What do you think?
Rate this book
The Perfect Passion Company #1-3 - The Girl from Melbourne
The Perfect Passion Company
From the beloved author of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency comes a fabulous new novel in three The Perfect Passion Company , tales of love and companionship from Scotland’s most low-key dating agency.
As the new manager of The Perfect Passion Company at No. 24 Mouse Lane in New Town, Katie Donald has made it her mission to provide help to the lovelorn citizens of Edinburgh. With the help of her amiable and handsome office neighbor William Kidd, she finds herself making matches for the lonely hearts of Edinburgh who want a more personal touch. In this tale, Katie helps an airline pilot figure out what it is he really wants in a partner by sending him to cooking school. Another customer, a hotelier with a particularly overbearing mother, arrives looking for a bit of freedom – and space. Along the way, Katie learns that the work of the Perfect Passion Company may be a little broader in its scope than she had originally thought. With the tenderness and lightness of touch that only McCall Smith is capable of, this novel offers a glimpse inside the psychology of matchmaking, the search for love and companionship, and the mysterious spark of attraction that can, at times, catch hold of us all.
Contains two previously published Vintage eShorts: COOK FOR ME and A LABOURER IN THE VINEYARD OF LOVE. The third story, THE GIRL FROM MELBOURNE, is published here for the first time.
As the new manager of The Perfect Passion Company at No. 24 Mouse Lane in New Town, Katie Donald has made it her mission to provide help to the lovelorn citizens of Edinburgh. With the help of her amiable and handsome office neighbor William Kidd, she finds herself making matches for the lonely hearts of Edinburgh who want a more personal touch. In this tale, Katie helps an airline pilot figure out what it is he really wants in a partner by sending him to cooking school. Another customer, a hotelier with a particularly overbearing mother, arrives looking for a bit of freedom – and space. Along the way, Katie learns that the work of the Perfect Passion Company may be a little broader in its scope than she had originally thought. With the tenderness and lightness of touch that only McCall Smith is capable of, this novel offers a glimpse inside the psychology of matchmaking, the search for love and companionship, and the mysterious spark of attraction that can, at times, catch hold of us all.
Contains two previously published Vintage eShorts: COOK FOR ME and A LABOURER IN THE VINEYARD OF LOVE. The third story, THE GIRL FROM MELBOURNE, is published here for the first time.
400 pages, Paperback
Published February 13, 2024
247 people are currently reading
5012 people want to read
About the author
Alexander McCall Smith
668 books12.7k followersAlexander McCall Smith is the author of the international phenomenon The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, the Isabel Dalhousie Series, the Portuguese Irregular Verbs series, and the 44 Scotland Street series. He is professor emeritus of medical law at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and has served on many national and international bodies concerned with bioethics. He was born in what is now known as Zimbabwe and he was a law professor at the University of Botswana. He lives in Scotland. Visit him online at www.alexandermccallsmith.com, on Facebook, and on Twitter.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 267 reviews
July 30, 2024
Because he's just so prolific, I couldn't ever claim to be a connoisseur of Alexander McCall Smith's work. I've dipped in and out of various series, but not all, and I've completed none. But when this new one came along, it sparked my interest and I thought I'd give the audiobook, covering the first 3 titles in the series, a try. It's sweet and charming, and deceptively insightful, which are three qualities I have learned to expect from this author.
As a collection it works very well. There are 3 distinct stories, covering 3 separate tales of romantic matchmaking in present day Edinburgh. Tying them together is the longer arc of Katie, coming to take over her cousin's introduction agency while the latter takes an adult gap-year in Canada, and of Will, the Australian knitwear designer from the studio next door. I enjoyed all 3 stories, but it's my curiosity about what might happen next for Katie and Will that will have me keeping an eye out for any further instalments of this series.
As a collection it works very well. There are 3 distinct stories, covering 3 separate tales of romantic matchmaking in present day Edinburgh. Tying them together is the longer arc of Katie, coming to take over her cousin's introduction agency while the latter takes an adult gap-year in Canada, and of Will, the Australian knitwear designer from the studio next door. I enjoyed all 3 stories, but it's my curiosity about what might happen next for Katie and Will that will have me keeping an eye out for any further instalments of this series.
