My grateful thanks to Libby Haddock at Harper Collins for sending me a copy of Whisky Business by Elliot Fletcher in return for an honest review. 

Published in paperback by Harper Collins on 6th June 2024 Whisky Business is book one in the Mccabe Brothers series and is available for pre-order through the publisher links here.

Whisky Business

One flirty Hollywood actress. One grumpy Scottish islander. One magnetic connection.

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 …

With a stunning rural Scottish setting, a healthy measure of steaminess, and a rugged heartthrob to die for, opposites definitely start to attract in this spicy enemies-to-lovers, grumpy-sunshine romcom.

My Review of Whisky Business

I had meant to include Whisky Business in one of my My Weekly reviews but I think it is a little too raunchy for the demographic so I’m reviewing here instead! 

Film star April Sinclair is back on the Isle of Skye.

Phew! That was spicy – and a whole lot of fun. I will say from the beginning that until half way through Whisky Business I found it as I’d anticipated, with mounting romantic attraction between April and Mal, but in the second half of the book I certainly got more that I’d bargained for. It’s highly entertaining, that’s for sure! That said, I didn’t think the sex scenes were overdone as the relationship has been building between April and Mal since they were teenagers, so that it felt a natural progression once they had broken down the emotional and psychological barriers between them. Physical attraction aside, Elliot Fletcher also presents true emotional love and connection in a highly convincing manner.

And that for me is the strength of the book. Whilst I enjoyed the plot very much as they work to save the whisky distillery, it is what April and Mal learn about themselves and each other that has the most impact. They are flawed and human characters. Both suffer terrible anxiety and have been traumatised by aspects of their pasts so that as the story unfolds they each take on a truly authentic persona. There’s a very strong message about truth, self acceptance and identity underpinning what might at first glance appear to be a frivolous narrative.

The themes of coercion, physical attractiveness and deformity, guilt and betrayal, along with the impact of fame, society and the role of family in shaping who we are all blend into a vintage every bit as tasty as the whisky Mal is creating. There’s a super balance in the story too between April’s experience of a Hollywood lifestyle and the reality of small community living on the Isle of Skye, enabling readers to consider what truly is important in life.

Whisky Business is not my usual kind of read and I must say it’s far more sexually explicit than I had anticipated. Readers who want a very convincing level of sexiness in their enemies-to-lovers romance will absolutely adore it and I found it hugely engaging and entertaining.

About Elliot Fletcher

Romance writer Elliot Fletcher resides in her too-small flat in Edinburgh, Scotland, with her husband, cat and dog. When she isn’t writing about swoon-worthy, lovable men and the captivating heroines they fall for, you can find her browsing second-hand book shops, collecting pebbles on the beach, or re-watching the 2005 Pride & Prejudice.

You can find Elliot on Instagram and TikTok.