Under Loch and Key is a new Berkley paranormal romance release that will have you wrapped up in so many elements that are intrinsically interesting: family secrets, Celtic mythology, cryptids, curses, a generations-old family feud... Then you add in some really well executed romance 'ingredients', and you've got yourself a damn good book.

Keyanna MacKay travels to her father's homeland of Scotland to spread his ashes and to meet her family on his side for the first time. A falling-out occurred when he moved to America before Key was born, so she isn't sure what to expect. What she finds is a grumpy farmhand who calls her stupid two-seconds after meeting her (when he saves her from falling into the loch) and an unwelcoming grandmother. Key is all but ready to give up on her hope of connecting with her family when she does fall in the loch, and discovers an ancient, impossible secret about both herself, and the hunky farmhand, Lachlan. After that, she can't leave until she gets to the bottom of the generations-old mystery.

First of all, bravo to the title. What a play on words while directly including the names of the two main characters. Color me impressed. There's something special about a good title, and this one has it.

Let's start with the romance.

Keyanna and Lachlan don't get off to the best start (see above). And with their constant run-ins and a harmless prank, it gets close to EtL (enemies to lovers) territory. And ladies and gentlemen, these two have chemistry! Steamy, sexy chemistry. The force pulling them together is kinetic and so satisfying. Be forewarned that it does creep a little over the line into monster porn (lol) in two of the scenes, but the rest of them are everything, so I can forgive ;-)

What about the plot?

Behind the romance is a mystery. We know Lachlan is hiding something early on through his POV chapters, but we don't find out what it is until Keyanna does. Layers unfold just enough at a time to keep us readers tantalized with new facets to the story. There are secrets being kept on all sides, and Key is...you guessed it, the key to fitting all the pieces together (see what I mean about word play?). This is so much more than a romance, it's a family saga, a mystery, and a literal legend.

If you're looking for a new romance to escape into, this one is well worth your time!

Under Loch and Key is the second book I've read by Lana Ferguson. Just like The Fake Mate, I found myself getting tired of the book by the 60% mark. Once Key and Lachlan got together, I wasn't as interested in the book. I wish the tension and slow burn were drawn out more. I thought Key and Lachlan had good chemistry. I liked the "you're my enemy" tension at the beginning of the book. I enjoyed the way Key was written. Ferguson did an incredible job developing Key and creating an empathetic storyline. The side characters were fine! I liked the layer the grandparents brought to the story. Although some of the plot points were predictable, I found the whole curse storyline interesting. I did find some of the steamier scenes cringey. I skimmed through those passages. Overall, this wasn't my favorite read. Although her stuff isn't bad, I don't think Lana Ferguson is for me. Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC.

“You’re a real ray of sunshine, you know that?”
“That is what people say about me. Yes”

Who knew that the Loch Ness monster was so hot!! I absolutely adored this book! From start to finish Lana Ferguson created the sweetest most heartwarming story. It is without a doubt my favorite of her books and Keyanna and Lachlan will live in my heart for a long time to come!

After her father’s death Keyanna travels to Scotland to scatter his ashes and reconnect with the family she has never known. But she is not greeted with warmth or open arms and when her attempt to spread her father’s ashes results in her needing to be saved by the rugged but infinitely rude Lachlan Greer, Key is ready to give up and return home. Lachlan's distrust is deeply rooted in their families’ history but when Key discovers his biggest secret and vows to help rather than use it against him he begins to trust and care for her more than he ever thought he could. Together they must unravel the mystery behind the centuries old curse or risk losing each other forever.

I love when a book starts off as an enemies to lovers and ends up being so much more. The way that this story combines family history with magical elements is remarkable. It is smart, funny and filled with the perfect amount of spice. I am a sucker for a well written dual pov and loved that so many of my favorite tropes found their way into this book. Most of all though, I loved that the relationship between Key and Lachlan is incredibly sweet and so full of love.

If you are a fan of paranormal/magical romance then this is a must read!!