February 14, 2024
A huge thank you to Birlinn Books for this gorgeous proof.
This year I made a promise to myself to expand my reading genres and I'm very glad that I did. First on the list was The Perfect Passion Company. This is exactly the story I was looking for without realising it. It was like being whisked away on holiday. Sweet, romantic, hopeful and full of beautiful prose; I was swept away and the cherry on top was having Edinburgh as the stunning backdrop.
Katie is disheartened with love and feels it's not so much for her. Wanting a change of scene she heads back to her routes to manage her Aunt Ness's business whilst she goes on an adventure trip.
The Perfect Passion Company is a matchmaking business that she is not sure she is qualified to run but she soon finds out that love can be found in the most unlikely of places, all with the help of her handsome, unattainable neighbour, William.
William is a great character (my favourite character). Love the little things he does, like bringing in coffees and his astute advice. I genuinely find that the little things in life make such a difference and William and Katie were quite the dynamic duo.
We meet various walks of life in this book and I loved the concept that there is someone for everyone. I found myself turning the pages quickly to see how each couple would fare.
I love a slow burn and for me this has the perfect ending full of hope on the horizon.
Book love equals annotation and this story has given me many moments I want to remember and look back on.
A highly recommended read!
This year I made a promise to myself to expand my reading genres and I'm very glad that I did. First on the list was The Perfect Passion Company. This is exactly the story I was looking for without realising it. It was like being whisked away on holiday. Sweet, romantic, hopeful and full of beautiful prose; I was swept away and the cherry on top was having Edinburgh as the stunning backdrop.
Katie is disheartened with love and feels it's not so much for her. Wanting a change of scene she heads back to her routes to manage her Aunt Ness's business whilst she goes on an adventure trip.
The Perfect Passion Company is a matchmaking business that she is not sure she is qualified to run but she soon finds out that love can be found in the most unlikely of places, all with the help of her handsome, unattainable neighbour, William.
William is a great character (my favourite character). Love the little things he does, like bringing in coffees and his astute advice. I genuinely find that the little things in life make such a difference and William and Katie were quite the dynamic duo.
We meet various walks of life in this book and I loved the concept that there is someone for everyone. I found myself turning the pages quickly to see how each couple would fare.
I love a slow burn and for me this has the perfect ending full of hope on the horizon.
Book love equals annotation and this story has given me many moments I want to remember and look back on.
A highly recommended read!
August 24, 2024
I really enjoyed this first instalment of The Perfect Passion Company. I loved the storylines of the matchmaking and of course am intrigued as to what happens with Katie and William.
February 18, 2024
I love McCall Smith's book and have read a great many of them. I was surprised to find that even though this book was presented as a new book - I had read the first two parts and only the 3rd part was new. I enjoyed rereading it but felt a bit betrayed that I purchased it thinking it was a whole new story. I will always get whatever is offered from this author but hope that next time it will really be new.
March 28, 2024
Sweet characters, in the way that Alexander Smith has.
June 8, 2024
Great start to a new series! Interesting characters I would like to learn more about.
August 4, 2025
Cook For Me is a Vintage short that introduces The Perfect Passion Company series by British author, Alexander McCall Smith. It could be called serendipity: just as Katie decides to end an unsatisfactory relationship, quit an equally unsatisfactory job in London and return home to Edinburgh, her second-cousin Inverness Macpherson needs someone reliable to run her business and live in her flat while she takes a much-needed travel break. And if it all works out, Ness might make that a permanent arrangement.
So thirty-year-old Katie takes over The Perfect Passion Company, a bespoke introduction bureau. After her own less-than-successful relationship, Katie isn’t sure she’s qualified to find people their perfect match, but Ness is confident. Katie will have the very capable Dan to look after the accounts, and there’s also William next door, an Australian textile designer, whose advice, Ness claims, is always sound.
