This was okayish.
The plot was interesting, but the execution of the story felt very formulaic.
The calculated way the author hit all the tropes and "pivotal" moments made it more clinical than wistful. As a result it removed a lot of the emotions and gave me deja vu the whole time I was reading.
Thanks to NetGalley & Harlequin Trade Publishing for my ARC.

4/5 ⭐️
2.5/5 🌶️

A hot, kilt-wearing Scottish man that just wants to make his family proud and be in a committed relationship with a heart of gold and mix in a little bit of broody? Sign me up, lass!

Kilt Trip is such a cute read that makes me want to visit Scotland even more. It read well without needing to blast through it and forget everything the second it was over, the characters were memorable and had just enough Scottish history that I learned more than I thought I would but it didn’t feel like just a history book.

The way Addie’s character worked her way through the grief of losing her mother and is able to move forward while finding peace was beautifully written and a great representation of working through difficult situations and letting others help you through it (you don’t have to do it alone).

Loved the banter between the Addie and Logan. One of my favorite moments:

“How many points did that cost me?”
“Seven hundred.”
“Worth it.”

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked this one! I LOVE a good Scottish story and Logan (MMC) did my absolute favorite thing and called Addie (FMC) "Lass" <3
It was also sexier than I expected, which was a lovely bonus.

I have not yet experienced grief to the same degree as Addie, but I think the author did a good job touching on the continuity of grief and how it is something that will continue to come up over a decade later, especially when you lose someone so pivotal in your life. I also really connected to Addie's struggle with vulnerability and her need to run or keep things light when things start getting serious. I would guess (hope) that I'm not the only one who feels this way, and I think others will relate to this aspect of Addie as well.

I do think that the relationship with her dad could have been touched on a bit more at the end. I also felt like the epilogue was narrated in a way that made it seem like it had only been a few weeks or months since the end of the book, but supposedly it was taking place a year later.

Overall a really cute book with flawed but likable characters. I recommend!

I am a sucker for a book with amazing banter and snarking characters and this book delivered! It's just such a fun enemies to lovers rom com set in Scotland! Fun read

This was cute. It didn’t blow me away, but it was a sweet read that kept me engaged and interested in the story and characters.

I don’t know if it was me or the writing style, but sometimes I got a bit confused as to what was going on, and during some of the dialogue exchanges between characters. I did listen to a portion of the audiobook, but I didn’t love the narrators’s performances so I ended up reading more of it rather than listening.

I liked the descriptions of the Highlands and Scotland – it gave me that wanderlust they talk so much about in the book. You can feel the chemistry and connection between Addie and Logan, and their push and pull was entertaining.

I didn’t quite understand what the company Addie works for does for the tour companies – or why there couldn’t be more of a compromise between the heritage tours and the tours Addie’s boss wanted. I felt like I was missing something, especially in the end with how everything ended up with the tours.

Overall, not my favorite, but I’m curious if we’ll get more stories about this group of characters – particularly Logan’s brothers and perhaps even Elyse. I’ll be keeping an eye out to see if the author turns this into a series.

This felt more like a travel guide for Scotland than a romance. What’s weird is that this is such a slow moving story, but the romance felt insta-lovey. I would have liked the romance between her and Logan to be developed more bc they did have chemistry, but in the end their connection felt more physical than emotional. I love that Addie wanted to travel around Scotland to feel close to her late mother, but I just couldn’t connect to her. The third act breakup was predictable and happened way too early. Unfortunately, this book just wasn’t for me.

Content: language, multiple open door explicit

Thank you to Canary Street Press for an advanced copy. My thoughts are my own.

A cute debut from author Alexandra Kiley. The story of travel consultant Addie coming to Scotland to 'fix' a tour company. Little does she know she'll face her grief and find new love! This book definitely made me want to visit Scotland and see all the sights!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC

First and foremost I would like to thank Netgalley and the publishing company for allowing me to read and review this ARC. Thank y’all so much!

Put your passports away, you don’t need them for the wild adventure you’re about to go on.

Addie works as a tour consultant, well basically she gets hired to fix tour companies all around the world. She often gets to see amazing countries and cities as an image of her late mother, Heather; who not only was a free spirit but inspired Addie to “do what she loves”.

But there is one country in which she tried to avoid working in Scotland.

We later find out that the reason is because of the connection Heather had with the country and that it would be too painful for Addie to see some of her favorite places. That’s until she meets a man with a very attractive kilt and also a struggling tour company.

Enter Logan… wrapped in tartan and an amazing storyteller: Addie normally doesn’t mix business and pleasure but how could you not fall for the very attractive Scott?

What I loved about the novel was not only the steamy scenes (yeah… I think I’m going to buy my spouse a kilt because of this) but the ability to reconnect with your roots. To walk amount the same places as Addie’s mother and feel as if you are grieving her loss too. It’s a very healing love letter to the ones that we have lost.

4.5 stars rounded up! Let me start by saying these are some of the most well developed main characters I’ve ever read about before. Addie and Logan could have their own novels written about them and their backstories alone. I felt like I got to know each of them so intimately, and to see their intimacy go beyond physical romance was everything. We saw them let each other in to their most hurt places. It made me so giddy to see how Logan could read Addie like a book.

Grief is so present in this storyline in a way that makes it very in touch with reality. There is a (past) physical death and “emotional” death that a character attempts to recover from and it’s clear that both “deaths” hurt in their own way. The comedic relief was perfectly timed and kept the book lighthearted.

