Stephanie Sullivan: Review - The Secret Christmas Library

TITLE: The Secret Christmas Library (audiobook)

RATING: ★★★

Summary (from Goodreads): Mirren Sutherland stumbled into a career as an antiquarian book hunter after finding a priceless antique book in her great aunt’s attic. Now, as Christmas approaches, she’s been hired by Jamie McPherson, the surprisingly young and handsome laird of a Highland clan whose ancestral holdings include a vast crumbling castle. Family lore suggests that the McPherson family’s collection includes a rare book so valuable that it could save the entire estate—if they only knew where it was. Jamie needs Mirren to help him track down this treasure, which he believes is hidden in his own home.

But on the train to the Highlands, Mirren runs into rival book hunter Theo Palliser, and instantly knows that it’s not a chance meeting. She’s all too familiar with Theo’s good looks and smooth talk, and his uncanny ability to appear whenever there’s a treasure that needs locating.

Almost as soon as Mirren and Theo arrive at the castle, a deep snow blankets the Highlands, cutting off the outside world. Stuck inside, the three of them plot their search as the wind whistles outside. Mirren knows that Jamie’s grandfather, the castle’s most recent laird, had been a book collector, a hoarder, and a great lover of treasure hunts. Now they must unpuzzle his clues, discovering the secrets of the house—forming and breaking alliances in a race against time.

REVIEW: I can only speak for myself, but being a former freelance writer I've discovered there are certain pitfalls when it comes to reading. At the very top of the list is when the editing side of my brain kicks in, and that was the case with this book. Now, I’m no editor by any stretch of the imagination, but the repetitive words and phrases and "head jumping" were painstakingly obvious. (The story is told by the main character, Mirren, but there are instances where the author suddenly jumps to a secondary character's point of view - aka "head jumping" - which can be confusing). Is this being nitpicky of me? Yes, I'm sure it is, but unfortunately I can't turn that part of my brain off while I'm reading. The story as a whole is okay, and it would be good Hallmark channel material if it weren't for the cursing and sex. (This doesn't bother me, but I'm just throwing it out there in case it isn't someone else's cup of tea). Also, the pretty cover and title are misleading because the story has nothing to do with a secret Christmas library. The highlight of this audiobook for me was the narrator, Eilidh Beaton. It was my first time listening to her, and she did a fantastic job with the different characters and their accents. I probably would have stopped reading halfway through if I'd chosen the digital version, but Eilidh was so entertaining I kept listening to the very end.

(DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this title from NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own).