Book Review: Winter Magic at Hollybrae Castle by Jaimie Admans

It’s always so exciting to welcome Jaimie Admans to Novel Kicks as we shine a light on her latest book, Winter Magic at Hollybrae Castle.

A Scottish castle, a fake marriage… and one very real Christmas romance?

After a window display goes disastrously viral – thanks to a malfunctioning animatronic Santa and an unfortunate encounter with Paddington Bear – Lula Haines finds herself without a job just weeks before Christmas. So she jumps at the chance to decorate Hollybrae Castle in Scotland for the holidays.

There’s just one complication: her handsome new boss, Oliver Bracewell, needs a fake wife for the festive season. To secure a promotion that could save his family’s castle, Ollie has been pretending to be a married father-of-two to impress the family-focused firm where he works. Now his bosses are coming to stay at Hollybrae over Christmas… expecting to meet his non-existent wife and children.

At first, playing along is easy as Lula is swept up in the magic of turning Hollybrae into the perfect festive escape with Ollie. But as Christmas draws nearer and she and Ollie grow closer, Lula begins to wonder if Hollybrae could become more than a temporary escape… and if the man she’s only pretending to love might actually be the one she’s been waiting for all along.

With heaps of tartan, tinsel and Christmas magic, this uplifting romance is perfect for fans of Trisha Ashley, Heidi Swain, Cressida McLaughlin, Ellie Henderson or Jessica Redland!

*****

When a window display goes wrong and Lula loses her job weeks before Christmas, she isn’t sure what she is going to do.

When a job advert decorating a Scottish castle catches her eye, it seems too good to be true. Sure enough, Lula finds out that there is a big catch.

Long term visitors to this blog will already know that I am a HUGE fan of Jaime Admans. So, whenever the chance to take part in a blog tour that involves one of her novels comes up, my hand will go up and I will shout ‘me, me, me’ at the blog tour organiser.

Jaime Admans and Christmas. Absoflippinglutly. I couldn’t wait to get started.

On first glance, the plot of this novel may seem a little far-fetched. A woman agreeing to be a pretend wife to a total stranger whilst travelling to a remote castle sounds more like crime than romance. It didn’t take the author long to not only make me believe that it’s possible but that it was only ever going to be romantic.

From page one, I was completely immersed and invested in this book. As with previous novels with this writer, there is a wonderful thread of magic woven through this story. There is an atmosphere where you believe anything is possible. I loved the Disney references, and I don’t think I’d be out of line if I said that Jaime Adman’s was a fellow Disnerd. LOL.

Lula does the type of job I’d love to do if I had the creative flair to do it. I adore Christmas and decorating a castle sounds incredible. Lula jumps into this opportunity with both feet, having faith that it will be ok. She’s a bubbly person and her positivity jumped from the page.

Oli is one of my favourite male characters ever. He’s respectful, a gentleman, masculine in a wonderful way and has one of my favourite accents. Even though the hair colour is different, I pictured Jamie Roy from the Blood of My Blood TV series as I read. Don’t know why.

The supporting cast were, for the most part, wonderful. We don’t talk about Clive. Haha. Nancy was the Grandmother the novel needed. Rory and Maisie were brilliant too. The author is good at giving us a variety of personalities and story threads that didn’t feel rushed.

Speaking of which, the plot unfolds well and I went from having just started to finishing before I realised it. I didn’t want it to end. I didn’t want to say goodbye to these characters.

Winter Magic at Hollybrae Castle is another beautifully written novel by one of my favourite authors. It has warmth, charm, humour and LOTS of festive feels. I think this book will have to be added to the list of books I re-read every December. If a production company also wants to make this into a Christmas film, I am not going to complain.

Oh, and I now have Mull of Kintyre by Paul McCartney on repeat in my head. Haha.

About Jaimie Admans –

Jaimie Admans is the bestselling author of several romantic comedies – including The Little Christmas Shop on Nutcracker Lane and The Post Box at the North Pole.

Her series for Boldwood, The Ever After Street Series, is based on the magical world of fairytales.

Say hello to Jaimie on Facebook, X and Instagram. Click here to sign up to her newsletter. 

Winter Magic at Hollybrae Castle was released by Boldwood Books on 9th September 2026. Click here to buy on Amazon UK, Amazon US, Barnes & Noble and Waterstones. 

by

Laura

I'm Laura. I started Novel Kicks back in 2009 as I wanted a place to discuss books and writing - two loves of my life. As someone who has anxiety, these two things give me, and I am sure countless others, a much needed escape.
There is a monthly book club, writing exercises, prompts, reviews, author interviews, competitions and guest posts. I cover many genres and I hope there is something for everyone.
I grew up by the sea in Dorset and currently live in Poole with my husband, Chris and three cats. I love writing and have a BA (Hons) in Creative Writing from Falmouth University. I am writing my first book. If only I could stop pressing delete. Chris has threatened to stop it from working. Haha.
I have always loved creative writing since I was in first school and would very much like to meet my teacher, Miss Sayers, to say thank you for all the encouragement she gave me then.
When not writing, I love reading, cats, Disney, singing (I can't sing but this doesn't stop me,) and falling into a good TV show or film. If I could step into any fictional world, it would be amongst the characters in ABC's Once Upon a Time.
I love reading many genres and discovering new authors.