Thank you for a chance to read this early!

“𝑰 𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖,” 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒚𝒔, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒖𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒚. “𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒍.” 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒑𝒔 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒓𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒕 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒚 𝒆𝒂𝒓. “𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒄𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐.”

Lana, honey, we need to talk because how DARE YOU make me attracted to the Loch Ness Monster?! 🐉✨ Yes, I found the scales attractive, and don’t even get me started on the tongue 🔥🔥

This book was cute and entertaining! I loved how the author took her time to build the world, develop the characters, and create a perfect introduction to monster romance 💚 For someone new to the genre (like me), this was the ideal balance of contemporary romance and monster intrigue.

Lachlan and Keyanna relationship was so fun to follow because they absolutely do not like each other at first. She travels to Scotland to spread her dad’s ashes at the Loch and meets the grumpiest farmer ever, Lachlan 🥴 As she tries to learn more about her family and her dad’s stories, she constantly butts heads with Lachlan... until she discovers his true identity: he’s the monster 😱
TA TATAAAAN !!

Let me just sayyyyy THE BANTEEEERRRR!!! LIKE PLSS LANA NEVER DISAPPOINTS!

“𝑫𝒊𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒔 𝒎𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒐 𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏?” “𝑰 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒚,” 𝑰 𝒉𝒖𝒇𝒇. “𝑰 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈.”

The dislike eventually turns into attraction, love, and everything in between, giving us the best trajectory to a Happily Ever After. 🥹💕 I also loved how both characters, from their own perspectives, are mourning their parents (especially their dads). It adds so much depth, allowing us to understand the root of so many of their previous feelings and actions.

Another thing I absolutely loved about this book was the hint of mystery elements stitched into their love story 💗 Both characters are on a mission throughout the book, and when all their secrets come to light, it just elevates everything to another level. SO. GOOD. 🔥

This WENT DEEP, and I absolutely loved it. 🫶✨

I recommend this book to anyone looking for a "light" monster romance and use this book as a way to decide if the monster romance genre is for you. TRUST ME you’re going to like it 🫣💚

Tropes
🗝️ monster romance
🗝️ found family
🗝️ enemies to lovers
🗝️ only one barn
🗝️ magic & mystery

Thank you Netgalley & Berkley once again for giving me this eARC in exchange for my honest review

Predictable, but mostly entertaining.

I’m starting to think Lana Ferguson might not be for me.

I wanted to love this book. Romance, mystery, monsters, what’s not to love?

But alas, this book lacked a certain spark. I can’t pinpoint exactly what it is that it’s missing. I can only say that I felt the absence of something—feeling, chemistry, something of the like.

Key and Lachlan were likable enough. However, I don’t think they were well-fleshed out as characters. I didn’t feel their pain and struggle the way I should have, and I never fully connected with them. There was a disconnect, which kept me from fully immersing myself in their story.

That being said, this was a quick and easy read. Does it sometimes feel like a budget Hallmark movie? Yes, but hey every story has its time and place and for those looking for that type of vibe, this book serves its purpose.

Anything written by Lana is easy to love! And this was no different! I am not a monster romance girlie but again if Lana writes it I’ll read it. This was full of so much love and hurt and grief and so much mystical mystery!! It’s the perfect balance of so many things that made it so easy to read!

I loved Lachlan and Keyanna so much. Two people who immediately dislike each other, one who has been taught to not trust the other, one who’s keeping a BIG secret!! But somehow find a way to fall for each other anyway!!! I thought their chemistry was so good, and the tension and the banter! Key ALWAYS stood up for herself even when she was so unsure of all of her choices!! And let’s be honest…Lachlan wouldn’t have had it any other way!!

And I LOVED all of the family reconciliations! There was a lot of hurt and grief written into this one and it wasn’t easy to move through. But I thought tie was written so well, and watching Key be able to reconnect with her family after losing her dad, and after they lost him many years before, was so beautiful. It was the healing that they all needed!

Thanks to Berkley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!!

At the beginning of this book, I found myself tearing up during a scene with the female main character, Keyanna, as she dealt with the loss of her father and the circumstances that led her to that moment. As someone who has lost a parent, this resonated with me on many levels. However, the book offers so much more than just this emotional moment.

I enjoyed the suspense surrounding Keyanna and Lachlan's family history and the magical moments that Keyanna experienced. Her connection with Lachlan, who is under a curse, adds depth to their story. As I read about them, it felt like they were destined to be together. I appreciated how they were irresistibly drawn to each other despite their significant mistrust. The intimacy between the two of them was so good. It had me so enthralled. Think of monster and human mixed! Spicy! 😉😘

ᖇEᗩᗪ Iᖴ YOᑌ ᒪIKE:

Monster Romance
Enemies to Lovers
Magic/Suspense

Is the Lochness monster on your “hear me out” list? Then boy do I have the perfect book recommendation for you!

This Under Loch and Key has everything I wanted. It was sad in parts (does talk about parental death), the banter was HILARIOUS and the spice was spicing.

The narrators were cast perfectly to bring Keyanna and Lachlan to life. Lachlan’s character is narrated in an accent which really made the character feel more real.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Following her father's death, Keyanna travels to Scotland to connect with his estranged family and discovers there are many secrets hidden in this small town.

