Ruby Spencer’s Whisky Year

Ruby Spencer quit her job, threw a dart at a map of Scotland, and moved from Manhattan to the tiny Scottish village of Thistlecross to write a cookbook. When she did, she expected a year of touring Scotland and drinking whisky while developing tasty recipes. What she didn’t expect was having her cookbook proposal rejected, getting drawn into Thistlecross life, creating a new home and family, and falling in love with a rugged, bearded Scot named Brochan. Bilow crafts protagonists who are complicated and realistic, with emotional baggage that makes their path to happily-ever-after difficult and messy but very readable. She also focuses on the setting, and while the residents of quirky Thistlecross are predominantly secondary, a few are well-developed and quickly capture the reader’s heart. While the writing style is sometimes awkward, this leisurely paced novel will please fans of Jenny Colgan.