Romance and wonderful plot aside, I feel like I could plan my own trip to Scotland now! If you look at my Google Search history during anytime I was reading this book, you’ll see things like “Ben Nevis” and “is whiskey really better in Scotland?” I even learned words like “lass” and “aye” and the contexts that they’re used in. It was fun to travel in this way. :)

I enjoyed that the characters were as “in the moment” as they could be. They enjoyed their days together knowing that their nights would be reminders of their time soon coming to an end. The perfect amount of reminders of “this can’t last forever unless you make some life altering changes”

The third act conflict was so justified and well done. It wasn’t forced at all. I could see where both sides were coming from and a certain characters frustration was justified given their patience throughout.

The ending had me giggly and kicking my feet. I loved reading this book and enjoyed how interactive the travel piece was. Alexandra Kiley did her research!

I will be posting this review on Goodreads, Tiktok, and Instagram.

Wow, what a debut novel! Kilt Trip had so many lovely things in it: a bit of wanderlust, a health dose of vulnerability, and a nice heaping of love in its varying forms. This book took me on an emotional roller coaster in all the right ways.

It’s always nice when a book offers you a more unique perspective, and we get this both with Addie’s job as a travel consultant (jealous!) and the wonderful backdrop of Scotland. The descriptions of some of the different places got me fiending to visit, so Scotland Tourism Bureau? You might have to send Ms. Kiley some coin.

Though the description makes it seem like this is really Enemies to Lovers, and while they’re definitely a little antagonistic, Addie and Logan didn’t really feel like enemies to me, and I actually appreciated that. Their relationship was more petty with each other and it was a nice foundation for some tension to blossom. Both Addie and Logan felt real to me, and I enjoyed reading how they grew and changed throughout the novel.

I read romance primarily because I love a little light and fluffy injected into my day to day. I wouldn’t necessarily characterize this novel as light and fluffy because it works through a lot of tough feelings like grief and loneliness. Because of this, it took me longer than it typically would to read, but it was a nice journey. I felt that the emotions I was feeling were balanced. I ached for the characters and for myself and for all of us. I also like that in this book, some relationships weren’t completely polished and put in a bow. It felt a lot more like real life and pulled at my heart.

This book has more than romance (though it has that too!). There’s elements that range from finding yourself to finding your people and all the hard human things that come with that. We see love of all kinds: romantic, friendly, and family, and the breakdowns that can come when you care for another person so deeply. We also see what can happen when you take a chance, and I think that’s a story we all need to hear.

I received an Advanced Reader's Copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

4 stars
Book review

This was a pretty cute enemies-to-lovers vibes romcom set in Scottland. Fans of leap year movie may like this one.

This was such a cute book that has me ITCHING to visit Scotland like no other! I enjoyed the dual POV and overall writing by this new-to-me author. At first I wasn’t sure I what to expect since I went into the book blind but was happily surprised by the storyline. It had a great balance of lol moments and heartwarming moments!

Fun book! The characters were likable from the start and definitely leaves you wanting to visit Scotland!

I really wanted to love this book but it was a bit of a miss for me. I’m not sure if it was the chemistry between the MCs, the pacing, or that it was written in 3rd person/dual POV but I struggled through the entire read. I did enjoy the setting and that is mostly what had me picking it back up and keep trying. I will definitely give the authors next book a read. I am in the minority here as most of my friends who have similar reading tastes absolutely loved this one.

I was not able to finish this book in the time allotted, but what I did read I enjoyed. It's a fun romance with an endearing set-up.

I wrote a piece about the novel's release for Celtic Life International.

This was a cute book that honestly gave me so much added knowledge of Scotland! I loved the traveling vibe and yes, I really wanna visit this country now.

The romance in this book was cute! I loved the workplace, enemies to lovers we get when Addie and Logan are both trying to prove they know best for Logan’s families tour agency. The romance wasn’t electric for me, but I still liked the battle they have. Then the added depth with Addie’s family history. Overall this was a really cute book and while yes, it was Scotland, it was still fun to listen to around St. Patrick’s Day!

Final review: 4⭐️, 2🌶️

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Mild spoilers!

Kilt Trip was everything I wanted it to be. the beautiful setting that is Scotland made the perfect backdrop for Addie and Logan’s story to unfold.

Addie’s journey through Scotland, and simultaneously through the grief she holds for her mother, felt so realistic. She strong and independent while maintaining tenderness. Logan complimented her perfectly, never pushing her to speak on her grief but always being quiet available. He also brought a different aspect to Addies pre-existing sense of adventure that nudged her gently outside of her usual comfort zone. I did find the pacing a little slow around the 3/4 mark, but the ending was worth pushing through for.

While at times a little sad, I found Kilt Trip to be an overall heartwarming read. It had the perfect amount of spice, not too much nor too graphic, but also open door enough to feel the connection between the two of them. The romance was tangible, the initial rivalry was delectable, and the setting just drew all of those things together.

We all need a reluctant-to-change tour guide to call us lass, right?!

Congratulations to Alexandra Kiley on such a lovely debut, and thank you to the publishing team for proving an E-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing me with an eARC of Kilt Trip in exchange for my honest review!

I must say, I had a decent time with this Scottish contemporary romance, but I wish I could have vibed more strongly with it. Sometimes, I just wasn't feeling the chemistry clicking between the leads, and it doesn't help that the pacing can drag out a lot of the time. This really could have been significantly shorter. That being said, there are some good-sized chunks where I find the central love story to be charming, where the heavy parts of the story stir some emotions, where the backdrop of Scotland is fleshed-out enough to stand as its own vivid character. These are elements that leave me on a positive note once the book is over, even while I want to have more love for it.

Overall, I'm officially rating Kilt Trip three out of five stars, and I'll keep an eye out for more of Alexandra Kiley's work.

A fun adventure through Ireland with lots of culture along the way. Loved the colorful, believable characters, the humor, and the taste of Irish culture, food, and history learned along the way.

I’ve seen so many people raving about this book!

Listen, I’ve been an Outlander fan for over a decade, so I love anything related to Scotland. Love the idea behind this.