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A review by beate251
A Christmas Romance in the Scottish Highlands by Donna Ashcroft
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC.
This is a dual POV Christmas insta-love romance which is a very obvious modern retelling of Cinderella to the point where Cinderella is called Ella and is being exploited working for the family cleaning company, Prince Charming's last name is Charming and the villagers are performing a Cinderella panto where everyone is given their real roles in life, so art is imitating life. Speaking of art, they just want to paint, why won't their families just let them paint?
I can't help feeling that everyone is exaggerated as surely no one would act like these people do in real life. The villains (Cinderella's stepmother, Prince Charming's father) are caricatures and Ella and Alex are so psychologically damaged that they don't believe in their own worth, don't stand up to people and come to all the wrong conclusions. I really wanted to shake Alex who overreacts massively because he can't differentiate between real and fake emotions due to his awful cold father having done a number on him his entire life.
This novel has a lot of similarities with Winter Wishes in the Scottish Highlands, which I've read recently (the publication dates are only a month apart), with characters behaving ridiculously throughout, including having silly third-act break-ups.
It's a short read with a cute cover but I'm afraid the story fell flat for me. There were some interesting side characters like painter Henry, godmother Mae, little Hunter and Aggie with the soups, plus dogs Wyatt and Sprout but they didn't save the book for me. I really needed more of an original story and less childhood trauma.
However, it's a fast, easy read with enough romance and festive Christmas activities going on to sustain the average romance reader. Unfortunately, it isn't for me.
This is a dual POV Christmas insta-love romance which is a very obvious modern retelling of Cinderella to the point where Cinderella is called Ella and is being exploited working for the family cleaning company, Prince Charming's last name is Charming and the villagers are performing a Cinderella panto where everyone is given their real roles in life, so art is imitating life. Speaking of art, they just want to paint, why won't their families just let them paint?
I can't help feeling that everyone is exaggerated as surely no one would act like these people do in real life. The villains (Cinderella's stepmother, Prince Charming's father) are caricatures and Ella and Alex are so psychologically damaged that they don't believe in their own worth, don't stand up to people and come to all the wrong conclusions. I really wanted to shake Alex who overreacts massively because he can't differentiate between real and fake emotions due to his awful cold father having done a number on him his entire life.
This novel has a lot of similarities with Winter Wishes in the Scottish Highlands, which I've read recently (the publication dates are only a month apart), with characters behaving ridiculously throughout, including having silly third-act break-ups.
It's a short read with a cute cover but I'm afraid the story fell flat for me. There were some interesting side characters like painter Henry, godmother Mae, little Hunter and Aggie with the soups, plus dogs Wyatt and Sprout but they didn't save the book for me. I really needed more of an original story and less childhood trauma.
However, it's a fast, easy read with enough romance and festive Christmas activities going on to sustain the average romance reader. Unfortunately, it isn't for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Sexual content, Grief, and Death of parent