aaaah, why did I wait so long to read this!? a grumpy quiet Scottish man with a lovable, bright but emotionally downtrodden FMC? I lapped this up...

I absolutely adored Mal - he was the perfect character: shy and timid, but bold only with the FMC! the protectiveness from him from page 1 and the jealousy... *Clap clap*

April was a fantastic FMC, battling the downside of stardom all the while putting on a brave face.

The writing was great, I particularly liked that the whisky business was accurate and as someone who is Scottish, I just loved reading a book set there.

Can't wait for book two!!

Adorable and sweet grumpy/sunshine romance! I loved the characters and just the whole vibe. I love the way this hits on important topics while also being a really nice fluffy read

Guys, I LOVED this one! Are you all relieved I’m finally talking about a book I loved haha!!

I have read SO many books over the years set in Scotland but weirdly especially this year and I have to say, honestly so many of them make me literally cringe! Because nearly all of them were written by people not from here who didn’t even seem to have a grasp on who or what Scotland is and omg, it really opens your eyes to what the world sees Scottish people like haha!!

But this one was so, so good! It was a sweet and beautiful setting, finally a Scottish man that seems realistic 😅 and a really lovely love story!

I loved the authors writing, the development in both the main characters and did I mention how much I loved Malcolm 😅

This felt like a cozy book to curl up with especially for this time of year! It’s enemies to lovers kinda, childhood friends and grumpy sunshine too!

I really recommend this one! ✨

From the blurb -

When her acting career hits rock bottom, Hollywood star April Sinclair returns to her Scottish hometown on the Isle of Skye to lick her wounds. In desperate need of distraction, she sets her sights on restoring her family whisky distillery to its former glory. But she wasn’t expecting short-tempered and totally irresistible Malcolm Macabe to be the one in charge.

Master distiller Mal has three loves in his life: whisky, his dog, and silence. He has no time for the pampered princess poking her nose around, even if said princess is the one who got away. Mal is content to wait her out. She’ll grow bored and run back to her glamorous world eventually.

But their shared desire to save the distillery will mean working a lot closer than either of them might wish …

*ARC from NetGalley

Whisky Business - Elliot Fletcher

I really enjoyed the small town vibe of this book, and Mal had such a great personality. He has held his crush on April from when they were kids and this is rekindled on her return. The eventual chemistry between them was great. Plenty of interesting friends and family for extra interest.
Many thanks Harper Collins UK for this e-arc in return for my honest thoughts and opinions

I really enjoyed this book a lot!
Honestly, my favorite part was definitely the setting and it made me want to book a flight to Scotland so badly. I loved the descriptions and the vibes, it just really felt like I was there. One of my favorite settings of a romance book that I have ever read.

I'm not the biggest fan of grumpy sunshine and the MMC was a bit too grumpy for me at times, but I really love how wholesome he was.
Overall, the romance just felt very wholesome and I felt very emotionally invested.
There was some miscommunication at times but I didn't mind it too much, it was still a tolerable level.

Overall, the romance was sweet and I enjoyed it, but the true highlight of the book for me was the setting.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC.

I absolutely adored this book. The synopsis read like a Hallmark Movie but it delivered so much more. Mal and April have to work together save a small failing distillery - cue the forced proximity, hijinks and tension filled moments. Set in Scotland and brimming with cosy vibes, Whisky Business is a wonderful start to The Macabe Brothers series and I'm eagerly awaiting the next installment.

Opposites attract in this workplace romance.

April and Mal have to work together to save the failing distillery and sparks end up flying between them.

The MMC was swoon worthy. I instantly fell in love with him.
The FMC was a bit arrogant to begin with but the more relaxed lifestyle away from the spotlight helped her attitude.

These two together just worked. Typical GrumpyXSunshine romance which is one of my favourite tropes.

Sweet and spicy with a dash of banter all adds up to a fantastic romance, with the cutest doggie as the hero’s sidekick.

This was my first Elliot Fletcher book and I really enjoyed it!

I loved the community and it being based in Scotland. It was a very cozy read.

I can’t wait to pick up the next book in the series!

Give me a grumpy Scotsman any day of the week.

This was a phenomenal romance, one of the best I’ve read this year. The communication between these two!!! We love to see a healthy relationship work things out. April and Mal felt so real and I was rooting for them from chapter 1. Cannot reccomend this book enough.

3.5 rounded up!

April is a struggling actress who has to move back to her late Grandad's manor & distillery, where she reconnects with Mal, who runs the distillery. However, he isn't a fan of April, and he doesn't want his business messing with.

Being a gal who moved up to the remote Highlands a few years back, I love me a Highland romance and this delivered!

Total grumpy sunshine -- I loved April so much, and Mal was the perfect grumpy Scot 🥵

Their partnership together was so wholesome and strong, and gave really positive vibes. Good spice too if you like that kinda thing 😉

Also if you're not here for third act breakups, you'll enjoy this -- there's none to be found ❤️

Thanks to Netgalley & Harper Collins for this ARC!

Whisky Business is such a fun lighthearted small town romance. Fletcher expertly approaches family dynamics, anxiety and self doubt carefully mixed with the growth of childhood crushes into adult feelings. I am a sucker for a slow burn grumpy x sunshine relationship and Fletcher has created such a fun example of that. The chaos of the love interests meeting each other again after so many years sets the novel up for a brilliant dynamic that hooks you right from the beginning.

