Lindsey does it again!

I love Lindsey’s writing and this one held so much promise, after reading the first 3 chapters online. This was more than enough to whet my appetite and I was delighted to be allowed to read this.

Laura meets Callum when she goes to check out the new flat she is due to start subletting - only to find Callum is unexpectedly still there. In the flat. In the flat’s shower, to be precise. So she meets him firstly when he is naked. A big Scottish naked man - not what Laura was expecting. And when Callum’s parents turn up moments later, things turn from weird to bizarre. His parents automatically assume that Laura is Caroline, Callum’s girlfriend who they have not been allowed to meet because Caroline is, to be polite, not a nice person. Of course, “Caroline” doesn’t actually exist as Callum has invented her so he doesn’t have to spend Christmas in Scotland with his family. Except that now, he does. Both he and “Caroline” are expected home for Christmas. In Scotland. With Laura pretending to be the non-existent girlfriend. And so it begins….

I genuinely could not put this book down. I had read it within 36 hours and would have been faster had I not needed sleep at one point. I already can’t wait to read whatever Lindsey writes next and I’ll be reading it at Christmas.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read and review.

I think at this point Lindsey could write the phone book and I’d read it. She’s my go to author and I’ve re read her books more times than I’m sure is healthy. That said, this book truly blew me away. I loved that it’s set at Christmas in Scotland, two of my favourite things right there. Add in some spicy romance and a huge amount of comedic genius and you’re on your way to a corker of a book.
I loved Laura & Callum, I’d happily read more of their story. I’m hoping this isn’t the last time they feature in Lindsey’s books….. I understand Desi and where she’s coming from but maybe she’s a little too much for me but Joel was a delight. Surely Joel and Rory win best supporting characters no!??
This book has all bases covered and is exquisite. Whatever you’re looking for you’ll find here.

Lindsey is one of my favourite authors and when she announced she was writing a book set in Scotland, I was beyond excited!!

Books set in Scotland do generally make me nervous because people love a stereotype, but Lindsey is so attuned to this and I was happy when she has the characters say these stereotypes will offend us (very true!). Lindsey also didn't go overboard on the Scottish dialect which I was very grateful for, but I also laughed at some particular phrasings - "you're pure giving me the boak"😂

I know Laura's friends mean well, but I did find Desi, especially, a little too interfering at times and it meant less alone time for Laura and Callum which was a little frustrating😅 I took to Joel more for some reason.

I really liked Laura and Callum, I guess my only thing would be that I would have wanted even more of them!! A little more alone time, a little more certainty of when Callum was seeing Laura instead of Caroline, a little more about how they might work in the long run.. I want them to go the distance together❤️ maybe a little epilogue would be lovely?

There was a scene that really got me that happens between Laura and Callum's mum and it caught me completely off guard, due to their previous interactions, and I had a little cry🙈 I'd have loved to see what the family thought of the real Laura, we do get a brief interaction afterwards but I wanted them to know Laura was not truly that rude or awful!

I'm so grateful that I got to read a copy of this book early, as always Lindsey had me laughing throughout and I will likely re-read when the winter months roll around later this year (when I've got the physical copy in my hands).

Some tropes which I enjoyed in this book:

❤️Fake Dating
❤️One Bed
❤️"F*ck it" moment

Thank you to Netgalley, Harper Collins UK, Harper Collins Fiction and the author for the review copy, provided in exchange for an honest opinion.