Katie’s first client, David Bannatyne is a former pilot whose main criterion for a match is someone who will cook for him. When she has been through all the files and found no likely match, she asks William’s opinion, and his laterally-thought-out idea certainly holds potential. Appealing characters, a cute twist and the prospect of further encounters with this cast promise a delightful new series.
A Laborer In The Vineyard Of Love is the second Vintage short in The Perfect Passion Company series by British author, Alexander McCall Smith. Katie’s latest challenge, at Scotland’s only non-virtual introduction agency, apart from settling for no more than friendship with her talented and attractive-but-engaged business neighbour, William, is to find the right woman for George Fane.
It’s a challenge because George describes his mother as over-possessive, having already seen off one prospective partner, and three of his twin sister’s boyfriends. They both work in the family’s boutique hotel, and Margaret Fane is reputedly manipulative, expert at guilt-tripping her offspring about their responsibilities to the hotel. But when Katie peruses her cousin Ness’s meticulous client records, she finds a woman who might just fit the bill.
Then George’s sister Angela makes a request of the Perfect Passion Company that is tangential to George’s, but may present another solution. More of a surprise is when Margaret Fane comes into the agency with a request of her own.
Meanwhile, Katie’s cousin Ness is settling into her new life in the small Toronto town of Murdoch, getting involved with the local community. “This was a world that was quite different from the one which she had inhabited in Edinburgh. These people lived in a small town, deep in the country, a long distance from the city; Cities were populated by strangers, whereas a small town was full of people whom you recognised, whose personal history you would know or would soon have explained to you, whose faults and failings and dreams and triumphs would be only too familiar to others.” They find out she’s a matchmaker, and flock to her for advice.
This instalment has an estranged father, a nude in a kitchen, a Burns dinner, fishing in small boats, the purchase of an old car, lots of knitting, and several people whose honesty is in question. Katie is satisfied with the unexpected outcome as long as she has contributed to the overall happiness of humanity. Full of gentle philosophy and humour, McCall Smith knows how to entertain.
The Girl From Melbourne is the third short story in The Perfect Passion Company series by British author, Alexander McCall Smith. Clients might be encountered anywhere, and Jenny approaches Katie Donald of the Perfect Passion Company in her favourite Edinburgh deli, having a coffee. When Katie and William interview Jenny at the office, they realise she’s going to be a challenge to match.
Meanwhile, the fact that she must settle for nothing more than friendship with her talented and attractive business neighbour, William Kidd, is emphasised when he reveals that his fiancée, Alice will be visiting from Melbourne. Katie is determined to be friendly and welcoming, but Alice is a surprise: a very unpleasant one.
While William is away on a trade fair weekend, Katie makes a shocking discovery about his fiancée. She wonders why Alice continues to string William along, until she remembers the financial assistance William’s family trust is providing for her. Now, the dilemma is whether to try to protect William from this gold digger by revealing what she knows…
Katie is chuffed to eventually be able to match overly chatty Jenny with a suitable man. Over in Toronto, Ness finds she has two admirers who seem to be competing for her attentions, so some firm diplomacy is required. Her advice to Katie about Alice is sound and, ultimately, William’s innate kindness circumvents a deserved comeuppance, but at least she is permanently off the scene. As usual, there’s plenty of gentle philosophy and humour in everything McCall Smith offers his readers.
So thirty-year-old Katie takes over The Perfect Passion Company, a bespoke introduction bureau. After her own less-than-successful relationship, Katie isn’t sure she’s qualified to find people their perfect match, but Ness is confident. Katie will have the very capable Dan to look after the accounts, and there’s also William next door, an Australian textile designer, whose advice, Ness claims, is always sound.
Katie’s first client, David Bannatyne is a former pilot whose main criterion for a match is someone who will cook for him. When she has been through all the files and found no likely match, she asks William’s opinion, and his laterally-thought-out idea certainly holds potential. Appealing characters, a cute twist and the prospect of further encounters with this cast promise a delightful new series.
