Ella Hayes won the Prima Love to Write competition to have her first book published by Harlequin Mills and Boon and after devouring her debut novel, Her Brooding Scottish Heir, it is easy to see why she was crowned the winner. An emotional, uplifting and wonderfully written contemporary romance about redemption, renewal and healing from the past, Her Brooding Scottish Heir is a book readers are sure to fall madly in love with.

For artist Milla O’Brien, her career means everything to her. Her art has seen her through some very difficult times, however, Milla’s muse seems to be on vacation lately. Having recently had her heart broken, Milla is not exactly in the best place to create, but she simply cannot let her relationship status interfere with her work. Milla needs a quiet refuge where she can escape the heart-shattering rejection of her broken engagement and focus on her work. A remote cottage in the Scottish Highlands is just what Milla needs at the moment. Cut off from everyone and everything, Milla can spend her days immersing herself in her work, but little does she realise that in Scotland she might just find not just a second chance at happiness, but everything which she has been looking for for so long…

Former military man Cormac Buchanan has come back home to Calcarron House from his tour of duty for his sister’s wedding as a broken man with his own demons to conquer. Although he is happy that his sister has found the man of her dreams, Cormac is not exactly in the mood for hearts, flowers and all the wedding paraphernalia, however, he cannot disappoint his sibling or his family, so he plans to keep his emotions bottled up – until he meets Milla. The beautiful artist manages to breach the walls which he had built around his heart, but despite the fact that he finds himself drawn to her, he is well aware of the fact that a future for the two of them is out of the question…or is it?

Will Cormac and Milla find the courage to admit the truth about the depth of their feelings for one another? Are they ready to take a chance on love? Or will they instead allow the horrors of their past to continue to hold them hostage?

Ella Hayes is a tremendously talented writer who has written a poignant, searingly emotional and intense contemporary romance that will touch readers’ heart and bring a tear to their eye. A sensitively written tale told with compassion and flair and sparkling with hope, pathos and heart, Her Brooding Scottish Heir is an engaging and engrossing romance featuring two wonderful characters it is impossible not to care about. I also thoroughly enjoyed the wonderful Scottish setting which Ella Hayes effortlessly and stylishly brought to vivid and colourful life.

Her Brooding Scottish Heir is a tender, powerful and simply unforgettable tale from an exciting new voice in contemporary romance: Ella Hayes.

This is the debut book from Ella Hayes. Milla & Cormack have both been through events that have left them emotionally scarred. Milla has a broken engagement and Cormack has been through Afghanistan and is struggling to gpdeal with his loss.
The characters were OK as the was setting but I found it a little to slow for me and I struggled to finish it in the one sitting I normally would. It didn't capture my attention enough.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review

I enjoyed this novel by Ella Hayes. The scenery of the Scottish countryside is particularly well described, and the Colcannon estate sounds like somewhere I could quite happily live. I found the two main characters, budding artist 'Milla O'Brien' and the brooding heir of the Colcarran Estate, Cormack Buchanan, both likeable and engaging. They are both striving to forget upsetting events in the past, and when their paths cross, sparks and tensions soon arise. The ending, when they find their HEA is perhaps a bit rushed, but I thoroughly recommend the story anyway.

A most enjoyable book. From the title, I expected a story of a wild highlander in days gone by, but found a refreshing and civilised hero together with an interesting heroine, both with intriguing back stories. Well written and I would highly recommend this book to lovers of light romance.

This is one of those nice novels to read in a short period of time and just enjoy the story as it happens. The characters are engaging, the setting is just gorgeous and the plot sweet if unaturally speedy in it’s resolution! I really enjoyed it, pure escapism.

Ella Hayes won the 2017 Prima Loves to Write Competition run in conjunction with Mills and Boon. The book, Her Brooding Scottish Heir, is published today, 27 December 2018. The novel is published as part of the True Love series.