Full review on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTFE3mwVU/
Fmc: 3/5 stars
Mmc: 4.75/5 stars
Story: 3.75/5 stars
Setting: 4/5 stars
Spice level: 3/5
Spice quality: 4.5/5
Mystery: 3/5

This book was pretty good but the ending fell really flat for me. I loved the complicated family dynamics, the banter between the love interests in the beginning was great but they got together too quickly in my opinion. The sudden switch from hate to absolute love and adoration was like whiplash. Also the cousin being the bad guy was SO predictable it was painful. The big finale fight dialogue was kind of painful to read. Overall it was a good story with interesting folklore interwoven in but the story fell flat by the end.

This was so fun! I’m a sucker for monster romance and I simply could not pass up the opportunity to read a Loch Ness Monster romance.

It was an opposites attract romance set in gorgeous Scotland, about a sunshiney woman who is trying to connect with her recently deceased father’s family, and the grumpy farmhand with a secret who thinks she is part of his family’s curse.

There’s magic and mystery as their secrets start to come out, and they have to learn to work together to try to save Lachlan and his family before it’s too late.

I enjoyed the uniqueness of the story, there’s a good amount of steam, and the setting was fun.

Monster (S)mash

This book was so cute!! It reminded me of a 2000s romcom. A grumpy Scotsman. American girl. A mysterious curse. Overall just a really fun time.

Tropes:
Grumpy Sunshine
Dislike to Love
Forced Proximity
Dual POV
Spicyyyy

This is the first of Lana Ferguson's books that I have read, and I was really excited to try her stuff after seeing how popular The Fake Mate was. However, I think maybe the monster romance type genre isn't for me. With that in mind, I will try to remain as unbiased as possible on all other aspects of the book.

The first third of the book basically felt like you were playing the pronoun game. All of the ambiguous "she's" and "hers" got to be a little too repetitive for me. I understand it was trying to create a sense of mystery about Lachlan's past, but when reading from both perspectives, it just got a bit tedious. If the story had been told her only Key's perspective I think it would have played out okay. The romance was alright? It definitely had the enemies to lovers storyline, and I'm a sucker for that. However, it felt almost too forced.

The riddle felt too easy and I honestly saw all the twists coming. But the book wasn't written to be a suspenseful novel really, so I'll let it slide. I think there was a little of the miscommunication trope with the end of the riddle, but it felt too low-stakes and the fight in the third act didn't read as genuine because of this. Overall, the book was okay, but I don't think that I would recommend it to anyone.

I would usually give two stars, but giving three because I don't want to have the Loch Ness Monster romance of it all to cloud my judgement. I finished the book, it didn't captivate me, but I can see how others may enjoy it.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁:
🐍 Monster romance
🔮 Magic & mystery
😘 Sarcasm as flirting
🛌Only one barn

Lana knocks it out of the park with whatever she writes but I think paranormal/monster romance is her specialty. I never thought I’d be so attracted to a lochness monster.

Under Loch and Key balances magic, mystery, spice and heartwarming moments perfectly. I don’t know how she does it but I swear Lana keeps getting better with every release. She takes her signature Lana elements like wit, sarcasm, spice and elevates them with each release. The tender moments hit harder and the funny moments had me laughing harder.

Just like with The Fake Mate, Under Loch and Key is a perfect gate way book for anyone who has been hesitant to dive into monster romance. The spice scenes were 😮‍💨😮‍💨 and give you just enough monster elements to have you endlessly craving more.

This is a must pick-up for anyone and I will endlessly recommend it.

3.5⭐️

As a huge fan of The Fake Mate I was so excited to read Lana’s next foray into the paranormal romance world and Under Loch and Key was a solid follow up.

I absolutely loved the atmosphere and Lana did an incredible job of making you feel like you are in Scotland. I could hear the Scottish accents in my head as I read the story. I also really loved the curse breaking plot line and the dynamic between Lachlan and Key.

The only reason I think this didn’t live up to The Fake Mate was simply the pacing. It was a bit slower than I prefer but I think if you’re someone who reads a lot of mysteries (or romances with a mystery subplot) you won’t have as much of an issue with the pacing.

I will admit that I did find the mystery itself to be very predictable but as someone who is primarily a romance reader as long as I get a HEA at the end that’s not a big deal for me.