A Laborer In The Vineyard Of Love is the second Vintage short in The Perfect Passion Company series by British author, Alexander McCall Smith. Katie’s latest challenge, at Scotland’s only non-virtual introduction agency, apart from settling for no more than friendship with her talented and attractive-but-engaged business neighbour, William, is to find the right woman for George Fane.
It’s a challenge because George describes his mother as over-possessive, having already seen off one prospective partner, and three of his twin sister’s boyfriends. They both work in the family’s boutique hotel, and Margaret Fane is reputedly manipulative, expert at guilt-tripping her offspring about their responsibilities to the hotel. But when Katie peruses her cousin Ness’s meticulous client records, she finds a woman who might just fit the bill.
Then George’s sister Angela makes a request of the Perfect Passion Company that is tangential to George’s, but may present another solution. More of a surprise is when Margaret Fane comes into the agency with a request of her own.
Meanwhile, Katie’s cousin Ness is settling into her new life in the small Toronto town of Murdoch, getting involved with the local community. “This was a world that was quite different from the one which she had inhabited in Edinburgh. These people lived in a small town, deep in the country, a long distance from the city; Cities were populated by strangers, whereas a small town was full of people whom you recognised, whose personal history you would know or would soon have explained to you, whose faults and failings and dreams and triumphs would be only too familiar to others.” They find out she’s a matchmaker, and flock to her for advice.
This instalment has an estranged father, a nude in a kitchen, a Burns dinner, fishing in small boats, the purchase of an old car, lots of knitting, and several people whose honesty is in question. Katie is satisfied with the unexpected outcome as long as she has contributed to the overall happiness of humanity. Full of gentle philosophy and humour, McCall Smith knows how to entertain.
The Girl From Melbourne is the third short story in The Perfect Passion Company series by British author, Alexander McCall Smith. Clients might be encountered anywhere, and Jenny approaches Katie Donald of the Perfect Passion Company in her favourite Edinburgh deli, having a coffee. When Katie and William interview Jenny at the office, they realise she’s going to be a challenge to match.
Meanwhile, the fact that she must settle for nothing more than friendship with her talented and attractive business neighbour, William Kidd, is emphasised when he reveals that his fiancée, Alice will be visiting from Melbourne. Katie is determined to be friendly and welcoming, but Alice is a surprise: a very unpleasant one.
While William is away on a trade fair weekend, Katie makes a shocking discovery about his fiancée. She wonders why Alice continues to string William along, until she remembers the financial assistance William’s family trust is providing for her. Now, the dilemma is whether to try to protect William from this gold digger by revealing what she knows…
Katie is chuffed to eventually be able to match overly chatty Jenny with a suitable man. Over in Toronto, Ness finds she has two admirers who seem to be competing for her attentions, so some firm diplomacy is required. Her advice to Katie about Alice is sound and, ultimately, William’s innate kindness circumvents a deserved comeuppance, but at least she is permanently off the scene. As usual, there’s plenty of gentle philosophy and humour in everything McCall Smith offers his readers.
February 25, 2024
Katie Donald's life down in glamourous London isn't going so well. She works in a gallery with little chance of advancement and she's just broken up with her boyfriend. When her cousin Ness contacts her from Edinburgh and asks if she'd like to take over her business for a year, Katie jumps at the chance for a fresh start. When Katie arrives, Ness only has time to show her the basics of her business, the matchmaking agency The Perfect Passion Company, before she has to leave to catch a flight to Canada. Oh, and also to introduce her to the man who runs a business across the hall in the building, William. William is from Australia and is making a name for himself in the knitwear business. So Katie, thrown in at the deep end, begins to work out the mechanics of running a dating agency. The clients come in for a chat so they can discuss the type of partner they're looking for, and also so that Katie can get a feel for their personalities and make better matches. From the start, William wanders over and sits in on client meetings. Katie can't help but notice that William is very good looking, as well as being kind and friendly. Unfortunately, William has a fiancé back in Melbourne, Alice, who is studying to be a doctor. Katie takes on clients and makes matches as William continues to knit. In Canada, Ness has chosen a very small out-of-the-way village for her "adult gap year." Of course, even in the middle of nowhere there can be possible romantic entanglements.