Her Brooding Scottish Heir is set in the Scottish Highlands in the grounds of Calcarron House. Camilla O’Brian is a struggling student artist who has just split with Dan, her fiancé. She needs to finish her final degree portfolio and her tutor suggests an isolated artists retreat in the grounds of Calcarron House. Unfortunately for her as she makes her way there her car gets a puncture and she encounters the grumpy, brooding Cormac Buchanan. He has just left the military and is struggling to come to terms with the loss of his childhood friend as he couldn’t save him when they were out in Afghanistan.

Neither of them find Calcarron House to be the peaceful sanctuary that they need. Cormac’s sister, Rosie, is holding her high society wedding there and left face it if you have just broken up with your fiancé you don’t want to be in the midst of someone else’s wedding whilst Cirmac cannot find the peace and quiet that he needs to come to terms with his friend’s death. Despite the conflict that arose during their original meeting, there is chemistry and attraction between the pair that develops into a relationship. Will they be able to overcome there pasts and have there HEA?


I can see why she won the competition: she is a wedding photographer with an eye and understanding of romance and how to translates it into a a photograph or in this case a novel. Ella lives in Scotland and you can tell from reading the detailed describe scenes that she knows and loves the Scottish countryside, they aren’t merely cut and paste that descriptive scenes generic descriptions. It is a lighthearted, enjoyable read. It isn’t as polished as some f the more established M&B authors but that comes with Rome and practice. The plot could have been paced more evenly: the end appeared rushed and resolved within a few pages and character development was lacking. The author linked them through romance but didn’t build upon hopes, aspirations and their respective back stories. The style of writing was contemporary and enjoyable to read. Overall I enjoyed the book and look forward to seeing how this author develops her writing style etc.


I received this book via Netgalley and Mills and Boon in exchange for a honest review. I am a #MillsAndBoonInsider #netgalley.

Camilla O’ Brien is an artist from Ireland who is struggling to complete her final degree portfolio after her fiancé broke off their engagement. One of her tutors suggested she travelled to stay in an isolated artist’s retreat in the grounds of Calcarron House. En route she has a puncture and a brooding man comes to her aid. That man is Cormac Bucchanan, the heir to the estate where she’s staying. He’s so sad and seemingly distant from everyone around him but the attraction between the two is still strong. Can she risk being hurt again by this withdrawn soldier? Can he learn to live and love again without feeling guilty for doing so?

This is an emotive story of two people scarred by their own experiences reluctant to expose themselves to the danger of being hurt again. It is a moving story and a delightful contemporary romance that I enjoyed escaping into and have no hesitation in highly recommending to anyone who enjoys this genre.

I requested and was gifted a copy of this book via NetGalley and this review is my honest opinion after choosing to read it.

Loved Milla and Cormac's story. Both our heroine and hero are emotionally scarred. Milla was engaged to be married, until her left her for another woman. Cormac watched his best friend die. Can these two open up to each other?
Milla has come to Scotland, in desperate need of a place to lick her wounds and work on her art , in time for a planned exhibition. The last thing she needs is a wedding in her face. Cormac has come home for his sisters wedding. He is a shell of the man he once was, blaming himself for his best friends death. The chemistry between them is sizzling, even though they fight it, letting ghosts from their past get in the way. A very enjoyable contemporary romance.

Sweet and moving romance. Tormented artist milla needs a break so she plans a getaway in scotland- what she gets is so much more as she falls for haunted soldier cormac.
A lovely romance with a stunningly visual depiction of beautiful scottish scenery.
Lovely read.

Her brooding Scottish heir was a fun, light read and I did enjoy reading it, although I did have some issues with it, mainly stemming from the plot, lack of character development and pacing issues.

At the heart of a romance novel, for me, it's the two main characters so it's very important for me to get to know them, love them and understand their motivations, goals and background story. In this novel, I felt that I did not get to know the main characters as much as I would've wanted to, we get to know why they are the way they are, but everything seems to be linked only in terms of the romance, rather than them as a person on their own right. The main female character was slightly annoying on a lot of occasions when she was offered help, but for the sake of the plot, she was being more difficult than it was called for. I do not like it when I can see the plot creeping into what the characters say or do as it has to serve a purpose - hate that.