Overall, I’d definitely recommend this book to Lana Ferguson fans or anyone that wants to dip their toes into the paranormal/ monster romance world.

Thank you to Berkley, NetGalley, and Lana Ferguson for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I would like to thank Netgally for providing me with an ARC to Under Loch and Key!!

I think knowing genres before going into a book is really beneficial so I think it should be advertised that this book contains fantasy realism. I saw nothing informing me of this before reading and was pleasantly surprised when I realized the fantasy aspect!

I think this would be such a fun audiobook with all the Scottish accents throughout the book! It does get a tiny bit confusing to read at times, but once you get into the story it flows so well and is a really fun flare compared to most romances being set in America or the UK.

I also believe that if you are already a fan of Lana Ferguson’s writing you will be obsessed with this book. It was not my personal favorite book by her (that would go to ‘The Nanny’ or ‘The Game Changer’) so I would definitely recommend starting with one of those first. I think their writing is a better first introduction to Ferguson.

I was impressed by the depth of the characters despite such a humorous plot. This made me do a deep dive into Scottish lore. The town felt like a charming hallmark escape with just a bit of an edge. Great pace, great characters, beautiful metaphors for grief!!

Keyanna's father passed away and his last dying wish was to return to his home in Scotland. Key has never been to Scotland before and is estranged from her father's family, but she decides to follow her father's dying wish. Key plans to meet her father's family, without giving them a heads up, but first she plans to spread her father's ashes in Loch Ness. Key's father believed that he was saved by the Loch Ness monster when he was younger, so Key thinks it is only appropriate to return him to these waters. As she is readying to spread the ashes, Key meets Lochland a grumpy local who chases her from the lake and brings her to her family. Lochland is hiding a major secret and Key is determined to help him uncover ancient family secrets.

This was cute and moved fast, but the fantasy elements weren't as developed as I would have hoped. Some of the romance scenes were ridiculous to the point of laughable. This book had a great framework, and just needs a bit more fleshing out of the fantasy elements.

UNDER LOCH & KEY
by @lanafergusonwrites
4.25 stars
🗡️📜🗝️🔓⚔️🛡️🪦🔍🕰️
we are now at the 'less than a month until release' portion of under loch & key and i just had to make some edits for this fun, steamy book.

keyanna travels to scotland following the death of her father to reunite with long lost family and learn more about her scottish roots. when she arrives, she meets grumpy local, lachlan, who is working on her family's farm (and is also secretly the LOCH NESS MONSTER lol). what starts out as *dislike* between two members of old feuding families, soon turns to some seriously spicy *like*, as the two work together to find out more about their ancestors and lachlan's cryptid curse.

lana has done such a fantastic job of mixing magical elements with a family saga. i really enjoyed this story and the resolution felt so satisfying. i will wait avidly for her next book - her banter and spice are TOP TIER for me.

thank you for the ARC @berkleyromance and @lanafergusonwrites

4/5 ⭐️

Listen, I love me a good Lana Ferguson book! And for this to be a romance/mystery meets the Lochness monster lore. Lana Ferguson books are just always so fun, light hearted and sweet and this one proves to be the same!

Ill always read your books girl 🤍

I’m always here for a down bad man, and no one does it better than Lana Ferguson! Her next book, UNDER LOCH AND KEY, comes out Dec 3, so make sure you get your preorder in! Trust me, you want access to Keyanna and Lachlan as soon as possible!

Keyanna “Key” Mackay is determined to connect with her beloved father’s estranged family in Scotland. Since losing him to a crushing illness, his stories about the wilds of the Highlands and the creatures they hold are all she has left of him. But after a run in with a broody, gorgeous Scotsman, Lachlan, followed by a less than warm welcome from her family, Key wonders if there’s anything for her in the land her father loved so much.

Before she can throw in the towel, another run in with Lachlan makes her realize the stories her father used to tell her were grounded in truth, and she becomes determined to learn it all. But as the two work together, they start to wonder if the secrets of the past are the key to their future, or if they’ll tear them both apart.

This book!!! I had so much fun from the first page. All of Lana’s work is amazing, but there’s something extra magical (pun only somewhat intended) about her genre-bending books. UNDER LOCH AND KEY was pure rom-com goodness, but with the extra excitement of the monster-sized secrets hanging over them. Plus, the SPICE 🥵 Lana knows how to take it to the next level, so give the man a monster tongue and you’ll never recover!