This was such an interesting combination of elements, but for some reason, it worked for me. I quickly embraced Key's need to connect to her remaining family as Lachlan dealt with his own family issues. The story really took off for me when they decided to join forces. He would help Key form those connections in the community while she worked with Lachlan to find some answers regarding his generational curse.

Scotland is a bucket list place for me, so it was a delight to visit via this tale. The incorporation of farm life, highland games, Scottish legends, and a twirl through some ruins was fantastic. I absorbed all the details and fully bathe in this setting. The curse ended up being a high point of the story for me as well. It had layers, and there were some really surprising reveals that had me wide-eyed and eager for more.

There was one storyline I could have done without, but the ending totally overshadowed any ill feelings I had. It was so precious, and anyone who knows me understands my need to have things wrapped up with a peek into the future. It was perfect and left me with a huge smile on my face.

Overall, this was a fun, interesting, and entertaining grumpy-sunshine romance that was elevated by a bit of mystery, a paranormal touch, and a family focus that warmed my heart.

This author's witty writing style jumps off the page on page 1 and doesn't slow down from there. How can you possibly go wrong with a sheep avalanche on page 1 that is written in a way you can almost picture. The ability to evoke an image in the mind of the readers also seems to be very strong with this writer. Even the title and the FMC names play into that same wit. After reading this story, I went to do a bit of digging on this author and found her other stories are very well received and now I know why.
Another big plus with this story is how it takes myths we avid readers are familiar with and spins it completely on its heel with a new twist. Reading about shifters isn't new but honestly a shifter Loch Ness monster is a unique twist. From there we throw in a few common tropes such as enemies to lovers and family curses. Again, nothing new but it is the way the author uses these elements that makes the story magical and enchanting. It might have been a touch too long which took away from the magic a bit but no enough to stop a readers from turning the pages.
I would give this book a sold 4.4 stars.
Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the opportunity to read this ARC.

As a monster romance girlie I'm so happy that Lana Ferguson is pushing it more in the mainstream. I enjoyed the Fake Mate and was so excited when this was announced! I really enjoyed this one, it's not only funny and sweet but I felt myself getting emotional for multiple characters throughout the book. The elements of mystery were also well balanced as I always found myself trying to figure out their families history myself as I read, but it never felt like it took away from the unfolding romance. I loved that Lana embraced the monster romance of it all (...even in the spice scenes 👀) I do feel like the book had a slow start so it took me a while to get invested and care but once I kept reading I really started to want to know where their story was headed!

A magical tale!

The world in this story was so enchanting, it made me believe in the magic within it. This book was everything I didn't know I needed and more--I'm now a devoted fan of all things Lana Ferguson!

With family curses and hidden magic, this story weaves its spell straight into your heart. The dual narration was absolute perfection, and I was genuinely sad when it came to an end. I'll definitely be revisiting Under Loch and Key again soon!

What is it about Lachlan Greer that makes me act like a twelve-year-old?

It should come as no surprise that a romantic comedy featuring a Loch Ness Monster shifter and his enemies to lovers love interest checked every single one of my boxes. I have yet to meet a novel by Lana Ferguson that I didn’t immediately adore, and Under Loch and Key is no different. Keyanna and Lachlan’s romance starts off as enemies to lover’s but quickly turns into the swooniest and romantic romance in the Highlands. When there’s a curse that has lasted hundreds of years, can it withstand a love that is seemingly destiny?


Photo by
Léon McGregor
on
Unsplash
Readers start Under Loch and Key by meeting our FMC Keyanna, aka Key. After the death of her father, Key is determined to fulfill his dying wish: to have his ashes sprinkled in the cove where he claims he came face to face with the Loch Ness Monster as a young man. This also means that Key surprises a family that she’s been estranged from since birth. An American in a small Scottish Highland town doesn’t necessarily mesh well.

"So have you always been..." She waves her hand in a circle as if searching for the word. "A monster?"

"No," I answer dryly. "A witch gave me a magic apple after I pissed in her roses."


Loch Ness Monster gif via Tenor
Key’s welcome is less than warm. Her grandmother has as much bite as unaged Highland whisky, while her grandfather is a bit warmer in her welcome. Their farm helper, Lachlan makes his feelings well known to her, and even the local pub gives her the run around when she looks for help. It’s only when Key has her own run-in with the Loch Ness Monster that her standoff with Lachlan eases into a partnership determined to break a curse.

As fun as Under Loch and Key is, there is also a more serious aspect to it as well. The theme of grief is a big undertone and there is a suspenseful storyline as well. Altogether Under Loch and Key is fast-paced, full of banter that made my heart so happy, and spicy scenes for which Lana Ferguson has become known.

I hate how fucking lovely she looks when she's being a pain in my arse.


If you loved The Fake Mate, there is no doubt in my mind that you will adore Under Loch and Key as well. Full of fun, so swoony, and finished with a heartfelt HEA, Under Loch and Key will be your next favorite read.

I really enjoy Lana’s books so it’s very disappointing for me to be giving this one such a low rating. I went in expecting a fun, steamy time and was instead met with boredom and 2 characters with no chemistry. the dialogue was honestly getting on my nerves and i found the plot to be so predictable from the start. This book lacked everything that makes the author’s usual reads so enjoyable. I had a hard time motivating myself to finish this cause while it started off okay, by the end i was just over it to be honest.. not for me unfortunately.