As a huge fan of The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series, I had high hopes for this novel from the same author. I found that I just couldn't get absorbed in this story. It was a real struggle to finish. Nothing much happens (and it happens very slowly!). Katie interviews clients and makes matches, and we get long and involved backstories for all the characters, including the minor ones who only make brief appearances. Ness's adventures in Canada feel shoehorned in and don't really seem to fit with the rest of the story. I see that this is the first in a planned trilogy, but I don't think I will be following up on Katie's adventures. I'm sure she will continue to drink lots of coffee and moon over William while setting up Edinburgh's oddball couples. I'll stick with the tried and true series that I do enjoy instead!
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley.
As a huge fan of The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series, I had high hopes for this novel from the same author. I found that I just couldn't get absorbed in this story. It was a real struggle to finish. Nothing much happens (and it happens very slowly!). Katie interviews clients and makes matches, and we get long and involved backstories for all the characters, including the minor ones who only make brief appearances. Ness's adventures in Canada feel shoehorned in and don't really seem to fit with the rest of the story. I see that this is the first in a planned trilogy, but I don't think I will be following up on Katie's adventures. I'm sure she will continue to drink lots of coffee and moon over William while setting up Edinburgh's oddball couples. I'll stick with the tried and true series that I do enjoy instead!
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley.
September 24, 2024
I gave this book 2 stars just because I forced myself to finish it, but I certainly didn’t enjoy it. The characters are dull, the dialogue is mind numbing, and the plot, such as it is, is barely there. The chapters that take place in Canada are particularly sleep inducing and really serve no purpose. I have not read any other books by this author, and if this is an example of his work, I won’t be reading any others.
May 2, 2025
Another work of pure delight from Alexander McCall Smith. His books are always like therapy for me, a refreshing escape from a world of negativity and dehumanization. But especially these days - he is a treasure. I hope he keeps writing forever.
July 28, 2025
Checked this out from the Bar Harbor library as one of my vacation week reading options- and this won out! I was looking for something like Maeve Binchy- lots of daily life details written in an un-derstandable way- and I knew this author from the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series. This fit the bill.
June 12, 2025
First in a new series, very enjoyable !
March 28, 2024
I enjoyed this book but felt it was a little too slow, even for Alexander McCall Smith. The question about the main characters' relationship went on far too long. It wasn't as witty or absorbing as some of his other books. Having said all that, it did keep me reading. It had bits that were very good. It may well be the start of a new Edinburgh series, which is a good thing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 3, 2025
I love reading Andrew McCall Smith's books. I know they are always going to provide food for thought. I also love the vocabulary he uses and the Scottish words he teaches the reader along the way. His characters are always interesting with the majority of them being kind and intelligent. They are folks you wouldn't mind having as actual friends.
This current book is no exception having all the tried and true characteristics of a Smith book. The basic premise involves one cousin, Ness, handing off a match-making business located in Edinburgh, Scotland, to a younger cousin, Katie, so that she, Ness, can run off to live in Canada for awhile. There is also an extremely attractive Australian man, William, who is described as being prefect in every way. He runs his knitting business out of a studio next door to the cousins' "Perfect Passion Company." He however has a fiancée, Alice, in medical school back in Melbourne, Australia. And then there are all the clients of the Perfect Passion Company. Don't worry. You'll be able to keep all the primary and secondary characters straight. There is only one character, Ell, who manages to fall through the cracks in this tale. You'll discover the mistake she makes.
This book could have used a wee bit more editing, but it was fun and an enjoyable way to kick off my summer reading. Take it along to the beach with you.
