Love in the Scottish Winter Highlands

Marla inherits a castle in the Scottish Highlands without warning. She leaves London to restore it, and finds her neighbor Niall already set against her. He is a grumpy widower, still shaped by his own tragedy, and he wants her to sell up and go.

The two keep colliding around their small Highland town. The friction between them carries a charge that neither is willing to name.

Things reach a head at the village Christmas party. Later a snowstorm leaves them stranded together in the castle, and one night alters what they are to each other. Then Niall's past threatens to pull apart what they have begun to build.

This is a holiday romance in the enemies-to-lovers mold, with a grumpy hero and a sunnier heroine. Marla and Niall both narrate, so the reader sees each side of the clash.

The banter is quick, and the book also looks honestly at grief and at starting over. The tone is cozy and character-driven, with a small-town winter backdrop. It is the first book in the Escape to Scotland series by Beatrice Bradshaw.