It’s the messy tale of Nessie that Scottish lore was missing. A heartfelt toe-dip into a whimsical world of witchcraft and curses.
Lana Ferguson’s Under Loch and Key tells a tale of love and lasting family grudges when a bonnie lass named Keyanna falls head over heels into a loch for her father’s ancestral home and for Lachlan, the Scottish grump tending to her grandparent’s farm. Key doesn’t know that Lachlan hides more than a sense of humour behind his fridge demeanour; he has a monster-seized secret that could doom them both. The two soon share a slippery and passionate fall into each other’s embrace as they navigate similar losses and secrets.
It’s a sweet story that showcases Scotland’s mysterious and mystical highlands lovingly through a sweeping family-driven mystery and a love story that prospers despite their torrid history.
The audiobook is especially tantalizing, painting a steamy portrait of Lachlan through his rich Scottish narration. The book itself lends space to Key’s exploration of her lost family, which in turn helps flesh out the sweeping highland hills of her new home. Reconnecting with her scorn grandparents is as much a hurdle as the monsters in the loch nearby, and the gravitas of a complicated family dynamic lends humanity to the supernatural tale.
From the devious twins running the local pub to the adorable grandpa tearing up at the sight of his long-lost grandchild, this romance knows it needs to romanticize the setting as much as the characters. In doing so, it offers us a chance to fall in love with a fictional town of cozy exchanges and quirky cottages against a backdrop of drizzling rainswept greenery.
“You are not who you are because of where you come from; you are who you are because of where you choose to go.” ― Lana Ferguson, Under Loch and Key
Rarely does it feel like a romantic comedy is an unfulfilling genre for a story. Yet, Under Loch and Key constantly has to reel in its world-building and fantasy exploration to focus on the romance, and with a setting as grand as fictional Scotland, that can be frustrating.
Constricted in how much time the romance can spend on world-building, a chunk of the story is left unfilled, and the climactic ending is rushed in favour of an all-to-ordinary happy ending for our unusual couple. It’s too bad because paranormal romances can balance the scale effectively. Ali Hazelwood’s Bride kept itself rooted in romance while allowing the supernatural world to unfold organically with the love story.
Under Loch and Key has the potential to do the same effectively. It has the opportunity to be a lot more than a perfect, fluffy read—more romantic, more fantastical, just more.
That said, for what it is, this book is a delight. We need more romance concepts like this, which are fun, creative, and out there. They are low-stakes mythological shenanigans that deliver an entertaining premise regardless of whether other elements fall short. We don’t necessarily need to give every creature from mythology a six-pack and a penis. Nonetheless, this author is clearly on to something when it comes to readers’ niche wants and needs.
Ferguson’s foray into the lochness lore is an enchanting, well-meaning romp for those who seek the cruel mistress of Scotland’s beauty through stories.
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