Reviewed by Emma Crowley
Thirty-one-year-old Merry has vowed never to have her heart broken again. When her Aunt Ava asks her to house-sit Chestnut Cottage to look after her menagerie of animals, Merry jumps at the opportunity. Perhaps spending Christmas in the snowy Scottish Highlands will be just the escape she needs…
But on her first night in the little cottage everything goes wrong. The lights don’t work. It’s freezing cold. She has to call out the local vet, Theo Ellis-Lee, to help her calm down her aunt’s over-excited pet turkey. Merry realises she’s completely out of her comfort zone and it doesn’t help that Theo is both infuriatingly cheerful and insanely attractive.
It gets worse when Theo begins stopping by the cottage every day to check on the unruly animals. Merry wanted to prove that she doesn’t need a man holding her hand all the way. And Theo wasn’t part of her plans to be home alone for Christmas. Except Merry can’t deny the handsome vet sets her pulse racing…
Merry tries to keep up her Scrooge-like persona, but gradually Theo begins to melt her heart with his cheeky sense of humour and smouldering looks. As the two of them share cosy evenings drinking wine and eating cookies, Merry lets down her guard for the first time in a very long time.
But when Merry discovers Theo has been keeping a secret from her, it makes her wonder if she can really trust him. Can Theo convince Merry to give him a second chance? Or will Merry leave Christmas Village and return home heartbroken?
Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of Snowflakes and Secrets in the Scottish Highlands and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
Snowflakes and Secrets in the Scottish Highlands by Donna Ashcroft had the honour of being my first Christmas read of 2022. In fact, as soon as I could get my hands on it I started reading it even though it was August and we were in the middle of a heatwave - Doesn’t that seem but a distant memory considering the sub zero temperatures we are experiencing at the moment? This book allowed me the chance to cool down just a little bit as it was filled with snow and all things Christmas and without doubt this will be one of the best festive book that I will read this year. The title is perfect as it really sums up the themes in the book. It’s packed full of snow, crisp air, freezing temperatures and beautiful imagery not to mention the big secret that can’t be exposed or a decades long tradition will be revealed which would certainly ruin the Christmas magic. What I loved even more is that the author returned to the setting of some of her previous books, that being the little village of Christmas in the Scottish Highlands which I had definitely wanted to read more about. Don’t worry though if you haven’t read any books set here before as this is a stand alone story and yes some characters that I have met before do feature but the main focus is on Merry. So new readers needn’t be worried that they would be confused because it’s easy to catch up on little stories as well as embracing all the new adventures and secrets that Merry brings to the village.
Merry McKenzie arrives in the depths of winter to her Aunt Ava’s cottage in the Scottish Highlands just outside the village aptly named Christmas. She hasn’t seen her Aunt since she was a child but she has agreed to take on the care of Ava’s animals for a month whilst she is in India. One animal in particular features heavily and not one you would expect and the comedic moments it provides were endless and will have you laughing out loud that’s for sure. Right from the get-go the descriptions and the imagery they inspire in the readers mind will certainly get you into the festive frame of mind no matter how reluctant some people may be to do so. Snow covered landscapes, the bitter cold, ivy, Christmas trees, blankets, presents, ornaments and food all feature heavily and help to fuel the themes and emotions throughout the story.
There seems to be a bit of family history between Ava and her family and when Merry found a letter from her in her Dad’s office she decided to contact Ava and as this opportunity arose she took it with both hands as she needs a break away from her boring world and to do something with her life. Merry is not very good at meeting new people and to be honest we can all have a element of this about us but you can tell from the outset that she is determined to restart her dormant life despite the knot of anxiety she has. Merry thought she could just care for the animals and perhaps slowly assimilate herself into village life but she is thrown a major curveball when she finds a letter Ava left for her and a secret is revealed.
Ava has been the Secret Santa for the adults in the village for over 40 years. It’s an important family tradition that must be continued, the only problem is the presents didn’t arrive before Ava left for her holiday. A mystery helper will deliver the presents to Merry and she must wrap and tag them by December 24th which is when the gifts will be presented around the village Christmas tree at the annual carol service. Sounds simple enough, right? But Ava’s mischievous rabbit, Chewy, has torn apart the list and Merry has no idea who the recipients of each gift should be. Disaster has struck and she has no idea how she can fulfil her Aunt’s wishes. Will an age-old Christmas tradition be ruined? Can Merry save the day?
I thought the Secret Santa was just an ingenious idea and the fact that things were going wrong from the off for Merry meant there would be a lot she would have to go through to make things right and in doing so hopefully she would learn a lot about herself. She was dealing with her own demons and was fed up of being wrapped in cotton wool by her brothers and she has lost all her old friends. She feels it’s time for her to get out there in the world and also to fulfil a lifelong dream of writing her own novel. I could the sense that the time was right for her and having to sort out the Secret Santa would give her the push she needed to get back out there in the open. By doing this she would meet people and start to confront what had been haunting her for quite some time. Initially, she comes across as shy, timid and helpless and she believes she is useless but you just knew that with time the real Merry would start to shine. All she needed was a confidence booster and perhaps Ava and her ways were actually very clever and she knew all along what she was doing having Merry come to the village.
I loved how the further the story developed the more various familiar characters were introduced and we got little backstories to them just as Merry did as she tried to match presents with people. It was a brilliant way of introducing and developing numerous characters without the story ever feeling overcrowded. Belle, who teaches at the local school, Edina at Evergreen Castle, Tavish at The Corner Shop, Moira at the Christmas Pud Inn all these characters feature again and it all felt so familiar and comforting. But perhaps the character that most caught my attention, despite the fact I loved reconnecting with old characters, was the new vet Theo, whom Merry meets on her first night after the disastrous incident with Chewy the rabbit.
Theo escaped London after his life imploded and similar to Merry he is hoping for a new start. The minute that Theo and Merry meet their connection just bounces off the pages. But Theo has promised himself to keep his instincts in check after his recent experiences and to be honest I wished he wasn’t like this because I could sense that the pair would be perfect for each other. He is eaten up by bitterness and has been hurt badly but he can’t let it destroy him. He discovers what Merry has been tasked to do but he doesn’t reveal anything to her and without saying anymore suffice to say I just loved how this element of the story was developed. It was just wonderful and gave you all the feels. Merry is out of her element and is terrified things will go badly wrong both in terms of looking after the animals and getting the Secret Santa organised. She heaps the pressure on herself but with some Christmas magic maybe things will have a chance of going in the direction she needs them to? I desperately wanted Merry and Theo to get together but the way things developed throughout the story I wasn’t sure if it was at all possible but one thing is for sure I adored every minute of their journey.
Really Snowflakes and Secrets in the Scottish Highlands should come with a warning – that once you pick it up you won’t get any work done because it’s simply impossible to put it out of our hands once you begin reading. It does what an excellent Christmas book should do which is to have you all excited for Christmas and all the wonderful festivities and traditions associated with it whilst at the same time providing you with characters and a storyline that you really care for and are desperate to continue reading more about. Merry learns lots of life lessons in this wonderfully woven feel-good Christmas read which was delicious and enthralling and I was sad to reach the end of a book that captured my attention from the very first page and held it right until the last word. It’s a feel-good book that reminded me just how much I love reading and hopefully the wait for Donna’s next book won’t be that long and it would be even better if it was once again set in Christmas village as I really can’t get enough of it.
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