This will definitely be a re-read, and I can’t wait to see what Lana comes up with next!

This was phenomenal from start to finish. I can’t believe Lana managed to make me cry within the first 50 pages, the whole storyline with her dad and grandparents was so raw and I feel like it will be so incredibly impactful for many people. I will also say this is the first book I’ve read where the accent’s of characters are so clear from just the writing and the slang used, I could clearly hear every Scottish accent so well and it made the story all the more enjoyable. Lachlan was to die for and will definitely be a favourite book boyfriend for me and I can’t wait for everyone else to read this in December!

Well, I, for one, am certainly glad Lana Ferguson decided to dip her toes into monster romance.

Under Loch and Key tells the tale of Keyanna “Key” MacKay, who discovers that her late father’s tale of the Loch Ness Monster turns out to be true when she goes to Ireland to connect with the extended family she’s never met.

Lachlan Greer has been taught to never trust a MacKay, so he hates Key on sight and wants her to go somewhere else, anywhere else really. He certainly doesn’t find her attractive or intriguing at all, and he definitely doesn’t want her to learn any of his secrets.

At a glance:
- Dual POV
- Irish setting
- Monster romance
- Ancient curse
- Enemies-to-lovers
- Reconnecting with family
- Uncovering secrets
- Grief

Read it for
- The banter and humor
- How fiercely Lachlan loves Key (once he realizes he doesn’t hate her after all)
- The meddlesome twins
- How Key reconnects with her family
- And how she accepts Lachlan for who he is
- Their determination to end the curse
- The Highland games scene (Hello, men in kilts!)
- Some (ahem) scenes involving certain aspects of Lachlan’s inner monster
- An epilogue that gave me the biggest grin

4.5⭐️

I received an advance copy of the book from Berkley. All review opinions are my own.

This story is a very spicy enemies to lovers romance with some fantasy. I loved romance aspect of this book, I would say they have a grumpy sunshine kind of romance. The only thing that bothered me about this book is the Scottish accent. I didn’t understand their slang 🙃overall a really fun read! I didn’t know what to expect when I heard that this story was about the loch ness monster… but it was done well!

Under Loch and Key is a thrilling, atmospheric paranormal romance that immerses readers in Scottish lore, magic, and mystery. This book is perfect for fans of love stories set in enchanting, moody landscapes and featuring couples who start as rivals before discovering a powerful connection.
Keyanna "Key" MacKay is a relatable and tenacious heroine, brought to Scotland by the secrets her father left behind. From the start, the author draws you in with Key’s quest to uncover her family history and navigate this strange, supernatural world. When she’s rescued by Lachlan Greer, a rugged Scotsman with a simmering intensity and a clear distrust of her family name, sparks fly immediately. Their chemistry is undeniable, and their banter is a delightful mix of sarcasm and tension that builds throughout the story.
Lachlan is equally compelling, a protector with a hidden past and layers of complexity. The author paints a rich, vivid picture of him—mysterious, brooding, and bound by duty. His initial wariness toward Key slowly shifts as he begins to see her resilience and sincerity, making their gradual shift from enemies to reluctant allies feel real and earned. The Scottish setting, complete with eerie lochs, misty landscapes, and hidden secrets, adds an atmospheric quality to their romance, making it feel both timeless and otherworldly.
The novel’s paranormal elements are well-crafted, adding an exciting layer to the plot. Key’s emerging powers and the curse that binds Lachlan’s family create a sense of urgency and suspense. While the pacing occasionally slows with the weight of backstory, The author does a fantastic job unraveling the mystery of their families and histories, leading to a satisfying reveal that ties their fates together in a way that feels both surprising and natural.
Under Loch and Key is a compelling read, with a beautifully haunting Scottish setting, memorable characters, and a romance that is equal parts steamy and sweet. The author weaves magic, history, and love into a story that’s sure to capture the hearts of paranormal romance fans. A perfect read for anyone looking for a love story with depth, humor, and a touch of the supernatural!