This current book is no exception having all the tried and true characteristics of a Smith book. The basic premise involves one cousin, Ness, handing off a match-making business located in Edinburgh, Scotland, to a younger cousin, Katie, so that she, Ness, can run off to live in Canada for awhile. There is also an extremely attractive Australian man, William, who is described as being prefect in every way. He runs his knitting business out of a studio next door to the cousins' "Perfect Passion Company." He however has a fiancée, Alice, in medical school back in Melbourne, Australia. And then there are all the clients of the Perfect Passion Company. Don't worry. You'll be able to keep all the primary and secondary characters straight. There is only one character, Ell, who manages to fall through the cracks in this tale. You'll discover the mistake she makes.
This book could have used a wee bit more editing, but it was fun and an enjoyable way to kick off my summer reading. Take it along to the beach with you.
February 20, 2024
The Perfect Passion Company is “a sort of dating agency or introduction bureau… or sort of a relief agency.”
Many people do not like meeting people in bars or through dating apps. Often, they find it easier to go to an agency who can match them up with a compatible person.”
Katie returns to Edinburgh to help run the agency for her aunt Ness, who wishes to take a “gap year” in Canada. Without any prior experience, Katie is able to match several clients with appropriate mates. Katie’s aunt suggests that all she needs to be successful is a sense of humor.
Ness travels to a small town outside of Toronto. She loves the slower pace and decides to stay a while. The local custom: “People drink a lot in winter… and then, when summer comes, they forget to stop.”
All goes well for both Ness in Canada and for Katie in Scotland. Then Katie falls in love with her neighbor, but of course, she does nothing about it because he is engaged to a woman in Australia.
Sweet story, as are all of McCall Smith’s delightful Scottish tales.
Many people do not like meeting people in bars or through dating apps. Often, they find it easier to go to an agency who can match them up with a compatible person.”
Katie returns to Edinburgh to help run the agency for her aunt Ness, who wishes to take a “gap year” in Canada. Without any prior experience, Katie is able to match several clients with appropriate mates. Katie’s aunt suggests that all she needs to be successful is a sense of humor.
Ness travels to a small town outside of Toronto. She loves the slower pace and decides to stay a while. The local custom: “People drink a lot in winter… and then, when summer comes, they forget to stop.”
All goes well for both Ness in Canada and for Katie in Scotland. Then Katie falls in love with her neighbor, but of course, she does nothing about it because he is engaged to a woman in Australia.
Sweet story, as are all of McCall Smith’s delightful Scottish tales.
July 5, 2025
I enjoyed this book, sitting by the fire on a winters day reading about a couple of people who run a dating agency, what’s not to love. Katie is looking after the agency while her Aunt is having a break in Canada. William Katie’s neighbour is a textile designer and his studio is next door to Katie. Both Katie and William meet for coffee each day, William regularly comes in and makes their coffee. William becomes involved with the dating Agency , and together they discuss the suitability of there clients with one another. Meanwhile William is from Australia and has left his Fiance there while he spends time in Scotland. His Fiance eventually comes for a visit but things are not as William thinks they are.
September 21, 2024
I thought of this as a simple, lighthearted romance. Nothing too brilliant about it; the dialogue nor the characters. That was fine with me, sometimes you need a simple read, one you can take with you about your day and it won’t evoke any major changes in your thoughts.
I know this book a three in one series and I think the average reader can read this one instead of the two separate ones. If you want a filler read :) I listened to the audiobook; the accents lively enough to have entertained me, for what I thought a predictable plot.
Keep in mind this is my first book I’ve read from the author! Perhaps his detective series is better?
I know this book a three in one series and I think the average reader can read this one instead of the two separate ones. If you want a filler read :) I listened to the audiobook; the accents lively enough to have entertained me, for what I thought a predictable plot.
Keep in mind this is my first book I’ve read from the author! Perhaps his detective series is better?
July 1, 2024
3+ perfectly predictable stars
“Life after all, is an unfinished narrative, the plot of which is constantly subject to revision.”
Alexander McCall Smith is an experienced and prolific author. I’ve read at least a dozen of his books. If you are looking for something fun and fluffy, The Perfect Passion Company is sure to satisfy, even though its stories are saccharine. The characters are not nuanced. They are all good and kind, or completely rude and mean. Katie’s friend, Laura, is the perfect friend: wise, kind, empathetic and always available. The male love interest is all those things as well as handsome and (you guessed it), rich.
