Under Loch and Key by Lana Ferguson

Head to Scotland to encounter the Loch Ness Monster in this romance from one of my go-to authors! Our main character, Key travels to the country to find her estranged grandparents to attempt to reconcile with them after her father dies. While there she meets their farm helper, Lachlan. They get off on the wrong foot, but over time discover they might be able to help each other.

Key and Lachlan’s family history’s are deeply intertwined and she may be the exact person he needs to help break his family’s curse. This has the perfect amount of magical realism and plenty of steamy scenes! The enemies to lovers beginning that slowly transformed to a deep trust was phenomenal.

Plus, the whole side story of Key’s relationship with her grandparents kept the novel well-rounded. Her grandmother was openly hostile at first, but her grandfather quickly softened to her. Over time, we learn more about their history with Key’s parents and saw how time can heal even deep wounds. I loved this whole thing! | Buy From Amazon | Buy From Target

Snowed In For Christmas by Sarah Morgan

I discovered Sarah Morgan recently, but I’ve been working my way through her entire backlist because I can’t get enough of her charming romances! Snowed In For Christmas features a career woman who gets caught up in a fake relationship in the Scottish highlands!

Lucy has one goal this Christmas season – to track down Ross Miller and sign him as a new client for her marketing agency. However, when she shows up at his family home in Scotland, they accidentally mistake her for his girlfriend. They decide to go along with the ruse and Lucy is welcomed into all of the family traditions. She realizes their not quite as picture perfect as she expected, but are exactly the warm, close knit and caring people she doesn’t have in her own life.

In addition to Lucy and Ross, there’s also plenty of drama with his three siblings, each dealing with their own troubles in life and love. The whole family played a big role in this novel, making it so much more than just a simple romance! Sarah Morgan has a way of creating magic within her stories – you’re heart will be full when you close the cover! | Buy From Amazon

Kilt Trip by Alexandra Kiley

If you’re looking for a romance that truly explores the country throughout the book, Kilt Trip is a great option! Addie is a tour guide consultant who is assigned to a family business in Scotland that  desperately need to update their business model. On her first day, she realizes the handsome tour guide she met the day before is actually the owner’s son…and he’s downright angry that she’s trying to commercialize their business.

Logan specializes in finding unique hidden gems that you won’t get on any other tours, but he’s unwilling to face the facts that his family’s company cannot sustain their business without some changes. Addie and Logan immediately clash when she starts suggesting adding more popular touristy destinations, so we’ve got the classic enemies to lovers / coworkers tropes to enjoy!

I really liked that this book spends so much time exploring Scotland, since the premise revolves around a travel company. It was interesting seeing the difference between the small businesses and off the beaten path places that Logan values versus Addie’s suggestions of more renowned Scottish destinations. You’ll feel like you’re actually there exploring with them! | Buy From Amazon 

The Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan

Explore Edinburgh in this charming novel from one of my all time favorite authors, Jenny Colgan! Readers will particularly like this book set in Scotland because it’s also set at a bookshop! Carmen is desperate for a job after crashing with her perfect sister Sofia, in Sofia’s perfect house with her perfect children and her perfectly ordered life.

Frankly, Sofia doesn’t exactly want her prickly sister Carmen there either. But Sofia has yet another baby on the way, a mother desperate to see her daughters get along, and a client who needs help revitalizing his shabby old bookshop. So Carmen moves in and takes the job.

Thrown rather suddenly into the inner workings of Mr. McCredie’s ancient bookshop on the picturesque streets of historic Edinburgh, Carmen is intrigued despite herself. The store is dusty and disorganized but undeniably charming. Can she breathe some new life into it in time for Christmas shopping? What will happen when a famous and charismatic author takes a sudden interest in the bookshop–and Carmen? | Buy From Amazon | Buy From Target

Thriller / Mystery Books Set In Scotland

Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney

When I first heard about this book, I was intrigued by the minimal information provided in the summary. Grady is on the phone with his wife when he hears her slam on the brakes and get out of her car, but then only hears silence. When the car is eventually found, there’s no trace of Abby. He’s left with only questions and must live with the grief of not knowing what happened.

A year later, he’s still a wreck and goes to a small Scottish island to try to get his life back in order. But while there, he sees a woman who looks impossibly like his wife. Grady knows he’s been drinking too much and not sleeping enough, so he realizes it was a mistake but strange things continue to occur on the island. Is his wife actually here somewhere? Why are some residents so hostile toward him and others clearly keeping secrets from him?

I admittedly didn’t love this one, but I saw rave reviews all over Instagram and Goodreads, so I think this was just a case of, not the right book for me. It did wrap up in a really interesting way, so I think the twists and turns that kept people guessing were appealing for most! Buy From Amazon | Buy From Target

The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley

A group of old friends choose a remote resort in the Scottish Highlands for their annual reunion trip, but what starts as a fun get together quickly turns sinister when tensions mount and old resentments arise. By New Year’s Day, one of them is dead, and they all know someone from their group committed the murder. But who?

This thriller has a bit of that locked room element because the couples end up stranded at the resort when a blizzard sweeps through. The only other people around are the two employees, each of whom have their own dark pasts. This was an enticing read as we slowly find out more about each of the friends and their history with each other. There’s a slow build of tension as more and more resentments come up, especially knowing at some point one of them will end up dead.

This is also told from multiple different character perspectives, changing with each chapter, so it made for a page-turning read that I couldn’t put down! | Buy From Amazon | Buy From Target