Reviewed by Emma Crowley
Singleton and city-girl Ivy Heart has just turned thirty. She can’t remember when she last had a Christmas off and this year is no different. Ivy has been tasked with bringing the estranged grandson of her boss, Lady Ballentine, home before Christmas Eve. With her job on the line, Ivy packs her bags for the snowy Scottish Highlands to track down the heir to the Ballentine estate.
When Ivy arrives at Christmas Resort, she discovers Ross Ballentine is far from a polished Laird-to-be. Rough around the edges, free-spirited and jaw-droppingly gorgeous, Ivy is shocked when he drives off on his snowmobile at the first mention of his grandmother. Not taking his frosty tracks as an answer, Ivy books herself onto his reindeer spotting tour, determined to convince him to return to his responsibilities at the crumbling family castle.
But events don’t follow Ivy’s meticulous schedule as she spends time with Ross in his rustic cabin, switching her phone and mind off to the demands of city life. Soon it’s not just the log fire heating up between them. Does Ivy have more in common with this grumpy woodsman than she thought?
As sparks of romance fly under snowy skies, will Ivy succeed in getting Ross home in time for Christmas Eve? Or will this festive season end in heartbreak?
Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of Winter Wishes in the Scottish Highlands to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
Winter Wishes in the Scottish Highlands sees Donna Ashcroft return to Christmas Resort which featured in a previous book - Christmas Secrets in the Scottish Highlands. But don’t worry if you haven’t read this book as this story features brand new characters and it can be very much read as a standalone. Donna has a real flair for writing Christmas stories that have you getting all excited for the festive season and ultimately give you that warm feeling inside. I don’t know how she thinks of everything when it comes to describing Christmas Resort because quite simply every little detail is thought of and the name of the resort certainly lives up to the theme. The descriptions are once again glorious and the imagery created really gets you in the mood to get stuck into the story. But for our main character Ivy Heart, well she has other things on her mind and as soon as she arrives in the Scottish Highlands she is on a mission with a tight deadline and nothing will get in the way of her completing that. After all, there is a nice reward if her task is fulfilled. Little does she realise that Christmas Resort and the people who live and work there will get under her skin and her task may not as quite straight forward as she would have at first hoped.
Ivy works at Hawthorn Castle in Scotland for the Ballentine family. Miriam is her boss and she has promised her a place on a Trainee Financial Trader programme which is very difficult to get on but only if her task is completed to her satisfaction. So the impetus to accept the challenge is there for Ivy but whether the person in question will listen to what she has to say is another thing altogether. Miriam has no heir for the castle as nephew Simon has recently up and left. The only other alternative is his brother Ross who hasn’t been next nor near to the estate for many years. Ross now works as a groundsman/adventure guide at Christmas Resort located just outside Christmas Village. Ivy has just 22 days before the big Christmas Eve party to get Ross back and accepting that he will take over the running of the estate when the time comes. Ivy wonders why Ross left and never came back and what kind of challenge awaits her? Basically, she wants to get this done ad dusted as quickly as possible but she doesn’t realise that Ross has made a life from himself away from the Ballentine family and there must have been a good and valid reason for this. Getting him back won’t be as easy as she first thought that’s for sure.
Christmas Resort is pure magic with its decorated tree lined driveway, wooden cabins, hot chocolate, snowmen, mince pies, Christmas carols, sleigh rides, lights, tinsel, poinsettias and so much more. I could go on and on but suffice to say if you think of something Christmas related it’s there in abundance along with so much more you couldn’t have even thought possible. Bonnibell Baker is married to Connell and they are co-owners of the Resort. Bonnibell is exuberant and to say she embraces all things Christmas is an understatement. Some of these characters had featured in the previous book and I was glad to see them back again but they didn’t take over. Instead, Ivy and Ross were allowed to share their stories along with Old Man Grizzle who resides by himself in the forest. His was a touching story and it showed the true meaning of Christmas. Of friendship, of being there and looking out for others and of course always letting love in. Ivy herself has her own secrets and she has a lot of blame at her feet. Well she believes certain things were her fault (when really they weren’t) and she carries this guilt around with her. So much so that she is following a path career wise that maybe she doesn’t want but feels the pressure to do so. Has Ivy bitten off more than she chew trying to find Ross and convince him to come back to Hawthorn Castle? Only time will tell.
A funny first encounter between Ross and Ivy sees her falling in a bramble bush and from that moment although Ross would be loathe to admit it he does find that there is just that little bit something special about Ivy. But Ross is a closed book who likes to keep to himself where possible and spend his time doing his job and being out on the land in all kinds of weathers. He comes across as elusive, cold and standoffish with little to no interaction with people unless absolutely necessary. I wondered what had caused him to be this way or is it just the way he always was. Preferring to connect to nature and the outdoors and of course his two loveable sidekicks. Moose, his golden retriever and Snowball, a wild boar. Yes, you read that right, a wild boar and to be honest they steal the show every time they are mentioned and the relationship and interactions that Ross has with them exposed a softer more delicate and relatable side to him. As does his connection with Grizzle. This was a lovely element to the story and again showed that Ross was human and his reasons for leaving the castle were genuine and maybe now he had found the right place to call home and running back to Miriam would perhaps do him no good at all.
The characters are living with fractured relationships and with words they wished they’d never said but time and new words and forgiveness could heal all that but are they wiling to go own the path they needed to travel in order to achieve this? I loved how Ivy was sensible and didn’t force Ross to do anything. She bided her time and got to know him as she knew rushing him and explaining why she was there would only cause him to retreat further into his shell and totally block her off. On the other hand by not saying anything and keeping her mission to herself for some time was she running the risk that it would all blow up in her face when things were finally revealed? As she grew closer to Ross and he showed her the landscape, nature and special qualities of Christmas Resort she was getting to know the real him and she thought maybe he is in the right place after all for him. Was she only being selfish wanting to get him to go back to Miriam so she could secure a place on a course in London that deep down if she truly admitted to herself that she didn’t really want? She was playing a fine line and as she too started to feel a little for Ross would she ruin anything that could potentially occur if she pushed things too far too quickly?
As time goes by it’s evident to Ivy that Ross is hurting and as the reasons for this become apparent everything slowly starts to make sense about him. At the same time Ivy reveals her story to the reader and it’s clear she has been self-less in her actions purely for the guilt that she has been carrying around. But as Ross takes her throughout the resort and they witness wonderful things and she gets to know and help Grizzle also she realises she shouldn’t feel guilty. The conflicting emotions emerging for her are testing regarding what she wants in her life and where she is ultimately heading but should she continue on trying to get Ross back to his family or is he better off where he is?
Overall, I loved the story but I will admit to finding the ending rather rushed as the deadline approached. I would have loved a bit more fleshing out of this aspect of the story although the solution reached was perfect it just felt we raced in the last few chapters to get there where more time allowed to develop and digest this would have been ideal. That said it didn’t majorly detract from my enjoyment of this story. As I’ve previously said Donna Ashcroft certainly knows how to write a Christmas book that will keep her many readers satisfied and eager for more and long may this continue.
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