The plot was convenient and simplistic, "forcing" the romance the romance between the two main characters most of the time. There were also some pacing issues in there as well; for example, the "dark moment" when all is lost and no turning back was resolved in 2 pages and rushed to a happy ending that felt so unrealistic I wanted to scream. I could forgive a lot more, but I was very disappointed with the climax and resolution of this story. 2.5 stars.

Romantic love, found in the hardest of emotional loss, in different circumstances by both people. Set amongst Scottish scenery this is about finding love, letting go of the past and the forward journey of the future, with a happy ever after ending.

I can see why Ella Hayes is the winner of the Prima Love To Write Competition. I loved this story, it has a true life fact that makes you adapt to the story. Just like most of us at some point in our lives we have all been there when a boyfriend that has dumped us. so you would be like me hoping that Milla O'Brien who's boyfriend Dan had broken up with her, wants her to meet another man. Artists Milla leaves London for Scotland, for a break with her sketchbook as she needs scenery and grand views. But after she has had her heart broken, Milla has no interest in falling in love with anyone else ever again, however she does meet Cormac Buchanan, but will anything happen for them? Or will Dan enter Milla's life again?

An amusing, poignant, romantic tale of Milla and Cormac, who meet in the Scottish Highlands.

Milla still grieving for the loss of her mother when she was younger, has her world decimated when her fiance betrays her. Cormac, a soldier and heir to a Scottish estate, is grieving and guilt-ridden about the death of his boyhood friend in war-torn Afghanistan.

Milla's escape to the Highlands turns out to be complicated when she finds herself in the middle of a society wedding, her worst nightmare. Home for Cormac is no longer a place of sanctuary the memories are too painful, but it's his sister's big day and he has to be there.

The attraction between the artist and the soldier is sizzling, although it takes a while for them to acknowledge it, given their fragile emotional states. There is conflict from their first meeting but somewhere deep inside they want to be happy again but do they deserve it and are they brave enough to trust again?

The subsidiary characters are charming and add to the story. without detracting from the main characters' storyline. Written in a contemporary style, it is a quick read and the characters easy to empathise. Romantic but realistic and true to the genre.

Apart from the title, I enjoyed everything about this romantic novel. Given the contemporary storyline and writing style, the title seems outdated and not representative of the content.

An exciting new voice in Mills and Boon's 'True Love' category romance.

I received a copy of this book from Mills and Boon via NetGalley in return for an honest review,

This is my first ever Mill& Boon but won't be my last!

This story focused around Milia an artiest who has lost her way after a breakup from her fiance, in order to recuperate she heads to a quiet village in Scotland for some tranquilly & to work on an art project, however things don't go as planned, on the way she gets a flat tire and a handsome brooding man stops to give her a hand, they have a weird exchange and then off he goes, unbeknown to Milia this handsome man is the soon to be Laird at the place where she is going to stay.

Comarc is a solider who watched his best friend get murdered at the hands of the enemy, he blames himself and is struggling to cope, he arrives home for his sisters wedding where he meets the guest staying in the Bothy.....Mila.

Soon both their lives will become intertwined.

I thought this was a very sweet romance, I really enjoyed how the author took on the subject of PTSD, grief and guilt with sensitivity, I really liked both the characters and were really rooting for them. My only real issue was how fast the romance moved, it all happened in a week and this to was me was slightly unbelievable.

Overall though a sweet, enjoyable, quick read and a must for romance lovers.

Milla meets Cormac when she is making her escape in Scotland. Arriving in the middle of prep for a wedding is not ideal when her own engagement has just been broken off. Both have their own issues, but can they help each other get past them?

O m g this was enjoyable read it had me intrigued and held my attention and I didn’t want to put it down any wait to try more from the author totally recommend reading it

A well written and entertaining book. It was engaging and a fast read.
I liked the style of writing and the characters. The plot was very good.
I look forward to reading other books by this author.
Recommended!
Many thanks to Mills & Boon and Netgalley for this ARC