The Secret Christmas Library Review: Snowbound, Book-Obsessed, and Completely Charmed

Read time: 4 minutes

📚 Read as a physical book (signed copy!)
📃 305 pages | ⏱ ~4 hours read time
🏷️ Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks

Book Review:

A cozy holiday tale set in the Scottish Highlands, this story follows Mirren Sutherland, an antiquarian book hunter hired to locate a priceless rare book hidden within a crumbling castle. The young laird, Jamie McKinnon, believes this treasure could save his ancestral home. But with rival book hunter Theo entering the scene and a snowstorm trapping them inside, the search turns into a tense, clue-filled race. As secrets unfold within the castle’s labyrinth of books, alliances shift and hearts get involved in unexpected ways.

Let’s talk about the book:

I’ll be honest: I picked it up because I’d seen Jenny Colgan speak at the EVER AFTER Romance Book Festival, and let me tell you, if her enthusiasm and charm could be bottled and sold, Indigo would have a whole shelf dedicated to it. Naturally, her book delivers exactly what her talk promised: warmth, wit, and the kind of cozy literary escapism that makes Toronto in winter feel almost forgivable. Almost.

The setting alone feels like a love letter to bookworms. You can practically smell the dust and old paper, hear the wind rattling ancient windows, and feel that quiet magic of being surrounded by stories. Honestly, stepping out of McKinnon castle and back into real life felt jarring (Toronto could never compete in that moment).

The mystery thread kept things engaging, even if it didn’t try too hard to outsmart you. It’s more about the experience than the twist, and I didn’t mind that at all. Watching Mirren and Jamie piece together clues in a castle built on secrets was equal parts charming and suspenseful. And yes, the romance is inevitable, but it works because it’s rooted in something real: a shared obsession with books. That kind of connection? Dangerous. If someone started talking rare editions and literary history with that level of passion, I’d also be making questionable life choices.

Also, knowing Colgan herself lives in a Scottish castle just makes the whole thing richer. The authenticity seeps through every page. This isn’t just imagined whimsy. It’s lived-in magic.

Would I recommend it?

If your idea of a perfect December involves a snowbound castle, a mystery hidden in a mountain of books, and a romance that earns its ending without needing to be scandalous about it, this is your book. Jenny Colgan writes with genuine affection for readers and for reading, and it shows on every page. It’s a signed copy on my shelf now, and it has absolutely earned its place there.

Read Next, If This Was Your Vibe

• The Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan — Same cozy, book-filled charm with holiday warmth.
  Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | OpenLibrary | Litsy
• The Midnight Library by Matt Haig — Another book where a vast, mysterious library holds the key to everything, with the same cozy literary soul and emotional warmth that Colgan delivers.
  Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | OpenLibrary | Litsy
• Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan — Colgan’s own Edinburgh bookshop series gives you the same festive, bookish magic in a slightly more urban setting; a natural companion read.
  Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | OpenLibrary | Litsy
• The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George — A love letter to books and emotional journeys.
  Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | OpenLibrary | Litsy
• The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods — A rare book with a mystery attached, split across timelines, set partly in Ireland — exactly the right match for readers who came for the antiquarian treasure hunt.
  Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | OpenLibrary | Litsy

Bookworms, I need your input:

If you were snowbound in a castle full of books (a true, floor-to-ceiling, rooms-you-can’t-quite-enter situation) what’s the one book you’d go hunting for first? Drop it in the comments, I’m absolutely building a list.

Find Your Copy

Want to purchase this or any of your favourite books while supporting a local bookstore? Consider purchasing using the sites below — they work with independent local bookstore owners to fulfil your orders. #SupportLocal

🛒 Indiebookstores.ca | Bookshop.org
📖 Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | OpenLibrary | Litsy
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