This book surprised me! It was a fantastic change from sport romances. Mal (MMC) is such a grumpy, gentle giant who really doesn’t talk to anyone but April (FMC).

The Scottish small town setting was perfect and the dialogue matched perfectly. (There are a couple of sexy kilt scenes I really enjoyed). Discovering their crushes of each other as teenagers made the adult tension perfect and it was written really well.

This slow burn delivers a sizzling finish, ramping up the intensity for a spicy, intimate love story. I ended up loving every part of it and can’t wait to read more from this new-to-me author.

"I wanted you to know you'll always have a place in the world where someone is wondering where you are and if you're okay. A place where you'll feel safe if you ever feel like coming back. A home." <3

1st person duel POV
Scottish characters & setting
Small town romcom
Forced proximity
Workplace romance
Slow burn
Sexy consent & spicy scenes
HEA
1st in a series (2nd due to release July '25)

Whisky Business was my first read from Elliot Fletcher & will not be my last! I really enjoyed reading this book & will be looking out for the 2nd to release. Mal & April are perfect!

Thank you to NetGalley and Elliot Fletcher for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I absolutely adored and devoured this book!

It was like a hug for the heart and a perfect light-hearted, and yet very spicy read.

Whilst I was initially a little bit put off by the book cover (I guess it's trying to emulate the 'bodice rippers' that April loves in the book) - however I am so glad I did not judge the book just by its cover!

It is a real love letter to Scotland (and whisky culture) and childhood crushes - and is a heart warming tale of homecoming and creating a new sense of home.

I loved Mal and April's love story and sizzling chemistry - and really enjoyed that it didn't take us through painful highs and lows, but rather that it was a slow burn into spicy romance. Sometimes I just want to enjoy a love story without the overload of drama and 'will they won't they' that some romances throw in.

A very special thank you to Harper Collins UK, Elliot Fletcher and Netgalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my review.

Thank you NetGalley for the free book in return for an honest review!

Ohhh it’s spicy like haggis! And sweet like irn bru!
Being from Scotland I found some inconsistencies from the language used but hey sometimes you gotta remember not everyone knows these small turn of phrase or the correct slang.

I would however shout from the rooftops or intact a cliff side read this book.

It has so many little interesting details and possibly a spin off story ( please let there be another McCabe brother story) ( maybe schitts creek fantasy !)

Anyway there’s dogs Boy and Dudley who fall in love like brothers and know before their owners do!

April is sassy , sweet and strong, it’s so endearing to see a character be so full of life but sadness creeps in sometimes truly we aren’t alone in this.

Mal is a big hunk of a man , tossing barrels and thatching barley stocks! He’s rough but soft as dough, nice to see a grumpy and sunshine book set on a small island .

I do enjoy a back home forgotten sweetheart storyline.

Now do a Callum story I’ll be there

Ich hätte das Buch am Anfang fast abgebrochen, weil es mir nicht gefiel, aber ich habe es noch ein paar Kapitel durchgehalten und es hat mir dann doch wirklich gefallen. Das Tempo war für mich dennoch ein bisschen zu langsam, daher keine 4 Sterne. Ich freue mich aber darauf, mehr von der Autorin zu lesen.

DNF 12% in.

Thank you to Harper Collins UK for providing me with an arc to read.

I think this was mainly a me problem and I want to try this again eventually as maybe it just was a slow start. I ended up putting this down at 8% in for a while and I just came back to it and still can't fully get into it.

Whisky Business is my first Elliot Fletcher book and it will not be my last! I devoured this book, it felt so homey (being Scottish) and the sense of community in the book was delightful to read. It almost feels whimsical, fairytale like? It's hard to explain.

Glad to find out that this is a series, I'll be picking up the next read for sure. Ps... I'll be re-reading alongside the audiobook because apparently he has a Scottish accent SWOOON!

Thank you to NetGalley UK and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for a review.

3⭐

I enjoyed this book! It was fun and flirty, mostly lighthearted grumpy/sunshine set on the Scottish Isle of Skye. April is an actress experiencing a dip in her career and returning to her Grandpa's estate, grieving with the unexpectedness of his passing because he never told her how sick he was. Mal is as quiet and grouchy as she remembers him being, but now he's pissed that the family's whiskey business is passing to April when he's the one who showed up and worked at keeping it going with Keir. But still, his crush from their teenage years hasn't really budged and April is always around, actually trying to learn the business and improve it. Once they get going, oh booooy, they REALLY get going.
A solid, easy and enjoyable rom com read.

Whiskey Business review

Rating: 4/5

🍷 childhood crushes
🍷 second chance
🍷 grumpy, misunderstood shy MMC x outgoing, movie star FMC
🍷 small town romance
🍷 no third act breakup

I was excited to pick this one up after seeing it around on instagram and was SO lucky to receive an arc of it!
This small town romance between April and Mal was just SO cute, I did find April a little tedious at times but I’m a sucker for shy/anxious MMC and Mal was just SO perfect 😭 and the chemistry and slow burn tension between them was to DIE for!! Overall, I think it was just a perfect little ‘cutesy’ romance filler book and to top it off the cover is CUTE AF!