I did enjoy the Perfect(ly Predictable) Passion Company. Sometimes you just need chocolate without all life’s dramas.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
“Life after all, is an unfinished narrative, the plot of which is constantly subject to revision.”
Alexander McCall Smith is an experienced and prolific author. I’ve read at least a dozen of his books. If you are looking for something fun and fluffy, The Perfect Passion Company is sure to satisfy, even though its stories are saccharine. The characters are not nuanced. They are all good and kind, or completely rude and mean. Katie’s friend, Laura, is the perfect friend: wise, kind, empathetic and always available. The male love interest is all those things as well as handsome and (you guessed it), rich.
I did enjoy the Perfect(ly Predictable) Passion Company. Sometimes you just need chocolate without all life’s dramas.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
May 2, 2024
Such an enjoyable read!
December 14, 2024
3 stars this started slow but i enjoyed it overall.
December 19, 2024
Simple, honest & heartwarming, and absolute treat.
Nice, yes, a nice happy read.
Nice, yes, a nice happy read.
January 12, 2025
I hated the characters in this book. The way they spoke, most of it was rambling and so boring I skipped entire pages.
June 24, 2025
this book left me smiling!
June 22, 2024
Delightful, charming story. These characters would fit right in with those from Scotland Street
January 11, 2025
Too cutesy or twee .... not as good as the Botswana books .... couldn't finish it....
April 9, 2025
loved the characters and the story line. Hope for more.
June 25, 2024
I enjoyed this more than his other recent offerings, but I hope it stays as a standalone rather than becomes a new series, the ending was nicely ambiguous.
That being said, it felt very samey to his Isobel Dalhousie early novels, here we have a woman in Edinburgh solving a problem people have, and even 'fixing' a whole family. We also even have a Jamie2.0 - a shining Apollo of male beauty, that should be gay, but isn't, that women fall for at first glance... we even have a Violet Sepotho type from No.1 - and as per Ms Nasty gets away scot free with everything she wants. It's strange that AMS has written an entire book of revenge stories, but in his main series people get away with it every time, even Bruce and Irene in 44 are getting a second chance... for once I'd like to see some consequences in an AMS book but I guess he's too scared to frighten the millions of 'cozy' loving American readers.
That being said, it felt very samey to his Isobel Dalhousie early novels, here we have a woman in Edinburgh solving a problem people have, and even 'fixing' a whole family. We also even have a Jamie2.0 - a shining Apollo of male beauty, that should be gay, but isn't, that women fall for at first glance... we even have a Violet Sepotho type from No.1 - and as per Ms Nasty gets away scot free with everything she wants. It's strange that AMS has written an entire book of revenge stories, but in his main series people get away with it every time, even Bruce and Irene in 44 are getting a second chance... for once I'd like to see some consequences in an AMS book but I guess he's too scared to frighten the millions of 'cozy' loving American readers.
August 13, 2025
A perfect beach read. I find his style immensely readable, simple and heartwarming - very similar to Scotland Street style. Endearing characters we get to know as if they’re own friends by the way he uses dialogue. Great escapism.
Possibly need to restart Scotland Street for an easy read late and after work in the winter months and swap things around so my more challenging books are for the lighter less stressful summer breaks.
Possibly need to restart Scotland Street for an easy read late and after work in the winter months and swap things around so my more challenging books are for the lighter less stressful summer breaks.
April 5, 2024
This is the beginning of a new series about a modern matchmaking business by a favorite author. For some the book might be too philosophical, but I enjoy the writing style. The characters are people I would enjoy meeting. There are romantic moments, descriptions of delicious Italian food, and word pictures of the beauty of Edinburgh. Clean read.
February 15, 2024
I felt I had already read this book and I had but not in a good way!
So many chapters were just repeats of stories I had read else in other book/s by the author. Just seems like greed to be blunt.
So many chapters were just repeats of stories I had read else in other book/s by the author. Just seems like greed to be blunt.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 267 reviews